DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS - JIM SENTER the men’s basketball, women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball squads all exhibited significant improvement. Off the field, a school-record 174 UTEP student-athletes registered grade point averages of 3.0 or higher at the conclusion of the fall 2019 semester, and 49 -- also a new school standard -- were recipients of C-USA Academic Medals with GPA’s of 3.75 or better. Jim Senter was named UTEP’s Director of Athletics on Nov. 22, 2017. To say that Senter has been busy since arriving in the Sun City would be quite the understatement. He has hired head coaches for football (Dana Dimel), men’s basketball (Rodney Terry), rifle (Austin Litherland), soccer (Kathryn Balogun), volleyball (Ben Wallis) and softball (T.J. Hubbard). With a firm belief that “Every Person Makes a Difference,” Senter has engaged Miner supporters far and wide. He organized a series of Town Hall meetings across El Paso, and established UTEP’s first-ever Fan Council. He also unveiled a vision for the future of Sun Bowl Stadium, with sweeping changes scheduled to take place in the iconic venue beginning with the 2020 season. On the field, highlights from the early Senter era have included the women’s cross country team capturing its first conference championship, women’s track and field winning the Conference USA Indoor title, and women’s golf posting three consecutive tournament victories for the first time in school history. During the 2019-20 athletic year, @UTEPFB 32 32
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Senter served as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, from 201417. During that time he hired head coaches in football, men’s basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball. Senter’s fundraising efforts resulted in significant improvements being made to the football, basketball and baseball facilities. He grew scholarship endowment by nearly $6 million in cash and pledges over three years. His total fundraising numbers set school records. Senter grew football attendance by more than 3,000 spectators per game, and the Bulldogs led the Southern Conference in attendance. They posted a 10win season in 2016 and a ninevictory campaign in 2015. Academically, 174 Bulldog student-athletes garnered placement on the Southern Conference Honor Roll in 2017. The year prior, The Citadel produced two CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic AllAmericans. Senter went to The Citadel after spending seven years
(2006-13) at the University of Colorado, where he worked his way up to Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations. Senter was the sport supervisor for the Colorado football, skiing, men’s and women’s golf programs. He also had supervision over the Chief Marketing Officer and numerous other areas including facilities, sports medicine, sports performance, game and event management and equipment services. He began his tenure at Colorado as Associate AD for Development. In that role, his responsibilities included all fundraising efforts, including the annual fund (student-athlete scholarships), major gifts and coordinating all donationrelated activities and staff. He was later elevated to Associate Athletic Director. Before Colorado, Senter served as Associate Athletic Director for Development/Senior Associate AD for External Sales at San Diego State for 18 months. Aligned closely with the University foundation, he was responsible for overseeing the athletic department’s development efforts, including major gifts. He spent 2003-05 as Director of Athletics at Idaho State University, a 16-sport Division I-AA program. He engineered a 19 percent increase in football attendance and a $600,000 leap in advertising, marketing and corporate sales. Senter began his college athletic career at the University of Idaho. After working as assistant head football coach and recruiting 32 @UTEPATHLETICS
