William & Mary director of athletics Samantha K. Huge
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary announced Samantha K. Huge has been appointed as the new director of athletics effective May 1.
Huge, currently the senior associate director of athletics at Texas A&M University, has 17 years of Division I athletics administration experience. She will become the first woman to hold the position at William & Mary since the job was combined in the 1980s to cover both men's and women's sports. Huge will succeed Director of Athletics Terry Driscoll, who is retiring this year after 21 years. She will be introduced at a press conference Wednesday morning.
"William & Mary has a powerful tradition of athletic success and of doing varsity athletics right," said President Taylor Reveley. "Tribe Athletics requires a leader of great integrity and commitment to having athletes who thrive in classrooms and labs as well as on their teams. Samantha has the values, experience and determination to take W&M athletics to even greater heights, as we seek to provide a championship experience for every Tribe athlete and fan. We are delighted to welcome her to our community even as we are sad to see her splendid predecessor, Terry Driscoll, ride into the sunset."
At William & Mary, Huge will be a member of the president's senior leadership cabinet and will be responsible for more than 120 Tribe Athletics staff members and coaches. As the director of athletics, Huge will manage the organization's $24 million budget, serve as its primary fundraiser and oversee the continued implementation of the department's strategic plan, announced in April 2015, which includes providing "a championship experience for every student-athlete and every fan."
"I am truly honored and humbled to join the William & Mary family and I want to thank President Reveley and the Board of Visitors for their confidence in me," said Huge. "With world-class academics and a competitive athletic foundation in place, we will work to build on past success and raise the bar higher. I look forward to meeting our student-athletes, coaches, faculty, alumni and fans and I can't wait to get started to play my part at an amazing institution."
In addition to her professional interest in Tribe Athletics, Huge has a personal connection to the program, as well. Her brother Chris Huge '84, a W&M alumnus, played Tribe football from 1981 to 1983.
"Samantha's brother, Chris, was among my first recruiting classes, so she's got longstanding ties to the William & Mary family," said Tribe Football Coach Jimmye Laycock. "She's familiar with academically rigorous environments, having been at Georgetown and Wake Forest, plus she's been at a CAA peer and now Texas A&M. She's an impressive person, very candid and thoughtful, and someone who loves to win while doing things the right way. I am looking forward to working with her and expect that she will do very well."
