Director of Athletics/Vice President Dr. Eric A. Wood

DR. ERIC A. WOOD

DIRECTOR of ATHLETICS/VICE PRESIDENT @EWOOD_AD

Culture. Class. Competitive Excellence.

Those are the pillars that Dr. Eric A. Wood has embraced and vocalized since stepping on the Louisiana Tech University campus last October.

Wood was introduced as Vice President and Director of Athletics by University President Les Guice during a press conference held in the Chris Richardson Suite of the Joe Aillet Stadium Press Box on Oct. 23, 2020.

The energy, enthusiasm and electric personality of the 22-year veteran of collegiate athletic administration instantly hit home with the Tech studentathletes, coaches, support staff and fan base.

Wood, who came to Ruston following a five-year stint at UCF where he spent the past four years as the Deputy AD for Competitive Excellence, is the first African-American Vice President and the first minority Director of Athletics in the University’s history.

He also becomes the first Director of Athletics in LA Tech history to also serve as a Vice President.

“Eric’s record of accomplishment shows his qualifications, and interacting with him quickly convinces you he is something really special,” said Guice. “He is a dynamic, charismatic individual who leads with intelligence and character. It’s a rare combination, and we’re very fortunate to have him on our team.”

During the first nine months in his new role, Wood has quickly made a name for himself within the LA Tech Family as well as Conference USA, as illustrated by his appointment as Chair of the Football Success Committee and the league representative to the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee.

Despite earning his first ever AD opportunity during one of the most trying times in collegiate athletic history, Wood’s leadership helped Louisiana Tech gain momentum – both on and off the playing fields.

And no surprise. It’s all a part of Wood’s #CompeteCompeteCompete mantra.

The 2020-21 academic year saw a number of impressive team accomplishments, including the seventh straight bowl appearance by Bulldog Football, the West Division championship and a run to the NIT Final Four by Bulldog Basketball, the first ever appearance in the National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship by the Lady Techsters, and a Top 25 ranking, West Division title and first ever host of an NCAA Regional by Bulldog Baseball.

Those team accomplishments helped Louisiana Tech finish fifth among Conference USA schools in the Learfield Directors Cup and 16th nationally among universities sponsoring 16 sports.

Tech’s student-athletes also competed in the classroom.

The past year saw 199 student-athletes named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the highest percentage ever. Another 54 were awarded the C-USA Academic Medal, the second most ever.

Other impressive academic accomplishments included six Conference USA All-Academic Team honorees, nine CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict honorees (the most in University history and the second most by a league school this year), and three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (also a University single year record).

On the fundraising front, the University saw a 60 percent growth in total gifts from the previous year ($5.1M to $8.1M) and a 23 percent growth in total donors. The Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC) saw a 19 percent growth in total donors, including a 100 percent participation by full-time athletic department employees (the first time ever on record).

Tech also saw three seven-figure commitment made by individual donors on capital projects that support the Bulldog and Lady Techster student-athletes. The University also opened brand new facilities in JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, Dr. Billy Bundrick Softball Field, Robert Mack Caruthers Soccer Field, Origin Bank Soccer and Softball Complex, and additional support facilities.

The athletics department also saw some international publicity with Conference USA Freshman of the Year Kenneth Lofton, Jr. leading Team USA to the gold medal at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Latvia.

All of these momentum-building moments in 2020-21 led to impressive social media growth within the department, including a 22 percent increase in followers across all social media platforms. The official athletics website LATechSports.com saw 2.65 million pageviews, an increase in excess of 25 percent from the previous year, and also saw over 650,000 users, a 35 percent growth over the previous 12 months.

All of these accomplishments were just signs of culture, class and competitive excellence.

The Bronx, New York, native has served in a variety of roles within athletics administration for more than two decades. In addition to his time at UCF, Wood has held full-time positions at the University of Arkansas, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Wake Forest University and the University of New Haven. He also served as a postgraduate intern at the NCAA national office and a graduate assistant at Clemson University early in his career.

At every level of his professional career, Wood has made an impact. His qualifications and accomplishments include:

• Sacred Heart University Board of Trustees • 2020-21 University of Arkansas Outstanding Alumni of the Year-College of

Health, Human Performance & Recreation • 2019 “Next Up” honoree presented by Adidas and College AD for senior level administrators • Athletics Representative on the UCF Presidents Advisory Staff Council • 2016 Top 40 Under 40 in the Arkansas Business Journal • 2009 graduate of the NCAA’s Leadership Institute • 11 years of executive staff level leadership • $55 million in successful management experience for sport programs, operations and support areas • $5 million in fundraising visits, proposals, and presentations for programing, operations and facilities • Head coach hires in football, men’s basketball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and track and field • Sport administrator experience (football, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf) • NCAA, NLI, Division I-A Athletics Director’s Association (Now Lead1),

USTA committee service • 1994-1998 NCAA football student-athlete • 1998 Medal of Merit recipient as student-athlete of the Year

During his tenure at UCF, Wood played a prominent role in the strategic planning process and day-to-day administration of the University’s 16-sport intercollegiate athletics program, assisting with key initiatives that impact overall competitive excellence in the classroom and on the respective playing fields as a member of his executive leadership team.

He represented the department on the President’s Advisory Staff Council and served as sport administrator for the football and men’s basketball programs. Wood had administrative oversight of the Varsity Knights alumni letter-winners organization, UCF Convocation Corporation management and revenue generation, Knights Sports Performance, the sport administrators group, the sports science and sports nutrition

departments, compliance, academics and all internal units impacting the competitive success of UCF’s 450 student-athletes.

“President Guice and Louisiana Tech University made an absolute home run hire,” said UCF Director of Athletics Danny White. “UCF’s loss is LA Tech’s gain. Eric Wood has had an enormous impact on our athletics program. Simply put, seemingly everything he touches turns to gold! I am grateful for Eric’s many contributions that have led to an unprecedented amount of competitive and academic success at UCF.

“His interpersonal skills are second-to-none, and combined with his competitive drive, his work with our coaches and student-athletes allowed us to break a whole lot of records around here. I couldn’t be happier for Eric, Celia, and their beautiful family, and I look forward to following their continued success in this new adventure.”

Wood also assisted with the hiring of UCF football coach Josh Heupel and men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins. The Knights football program has won 22 games over the past two seasons, including an undefeated regular season in 2018. The Knights men’s basketball program earned a trip to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the program’s first since 2005.

“Dr. Eric Wood is everything a school could want in an athletic director,” said Dawkins. “His greatest strength lies in his ability to connect with others. He is great with student athletes, administrators, and coaches. He will be greatly missed, but I can’t wait to see what he will accomplish at Louisiana Tech.”

During his time in Fayetteville, Wood served as the Associate Athletics Director, Deputy Title IX Coordinator/Diversity Coordinator (2011-16) as well as the Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development (200911).

Wood was the Director of Student-Athlete Programs and Compliance at the ACC (2005-09) following a stint as the Assistant Director for Compliance at Wake Forest (2004-05). He began his full-time collegiate athletic administration career as the Assistant AD for Compliance and Student Development at the University of New Haven (2003-04).

He is a 1998 graduate of Sacred Heart University, earning his degree in Psychology. He was a three-year starter at cornerback for the Pioneer football team with one outdoor season as a member of the track and field team.

Wood earned a Medal of Merit, the athletic department’s highest honor, as the Student-Athlete of the Year his senior year at Sacred Heart. He completed his master’s degree in counseling and guidance services at Clemson University in May 2000 and his Doctorate of Education in Sports Management at the University of Arkansas in 2016.

“I love the bold mission and vision of the University to be the top public research institution in the country,” said Wood. “My vision for athletics is the same – competitive excellence. We will compete in the classroom. We will compete to develop more leaders. And we will compete to win more championships.”

Dr. Wood and his wife Celia have four children – Eliana (10), Nia (8), Alyssa (6) and Elijah (4).