Seattle University Director of Athletics Bill Hogan has announced that Dr. Josh Cooprider has accepted the newly-created position of Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and will begin working at on August 18, 2008.
His duties at include overseeing the marketing, promotional, and sports information elements of the department. Cooprider will be responsible for the development and execution of the athletic department’s marketing plan as the university begins the transition to NCAA Division I status.
“Josh brings a great work ethic to ,” Hogan said. “His enthusiasm and passion will serve SU well as we work to regain leverage in the business community. The potential to develop significant corporate sponsorship relationships here is obvious. Even though he has spent the last several years in , Josh and his family have a long history in the Northwest.”
A native, Cooprider comes to from the of in , where he has filled a variety of roles over the last six years. In the past year, he has been the director of the internship program in the university’s school of sport and exercise science, responsible for the strategic vision of the undergraduate internship program. He has also taught courses as a professor of sport administration.
From 2005 to 2007, he was the director of coaching for the , which included both the university and the Worcester Wolves professional basketball teams. The youngest head coach in British Basketball League history, Cooprider led the university team to three basketball championships and two appearances in the World University Games. During this time, he also served as widening participation coordinator in the university’s sport and exercise science department.
Cooprider was the head coach of the ’s men’s basketball team from 2003 to 2005 while starting the program towards earning his doctor of philosophy degree (PhD) in athletic administration. His doctoral thesis was titled “A Comparative Study on the Importance of Winning within University Sport in and the .”
Cooprider was an All-GNAC basketball player at , where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and management. He was named NNU’s Athlete of the Year in 2002 and was president of the school’s student athletic association committee.
The athletic department presently sponsors 18 intercollegiate sports and will start competing in the sport of baseball in the 2009-10 academic year. The school is in Year One of the NCAA reclassification process towards moving up to Division I status.