Richard assistant a.d. at Vanderbilt

Mark Richard '83 now serves as assistant athletic director/compliance at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Richard received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Clarion University and received a masters degree in sports administration from the University of Florida in 1989.

From 1992-93, Richard worked as the director of Student-Athlete Services at North Carolina State and was area director of the Stroud Wolfpack Center for two years. "The Stroud Wolfpack Center job was one of the toughest jobs I ever had," he says. "I was in charge of 200 male student athletes. I worked with them on training tables and life skills." One of his primary jobs was to direct a quality student-athlete enhancement program.

In 1993, Richard worked as coordinator of Game Operation and coordinator of CHAMPS/Life Skills Program at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). He implemented a NCAA compliance education program for the entire athletic department, served as liaison to the NCAA and Big West Conference for legislative issues and monitored the "Ask Before You Act" compliance program.

Richard says, "As Coordinator of Game Operations, I was in charge travel arrangements for the football team and other sports. I was also in charge of all of the home games with our Olympic sports, basketball, and football."

Through the life skills program, Richard worked with another person with a Clarion University background. "I worked at the Thomas Mack Center with Jim Weaver, who had been the football coach at Clarion," says Richard. "I helped with career development of the athletes, academics, and physical education."

Explaining the "Ask Before You Act" NCAA compliance program Richard says, "If the coach had a question about something, they were advised to ask the athletic director about it before they acted. This way they wouldn't get in trouble and everything would get worked out. Weaver is actually the man who put this into place at UNLV."

Looking back at Clarion, Richard says, "Clarion had a major impact on my success. I was involved in collegiate athletics and I knew through that I wanted to make it a career. I still follow Clarion athletics to this day. I recently attended the NCAA wrestling championships and I am very impressed with the athletic program at Clarion."