CLEVELAND — Cleveland State University named Scott Garrett as its new athletic director at a press conference on Monday afternoon. He will officially assume his duties at CSU on April 24.
"The opportunity exists here at Cleveland State to attract and support a diverse team of championship caliber student-athletes, coaches and staff capable of regularly competing for conference championships and NCAA postseason success in all sports," Garrett stated during his introductory remarks.
Garrett comes to CSU after serving as Executive Associate Athletics Director for External Operations as well as Chief Revenue Officer at Kansas State University. Garrett was responsible for the department’s marketing and fan experience, ticket sales and services, trademark licensing, brand management, multimedia rights, apparel/partnership and equipment units.
Under Garrett's leadership, ticket revenue at Kansas State grew from $13.6 million in 2010-11 to over $18 million in 2017-18.
During his nine years with the Wildcats, Garrett also took a significant role in special projects including campus relationship development, department strategic planning, facilities master plan development and fundraising programs. He coordinated updates of the KSU athletic department's overall strategic plan in 2010, 2015 and 2018.
“Scott Garrett is a very successful leader who has had a tremendous impact at every level of athletics administration he has touched. He is all about building a winning culture with integrity and values – both on the field and in the classroom,” said CSU President Harlan M. Sands in a statement. “We are very excited that he will be joining our team, and I look forward to working with him as we build upon the athletic and academic achievements of our student-athletes.”
WATCH | Scott Garrett goes one-on-one with "The Voice of the Vikings," Al Pawlowski:
Garrett is a native of Channahon, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Illinois State in 2002 and a Master’s degree in sport management/athletics administration from Indiana in 2003. He spent five years at Illinois-Chicago leading sales and ticketing efforts, followed by a year as Assistant Athletic Director at Wichita State, before arriving at K-State in 2010.
Garrett replaces Mike Thomas, who resigned as Cleveland State's athletic director at the end of 2018. On Feb. 1, the Vikings retained the services of former Missouri AD Mike Alden to serve as senior adviser to the president for athletics and help assist in the search for a permanent athletic director.
You can watch the entire introductory press conference in the player below: