January 29, 2015

Dear Members of our Campus Community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of John McCutcheon as our next Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. His tentative start date will be March 2, 2015, pending Presidential and Regental approval.

John McCutcheon is currently the Athletics Director at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has been responsible for the campus’s 21 varsity sports and the recreation program. He has led their Athletics Department through several key facility upgrades due to his work in increasing the levels of annual donations and corporate sponsorships, and has spearheaded a historic move in transitioning the football program from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. UMass student-athletes have also had great success outside of their sport, due in part to an increased focus on academic support and a greater emphasis on student-athlete wellbeing through programs that he has put in place.

Mr. McCutcheon’s work on facility enhancements has created some of the best facilities in which to train and compete in the Northeast. The renovations under his leadership include a new boathouse for the women’s crew team, a state-of-the-art $34.5 million Football Performance Center and Press Box at McGuirk Stadium, the UMass Track and Field Complex, and a $38 million Campus Recreation Center. The Champions Center, a dedicated practice and training facility for men’s and women’s basketball, is scheduled to open later this year.

Mr. McCutcheon has been a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Committee and served as chair from 2007 to 2010. He was a member of the NCAA Management Council and the NCAA Leadership Council. He served as chair of the Atlantic 10 Athletic Directors Committee and the Hockey East Athletics Directors Committee. He has been a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics since 1992.

Before joining UMass, Mr. McCutcheon served as the Athletics Director at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for 12 years. Prior to his time at Cal Poly, he served as associate athletics director for business and operations and athletics business manager at Boston College. He holds a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of education degree from Ohio University.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank chair Gene Lucas and all the members of our search advisory committee for their thorough and dedicated work during this national search. I would also like to thank our coaches and other members of our campus community who provided valuable input during this process.

I extend our gratitude to former Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Gary Cunningham, who has served as Interim Athletics Director since last August. Gary retired in 2008 after serving 13 years as our campus’s Athletics Director, and we are grateful for his assistance during our national search.

Mr. McCutcheon brings a wealth of experience in leading NCAA Division I athletics departments, and I am confident that he will be an exceptional leader for our athletics program. We have all been impressed by his enthusiasm and his commitment to supporting our coaches and student-athletes in reaching their academic and athletics goals. Please join me in welcoming John and his wife, Sue, to our UC Santa Barbara family.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor

 

Search Advisory Committee for the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

Gene Lucas, Chair, Former Executive Vice Chancellor and Professor Emeritus
Paula Bruice, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry
Donna Coyne, Associate Director, Admissions Office
Gary Cunningham, Interim and Former Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Brian Escalera, Community Member
Pat Graham, Community Member
Kimia Hashemian, Associated Students Representative
Janis Ingham, Professor Emeritus and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative
Todd Lee, Assistant Chancellor, Budget & Planning
Emma Levine, Graduate Students Association Representative
Mark Linehan, UC Santa Barbara Foundation Trustee
DeJanee Moore, Intercollegiate Student-Athlete
Melvin Oliver, Executive Dean, College of Letters & Science
Fyl Pincus, Professor, Materials and Physics
Richard Ryu, UC Santa Barbara Foundation Trustee
George Thurlow, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association
Bill Villa, Former Director of Admissions
Gregg Wilson, Head Coach, Men’s and Women’s Swimming
Michael Young, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs

Ex-Officio Representatives:
Ricardo Alcaíno, Director and Title IX Officer, Office of Equal Opportunity & Sexual Harassment/Title IX Compliance
Kelly Barsky, Deputy Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator