Garrett Named Deputy Director of Athletics for Administration
1/4/2024 7:59:00 AM | General
Scott Garrett joins the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community following a transformational tenure at Cleveland State University as the Vikings vice president and director of athletics.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Scott Garrett, a veteran collegiate athletics leader with a depth of experience that spans beyond his recent transformational service as Cleveland State's vice president and director of athletics since April 2019, has been named Deputy Director of Athletics for Administration at Wake Forest University, Director of Athletics John Currie announced today.
"We are thrilled to welcome Scott, Kristy, Matthew and Audrey to Wake Forest. Scott is a servant leader who has proven his strategic assessment skills and a thoughtful management style in hiring successful head coaches and dozens of staff members in his nearly five years at Cleveland State," director of athletics John Currie said. "Among his many accomplishments are the resurrection of the Vikings proud men's basketball tradition, new revenue initiatives and heightened visibility of Cleveland State Athletics in Northeast Ohio, the Horizon League and nationally. Scott's tested leadership experience both on campus and across intercollegiate athletics, relationship building skills, and collaborative style will be the perfect complement to our veteran executive leadership team at Wake Forest as we build on our past successes to continue to meet our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience amidst a rapidly evolving intercollegiate athletics landscape."
Since Garrett was hired at Cleveland State nearly five years ago, he has dedicated his time in Northeast Ohio to building a model NCAA Division I-AAA athletics program with a mission of providing Viking student-athletes a transformative experience; guiding an organization with an annual budget of $14.6 million and 65 staff and coaches that invest daily in the personal, academic and competitive success of 390 student-athletes in 19 sport programs.
Over nearly five years leading CSU Athletics, Garrett has overhauled the organization with 92 staff and coaching hires, including 12 head coaches and six senior administrator searches. Through a culture aimed towards delivering championship-level performances in the classroom, in the community, and through competition, Garrett's team crafted a collaborative and ambitious five-year strategic plan which has led to program records for grade-point averages, academic progress ratings, fan attendance, and revenue generation in ticket sales, sponsorships and fundraising while seeing student-athletes and teams earn multiple conference championships, post-season berths and all-conference accolades.
Throughout Garrett's tenure, CSU has experienced widespread growth. Under his guidance, Cleveland State has set school records in nearly every academic, financial and individual and team competitive category, winning a total of nine team league championships, 18 individual league titles, 32 major postseason awards and seeing 107 student-athletes earn all-league distinction. In addition, over 100 student-athletes have earned league all-academic awards over the past three years.
Recently, during the 2022-23 academic year, Garrett served a leadership role on a campus-wide steering committee for development and announcement of CSU's campus facilities master plan, which incorporates over $650 million in proposed construction or renovation projects including distinct development districts with academic, student life, housing, athletics and partnership projects, highlighted by a proposed new on-campus multi-purpose arena. Additionally, Garrett's staff logged a third-straight department record for annual fundraising revenue, and launched the Viking Ventures NIL Marketplace through the Horizon League's partnership with Opendorse, allowing student-athletes to capitalize on new Name, Image and Likeness opportunities.
Among Garrett's twelve head coach hires was current Missouri head men's basketball coach Dennis Gates, who led the Vikings to both the Horizon League regular season and conference tournament championships in 2021. CSU appeared in the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and Gates was recognized with his second-consecutive HL Coach of the Year award that season. Garrett subsequently hired Daniyal Robinson ahead of the 2022-23 where he registered a program record for wins by a first-year head coach, leading the Vikings to a program record-tying third straight trip to the postseason with an appearance in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational.
Meanwhile, CSU women's basketball won the Horizon League tournament title in 2022-23 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, and the first time since the 2009-10 season after setting a program record with 30 victories including a record 16 consecutive wins. Garrett inked head women's coach Chris Kielsmeier to a contract extension through the 2027-28 season after that spring run. Garrett, through his appointment to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission board, currently sits on the 2024 Cleveland Women's Basketball Final Four local host committee which is planning community programming associated with the championship weekend.
On the pitch in 2022, Cleveland State's men's soccer program won both the Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. Cleveland State hosted the tournament at Krenzler Field and went on to appear in the NCAA Tournament, marking the Vikings first appearance for the program in ten years. Head Coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic, hired by Garrett in 2019, also earned his first Coach of the Year award and five student-athletes earned postseason all-league recognition. Early in the season, CSU battled No. 13 ranked Ohio State to a scoreless draw in front of a crowd of 1,301, which was the highest attendance on record at Krenzler Field since 2010.
Garrett successfully led CSU into the Atlantic Sun Conference as an affiliate member in men's lacrosse, securing an opportunity to compete for a conference title for the first time in the program's young history beginning in 2021-22. He also launched varsity e-sports – the city of Cleveland's first varsity intercollegiate e-sports program, and one of just a few in Division I athletics managed under the umbrella of the athletics division.
Prior to arriving at CSU, Garrett served in a variety of roles over 9 years with the athletics program at Kansas State University. There, he provided leadership as Chief Revenue Officer to units with 14-plus full-time employees, creating proactive strategies that led to 46 sellouts in football and regular national top 25 attendance rankings in men's basketball, women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball and baseball. Garrett's fan experience staff was named in 2013-14 the NACMA Marketing Team of the Year, while annual ticket revenues under his guidance grew from $13.6 million to over $19 million.
Garrett also played a role in cultivating donor support for K-State's Ahearn Fund with responsibility for strategic fundraising campaign planning while actively managing a portfolio of donors who collectively contributed over $1.5 million annually, as well as personally securing several leadership gifts towards K-State's $230 million in capital facilities improvements. Garrett piloted numerous significant department-wide initiatives, including development of the department's strategic plans in 2010, 2015 and 2018, while serving as a sport administrator, supervising equipment operations, and leading strategic revenue relationships with key partners including Sodexo, Pepsi, Nike and Learfield Sports.
Garrett arrived in Manhattan following a two-year stint as an assistant athletic director at Wichita State, where he served on the department's senior team while managing ticket sales and services during two sold-out men's basketball seasons. He also assisted the in-house sponsorship sales team with management and solicitation of corporate partners, while playing a leadership role in special donor events and membership drives including the Shocker Basketball Luncheon Series, Shocker Auction and Baseball All-American Club. Garrett also facilitated the creation of new courtside and capital campaign seating programs that generated over $1 million in incremental department revenue.
After obtaining a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from Illinois State (2002), and a master's degree in sport management and athletics administration from Indiana (2003), Garrett began his career in athletics administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With the Flames, he implemented initiatives that led donation, sponsorship and ticket sales revenues to nearly double to all-time highs over a five-year period, while also attracting the second and third largest individual home game attendances in the history of the men's basketball program.
Garrett and his wife Kristy were both raised in Channahon, Illinois, were married in 2003, and have two children, Matthew (16) and Audrey (13).
What They Are Saying…
Scott Garrett
Deputy Director of Athletics for Administration, Wake Forest University
"We are very grateful for the opportunity to join the Wake Forest team. I have been impressed by the leadership alignment and the vision for Wake Forest shared by President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and AD John Currie and am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as Deputy AD for Administration. I look forward to collaborating with campus partners, student-athletes, coaches and staff, and Demon Deacon fans and supporters to ensure continued innovation in delivering on the goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience. Kristy, Matthew, Audrey and I are eager to get to know Winston-Salem and begin making an impact in DEACTOWN."
John Currie
Director of Athletics, Wake Forest University
"We are thrilled to welcome Scott, Kristy, Matthew and Audrey to Wake Forest. Scott is a servant leader who has proven his strategic assessment skills and a thoughtful management style in hiring 11 head coaches and dozens of staff members in his nearly five years at Cleveland State. Among his many accomplishments are the resurrection of the Vikings proud men's basketball tradition, new revenue initiatives and heightened visibility of Cleveland State Athletics in Northeast Ohio, the Horizon League and nationally. Scott's tested leadership experience both on campus and across intercollegiate athletics, relationship building skills, and collaborative style will be the perfect complement to our veteran executive leadership team at Wake Forest as we build on our past successes to continue to meet our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience amidst a rapidly evolving intercollegiate athletics landscape."
Dennis Gates
Head Men's Basketball Coach, University of Missouri Tigers
"Scott Garrett and Wake Forest Athletics are a perfect match. I am proud of the partnership that we forged together at Cleveland State as a first time head coach and AD team. Scott's impact will be felt immediately in Winston-Salem. He is an elite relationship builder, a trusted colleague, and continues to assist me personally as a strategic advisor. Our success at CSU would not have been possible without Scott's daily support, leadership and friendship. Congratulations to Athletics Director John Currie and the Demon Deacons on a phenomenal addition to their executive team."
Dr. Laura Bloomberg
President at Cleveland State University
"It has been my pleasure to work with Scott Garrett as a valued member of the senior leadership team. The longer I know Scott, the more I grow to respect him as a leader, and value him as a colleague. I can say without hesitation that the student-athletes, coaches, and staff members who have worked with and for him here at CSU have all benefited personally and professionally from the experience. He will be missed by all of us."
Dr. Rob Kleidman
Associate Professor of Sociology and Faculty Athletics Representative at Cleveland State University "Scott Garrett is an inspirational, skilled, and committed leader. As Director of Athletics at Cleveland State University, he has built an outstanding team of coaches and staff focused on providing a transformational experience for our student athletes, who have achieved great success in their sport, the classroom, and the community. Scott leads through example and through providing clear and consistent guidance and mentoring. He is a person of great integrity, vision, imagination, and compassion. While we will miss him, we will continue to benefit from the sustainable culture and community he has created here. By investing so much of himself in us, he has provided a lasting legacy. I am confident that he will make a powerful contribution to athletics, campus, and community at Wake Forest and I wish him great success.
Commissioner at Horizon League
"Scott is an impactful and strategic leader. He hires and supports high-character coaches that win competitively and in the classroom. He set fundraising records because donors believe in the strategic vision Scott developed to enhance CSU in ways that impact student-athlete and fan experience. Viking Athletics is on a positive trajectory due to Scott's steadfast leadership bolstered by university support. He is also a leader in the Horizon League. His peers elected him to chair the League's Council, and his inclusive and effective leadership style has fostered a collaborative and unified athletics director group. Wake Forest is fortunate to welcome Scott and his family to the Demon Deacons community!"
Lee Reed
Francis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Georgetown University
"This is a great hire by John Currie and Wake Forest University Athletics! As a former student-athlete and athletics director at CSU, I have watched Scott Garrett as he has elevated CSU Athletics the last five years. I have been thoroughly impressed with his commitment to the student athlete experience, his ability to hire excellent coaches, and his knowledge of the business of college athletics. Scott improved CSU across the board and helped amplify the mission of Cleveland State in many ways. He will be missed not only on campus, but throughout NE Ohio and he is sure to have a similar impact in Winston-Salem."
Nic Barlage
Rock Entertainment Group/Cleveland Cavaliers CEO:
"Scott has been an incredible partner of Rock Entertainment Group. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with him across our various assets, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Charge and Legion GC. Whether it has been his progressive views around our partnership or his desire to continue to enhance the Viking student-athlete experience, Scott has been a driving force of positive change at CSU and across the city of Cleveland. We wish him nothing but success going forward."
"We are thrilled to welcome Scott, Kristy, Matthew and Audrey to Wake Forest. Scott is a servant leader who has proven his strategic assessment skills and a thoughtful management style in hiring successful head coaches and dozens of staff members in his nearly five years at Cleveland State," director of athletics John Currie said. "Among his many accomplishments are the resurrection of the Vikings proud men's basketball tradition, new revenue initiatives and heightened visibility of Cleveland State Athletics in Northeast Ohio, the Horizon League and nationally. Scott's tested leadership experience both on campus and across intercollegiate athletics, relationship building skills, and collaborative style will be the perfect complement to our veteran executive leadership team at Wake Forest as we build on our past successes to continue to meet our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience amidst a rapidly evolving intercollegiate athletics landscape."
Since Garrett was hired at Cleveland State nearly five years ago, he has dedicated his time in Northeast Ohio to building a model NCAA Division I-AAA athletics program with a mission of providing Viking student-athletes a transformative experience; guiding an organization with an annual budget of $14.6 million and 65 staff and coaches that invest daily in the personal, academic and competitive success of 390 student-athletes in 19 sport programs.
Over nearly five years leading CSU Athletics, Garrett has overhauled the organization with 92 staff and coaching hires, including 12 head coaches and six senior administrator searches. Through a culture aimed towards delivering championship-level performances in the classroom, in the community, and through competition, Garrett's team crafted a collaborative and ambitious five-year strategic plan which has led to program records for grade-point averages, academic progress ratings, fan attendance, and revenue generation in ticket sales, sponsorships and fundraising while seeing student-athletes and teams earn multiple conference championships, post-season berths and all-conference accolades.
Throughout Garrett's tenure, CSU has experienced widespread growth. Under his guidance, Cleveland State has set school records in nearly every academic, financial and individual and team competitive category, winning a total of nine team league championships, 18 individual league titles, 32 major postseason awards and seeing 107 student-athletes earn all-league distinction. In addition, over 100 student-athletes have earned league all-academic awards over the past three years.
Recently, during the 2022-23 academic year, Garrett served a leadership role on a campus-wide steering committee for development and announcement of CSU's campus facilities master plan, which incorporates over $650 million in proposed construction or renovation projects including distinct development districts with academic, student life, housing, athletics and partnership projects, highlighted by a proposed new on-campus multi-purpose arena. Additionally, Garrett's staff logged a third-straight department record for annual fundraising revenue, and launched the Viking Ventures NIL Marketplace through the Horizon League's partnership with Opendorse, allowing student-athletes to capitalize on new Name, Image and Likeness opportunities.
Among Garrett's twelve head coach hires was current Missouri head men's basketball coach Dennis Gates, who led the Vikings to both the Horizon League regular season and conference tournament championships in 2021. CSU appeared in the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and Gates was recognized with his second-consecutive HL Coach of the Year award that season. Garrett subsequently hired Daniyal Robinson ahead of the 2022-23 where he registered a program record for wins by a first-year head coach, leading the Vikings to a program record-tying third straight trip to the postseason with an appearance in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational.
Meanwhile, CSU women's basketball won the Horizon League tournament title in 2022-23 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, and the first time since the 2009-10 season after setting a program record with 30 victories including a record 16 consecutive wins. Garrett inked head women's coach Chris Kielsmeier to a contract extension through the 2027-28 season after that spring run. Garrett, through his appointment to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission board, currently sits on the 2024 Cleveland Women's Basketball Final Four local host committee which is planning community programming associated with the championship weekend.
On the pitch in 2022, Cleveland State's men's soccer program won both the Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. Cleveland State hosted the tournament at Krenzler Field and went on to appear in the NCAA Tournament, marking the Vikings first appearance for the program in ten years. Head Coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic, hired by Garrett in 2019, also earned his first Coach of the Year award and five student-athletes earned postseason all-league recognition. Early in the season, CSU battled No. 13 ranked Ohio State to a scoreless draw in front of a crowd of 1,301, which was the highest attendance on record at Krenzler Field since 2010.
Garrett successfully led CSU into the Atlantic Sun Conference as an affiliate member in men's lacrosse, securing an opportunity to compete for a conference title for the first time in the program's young history beginning in 2021-22. He also launched varsity e-sports – the city of Cleveland's first varsity intercollegiate e-sports program, and one of just a few in Division I athletics managed under the umbrella of the athletics division.
Prior to arriving at CSU, Garrett served in a variety of roles over 9 years with the athletics program at Kansas State University. There, he provided leadership as Chief Revenue Officer to units with 14-plus full-time employees, creating proactive strategies that led to 46 sellouts in football and regular national top 25 attendance rankings in men's basketball, women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball and baseball. Garrett's fan experience staff was named in 2013-14 the NACMA Marketing Team of the Year, while annual ticket revenues under his guidance grew from $13.6 million to over $19 million.
Garrett also played a role in cultivating donor support for K-State's Ahearn Fund with responsibility for strategic fundraising campaign planning while actively managing a portfolio of donors who collectively contributed over $1.5 million annually, as well as personally securing several leadership gifts towards K-State's $230 million in capital facilities improvements. Garrett piloted numerous significant department-wide initiatives, including development of the department's strategic plans in 2010, 2015 and 2018, while serving as a sport administrator, supervising equipment operations, and leading strategic revenue relationships with key partners including Sodexo, Pepsi, Nike and Learfield Sports.
Garrett arrived in Manhattan following a two-year stint as an assistant athletic director at Wichita State, where he served on the department's senior team while managing ticket sales and services during two sold-out men's basketball seasons. He also assisted the in-house sponsorship sales team with management and solicitation of corporate partners, while playing a leadership role in special donor events and membership drives including the Shocker Basketball Luncheon Series, Shocker Auction and Baseball All-American Club. Garrett also facilitated the creation of new courtside and capital campaign seating programs that generated over $1 million in incremental department revenue.
After obtaining a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from Illinois State (2002), and a master's degree in sport management and athletics administration from Indiana (2003), Garrett began his career in athletics administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With the Flames, he implemented initiatives that led donation, sponsorship and ticket sales revenues to nearly double to all-time highs over a five-year period, while also attracting the second and third largest individual home game attendances in the history of the men's basketball program.
Garrett and his wife Kristy were both raised in Channahon, Illinois, were married in 2003, and have two children, Matthew (16) and Audrey (13).
What They Are Saying…
Scott Garrett
Deputy Director of Athletics for Administration, Wake Forest University
"We are very grateful for the opportunity to join the Wake Forest team. I have been impressed by the leadership alignment and the vision for Wake Forest shared by President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and AD John Currie and am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as Deputy AD for Administration. I look forward to collaborating with campus partners, student-athletes, coaches and staff, and Demon Deacon fans and supporters to ensure continued innovation in delivering on the goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience. Kristy, Matthew, Audrey and I are eager to get to know Winston-Salem and begin making an impact in DEACTOWN."
John Currie Director of Athletics, Wake Forest University
"We are thrilled to welcome Scott, Kristy, Matthew and Audrey to Wake Forest. Scott is a servant leader who has proven his strategic assessment skills and a thoughtful management style in hiring 11 head coaches and dozens of staff members in his nearly five years at Cleveland State. Among his many accomplishments are the resurrection of the Vikings proud men's basketball tradition, new revenue initiatives and heightened visibility of Cleveland State Athletics in Northeast Ohio, the Horizon League and nationally. Scott's tested leadership experience both on campus and across intercollegiate athletics, relationship building skills, and collaborative style will be the perfect complement to our veteran executive leadership team at Wake Forest as we build on our past successes to continue to meet our goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience amidst a rapidly evolving intercollegiate athletics landscape."
Dennis GatesHead Men's Basketball Coach, University of Missouri Tigers
"Scott Garrett and Wake Forest Athletics are a perfect match. I am proud of the partnership that we forged together at Cleveland State as a first time head coach and AD team. Scott's impact will be felt immediately in Winston-Salem. He is an elite relationship builder, a trusted colleague, and continues to assist me personally as a strategic advisor. Our success at CSU would not have been possible without Scott's daily support, leadership and friendship. Congratulations to Athletics Director John Currie and the Demon Deacons on a phenomenal addition to their executive team."
Dr. Laura Bloomberg President at Cleveland State University
"It has been my pleasure to work with Scott Garrett as a valued member of the senior leadership team. The longer I know Scott, the more I grow to respect him as a leader, and value him as a colleague. I can say without hesitation that the student-athletes, coaches, and staff members who have worked with and for him here at CSU have all benefited personally and professionally from the experience. He will be missed by all of us."
Dr. Rob Kleidman Associate Professor of Sociology and Faculty Athletics Representative at Cleveland State University "Scott Garrett is an inspirational, skilled, and committed leader. As Director of Athletics at Cleveland State University, he has built an outstanding team of coaches and staff focused on providing a transformational experience for our student athletes, who have achieved great success in their sport, the classroom, and the community. Scott leads through example and through providing clear and consistent guidance and mentoring. He is a person of great integrity, vision, imagination, and compassion. While we will miss him, we will continue to benefit from the sustainable culture and community he has created here. By investing so much of himself in us, he has provided a lasting legacy. I am confident that he will make a powerful contribution to athletics, campus, and community at Wake Forest and I wish him great success.
Commissioner at Horizon League"Scott is an impactful and strategic leader. He hires and supports high-character coaches that win competitively and in the classroom. He set fundraising records because donors believe in the strategic vision Scott developed to enhance CSU in ways that impact student-athlete and fan experience. Viking Athletics is on a positive trajectory due to Scott's steadfast leadership bolstered by university support. He is also a leader in the Horizon League. His peers elected him to chair the League's Council, and his inclusive and effective leadership style has fostered a collaborative and unified athletics director group. Wake Forest is fortunate to welcome Scott and his family to the Demon Deacons community!"
Lee ReedFrancis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Georgetown University
"This is a great hire by John Currie and Wake Forest University Athletics! As a former student-athlete and athletics director at CSU, I have watched Scott Garrett as he has elevated CSU Athletics the last five years. I have been thoroughly impressed with his commitment to the student athlete experience, his ability to hire excellent coaches, and his knowledge of the business of college athletics. Scott improved CSU across the board and helped amplify the mission of Cleveland State in many ways. He will be missed not only on campus, but throughout NE Ohio and he is sure to have a similar impact in Winston-Salem."
Nic BarlageRock Entertainment Group/Cleveland Cavaliers CEO:
"Scott has been an incredible partner of Rock Entertainment Group. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with him across our various assets, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Charge and Legion GC. Whether it has been his progressive views around our partnership or his desire to continue to enhance the Viking student-athlete experience, Scott has been a driving force of positive change at CSU and across the city of Cleveland. We wish him nothing but success going forward."
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