Adrianne Swinney /// Chief Operating Officer /// University of Connecticut (DI)

Adrianne Swinney joined University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Athletics in April of 2014 as Senior Associate Athletics Director/SWA and was elevated to Deputy Athletics Director/SWA on April 1, 2015. As the Deputy Athletics Director, she is the second in command and is responsible for day-to-day operations of the department inclusive of strategic planning, direction, and conduct of the program. Swinney provides oversight for compliance, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, and serves as dotted line administrator for academics. She has served as a primary administrator for 16 of the 19 Seahawk programs. She currently oversees basketball (W), soccer (M), volleyball, beach volleyball and has recently taken on oversight for baseball. She is also a principal liaison to the Faculty Athletics Council, Dean of Students Office, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of Title IX and Clery Compliance and various other areas on-campus.   
 
Swinney boasts a unique career path. She began her career in Athletics in 2001 as a certified athletic trainer. Her service in the field of Athletic Training included a two-year stint at Jackson State University as the Assistant Athletic Trainer, as well as five years of service at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, as the Director of Sports Medicine. During her five-year tenure at Paul Quinn College, Swinney blossomed in other areas of the field serving as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach, the Associate Director of Institutional Programs (Athletics) and the Interim Director of Institutional Programs (Athletics).She has worked her way to the second in command at all 3 institutions where she has served.  

Despite a variety of professional experiences, Swinney’s commitment to excellence, to a quality student-athlete experience, and to organizational transformation and growth has remained a constant focal point of her work. It remains at the center and heart of all she does and is motivation for service at the institutional, conference, and national levels as well as within her local community. Adrianne is actively involved on campus currently serving on 9 committees including the Chancellor’s Leadership Council and the Campus Climate Workgroup. She is also actively involved in the CAA as Chair of the Scheduling and Program Standards Committee, as a member of the Women’s Basketball Enhancement Committee, and the S-A Wellness and Sports Performance Committee. Swinney currently serves as the Chair of the Women Leaders Professional Development and Continuing Education Committee as well. 

Adrianne is a proud alumnus of Mississippi State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education in 2000. She obtained a master’s degree in business management from Dallas Baptist University in 2009 and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree from Jackson State University. She is also a graduate of the NCAA Leadership Institute, Women Leaders IAA, LEI, and EI and has also participated in the NCAA Achieving Communication Success Workshop. Swinney often “pays it forward” by supporting organizations in their educational endeavors and offerings. She has served as a panelist for the NCAA Leadership Institute, its Alumni Professional Development workshops, for NACDA-CABMA Convention, as a faculty member for Women Leaders IAA (East/West), and is slated to serve as a faculty member for Women Leaders LEI this summer.