“I’ve learned a great deal. I’ve learned that you win with people. I’ve learned how to be resourceful, innovative, efficient; you know we’ve had a lot of success collectively at Nicholls because we hired a lot of good people and let them do their job. We gave them our best efforts to help them be successful. We are coming back to EKU with different ideas, I’ve certainly grown and matured in the profession and personally. Just really excited to get back and apply those things and see what we can get accomplished there.” – Matt Roan, New Eastern Kentucky University AD
Eastern Kentucky University has named Matt Roan as its next Director of Athletics which brings him back to Richmond after three years at Nicholls State. Roan replaces Steve Lochmueller, who stepped down in October after four years as the Colonels’ AD.
“I think anywhere you go and anywhere you work, when you leave those places you always pull for them and want to see them do well,” Roan tells CollegeAD. “When I saw that the job opened in the fall, right away, I had people in that community reaching out saying, ‘it would be great to have you back.’ But I owed it to Nicholls as a community, as an institution, and the programs in the fall, I didn’t really have any conversations during the fall. The winter break really allowed that process. I was certainly impressed with the things that I heard from the leadership.”
He will assume the duties from EKU interim Director of Athletics Mark Sandy in early February. Roan was chosen from over 70 candidates and was a deputy director of athletics at EKU in 2015 and ’16.
“I think anytime you go into these situations, you certainly want to do a lot of listening. In 3 and a half years, a lot can change. They are coaches who are they now, who were not there when I was there, staff has changed, some leadership at the institution has changed.” He added, “I know a lot about the place, I know what makes it go. I’ll be working with a lot of people that I have a familiarity with, but I want to get back there and build trust and gain confidence from people and find out what they want to accomplish. Hopefully we can get to work right away and build something special.”
He will be introduced at a welcome reception open to the public at the EKU Center for the Arts at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
This story first appeared in The NightCap, CollegeAD’s evening newsletter. The NightCap delivers the day’s college athletics news in simple bullet points, giving you what you need to know in just a few lines. Get The NightCap today.