Dartmouth's athletic department is losing former Athletic Director Richard Jaeger this year but has made very strong moves to replace him. Having named Joann Harper to replace Jaeger, yesterday Dartmouth announced that it was hiring Brian Austin to be the senior associate director of Athletics for the College.
Austin has a very strong reputation stemming from his six-year term as the athletic director at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. Austin was the first individual to hold that position as a full-time job in the University's 65-year athletic history.
Austin was instrumental in bringing Transylvania toward full membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Transylvania had previously been part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which it had been a founding member of in 1937.
Under Austin's leadership, however, the Pioneers joined the NCAA's Division III in 2000.
"Brian provided excellent leadership to our athletics department during a time of significant change," said Transylvania president Charles L. Shearer. "We congratulate Brian on this opportunity and thank him for his six years of leadership and service."
The Ivy League knows Austin and his reputation quite well. Prior to accepting the athletic director's position at Transylvania, Austin was an associate athletics director at Cornell from 1994-96 after being promoted from assistant athletics director, a position he held from 1987-1994.
He will continue to hold his position at Transylvania through September 6 and his appointment will become effective at Dartmouth on September 12.
According to Harper, "We're delighted to have Brian join the Dartmouth athletic department. He has a wealth of broad-based experience, and his knowledge of the Ivy League is a particular asset."
Austin is a native of nearby Keene, N.H. and graduated from Amherst College in 1983. He later received a master's degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1987.
The appointment of Austin caps a week of hirings in the Dartmouth athletic department. Three new assistant coaches were higher on this past Thursday.
Bradley Trottier, a 2000 graduate of the University of New Hampshire was named the assistant linebackers coach for the Big Green football team. Trottier was a starting defensive end at UNH after receiving an all-state selection as the captain of Lebanon High School's football team in 1996.
The Big Green men's lacrosse team welcomed Dan Chemotti to their ranks as an assistant coach. Chemotti graduated from Duke in 2002 and was the captain of the Blue Devils' lacrosse team. He was also selected in the Major League Lacrosse draft by the Rochester Rattlers.
Dartmouth's field hockey team rounded out the hirings with the addition of Andy Smith as an assistant coach. A native of Doncaster, England, Smith had been coaching various teams at the Beeston Hockey Club in England prior to coming to Hanover.
