CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Director of Athletics
Jon Palumbo has announced the hire of
Randy Eaton as Associate Athletics Director for Business. Eaton comes to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after serving as the Director of Athletics at Western Carolina University since 2011.
"I am thrilled to welcome
Randy Eaton to the Island," said Palumbo. "He brings tremendous experience at different levels of NCAA Division I which will serve us well. He is invested in enhancing the experience of our student-athletes and will be a huge asset to our department and university."
While at Western Carolina, Eaton was in charge of all aspects of the 16-sport athletic department in the Southern Conference. WCU encompassed 350 student-athletes and under Eaton's watch, the department's GPA increased to 3.2, the APR rose to 980 and the GSR saw a spike at 93%. He took over a department that had annual deficits of over $2 million to one that created a surplus of nearly $1 million annually.
"I am excited to return to the Island University and be afforded the opportunity to finish what we started here over twenty years ago," Eaton said. "I look forward to working with
Jon Palumbo again and assist him in moving our athletic programs forward."
Prior to his time at WCU, Eaton spent nearly eight full years at the University of Maryland. He worked five years as the Associate AD for Business, served three months as the Interim Director of Athletics, and worked his last three-plus years as the Senior Associate AD and Chief Financial Officer. Eaton was responsible for daily fiscal operations for the entire department that exceeded $60 million annually. He served as the women's lacrosse and field hockey sport supervisor and helped generate new revenue by soliciting outside events for athletic facilities. In his role, he also oversaw the business office, human resources staff and the facilities and operations staff and conducted annual evaluations. Eaton tracked and reported nearly $25 million of fundraising efforts annually, served as a daily operations liaison for the football program, oversaw all contracts for intercollegiate athletics and helped prepare budgets for the entire department.
Eaton begins his second stint at the Island University. He previously served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Business in 1999 and 2000. He brings experience from working in the University of Houston, East Tennessee State, Ohio State, UTSA athletic departments and also spent a year with the Ohio Glory of the World League Football.
He proudly served four years in the United States Air Force before attending the University of Texas at San Antonio where he received his Bachelor's of Business Administration. He earned his Master's degree from Ohio State University in Sports Administration.
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