Eichorst Named Associate AD
March 06, 2006 | General News
Shawn Eichorst, senior associate athletic director at the University of South Carolina for the past two years, has been named senior associate athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Monday.
'I'm thrilled to be adding Shawn to our administrative team,' Alvarez said. 'He brings a lot to the table. He has been a college student-athlete and director of athletics, both at UW-Whitewater. He also is a proven Division IA athletic administrator. Being a native of Wisconsin, he knows our state. We are getting a very well-rounded and bright person to join our staff. '
Eichorst's direct responsibilities will include sport oversight; governmental relations, trademark and licensing; contractual matters; strategic planning, liaison with campus administration and the Athletic Board; athletic conference representation and special projects.
'The University of Wisconsin is clearly one of the premier research institutions in the nation and I am extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to return to my home state and work alongside Barry Alvarez who is one of the finest athletic administrators in the business,' Eichorst said.
'Coach Alvarez has assembled a tremendous group of coaches, administrators and support staff. I look forward to the challenge of assisting the University of Wisconsin with building upon its rich tradition of academic and athletic excellence. Furthermore, I am excited to be a part of an environment that strives to provide its student-athletes with the opportunity to reach their full academic and athletic potential.'
Eichorst, who served as South Carolina's interim athletic director in June of 2005, has been the chief administrative officer in the Gamecocks ' athletics department during his tenure. In that role, he has had direct oversight of the football and baseball programs; human resources; contractual development; negotiation and compliance; trademark and licensing; facilities and event operations; sports medicine and the strength and conditioning programs.
South Carolina's football team was bowl-eligible during both of Eichorst's years there and the baseball program was a College World Series participant. Eichorst facilitated and supervised multi-million dollar facility projects at South Carolina, including a state-of-the-art football training facility, lucrative partnership/sponsorship agreements and substantial organizational personnel and policy growth. He is a member of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee and serves on the Executive Committee of the Sports Management Institute.
Eichorst was director of athletics at UW-Whitewater from June of 1999 through December of 2003. Under his leadership, UW-Whitewater developed into one of the nation's top Division III athletic programs, with four top-10-percent NACDA Directors Cup finishes; one NCAA team championship; two NCAA team national runner-up finishes and five individual NCAA champions. Eichorst's program at UW-Whitewater also featured an NCAA Student Athlete of the Year for Wisconsin honoree, 30 Academic and 74 Athletic All-America selections and seven NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners.
Eichorst is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and is a past member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors. He is a member of the Marquette University Law School's National Sports Law Institute Alumni Board. He was an assistant adjunct professor of law at Marquette, where he taught classes in sports law.
Eichorst was an all-conference defensive back, three-time letter winner and 1990 team captain for the UW-Whitewater football team. He graduated magna cum laude in business from UW-Whitewater in 1990 and earned a law degree from Marquette in 1995. He also is a graduate of the Sports Management Institute. Prior to assuming his position as director of athletics at his alma mater, Eichorst worked as an attorney in Milwaukee.
A native of Lone Rock, Wis., Eichorst and his wife, Kristin, have three sons: Jack (6), Joseph (3) and Bennett (2).
