Darrice Griffin, Deputy Director of Athletics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst since July and a senior athletic administrator at UMass since 2015, has been named Deputy Director of Administration at the University of Georgia Athletic Association, according to an announcement Wednesday by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity.

 

Griffin was promoted to Deputy Director of Athletics at UMass in July after two years as Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations/Senior Woman Administrator in June 2015. She oversaw day-to-day operations relating to student-athletes, facilities and competitions, while also serving on numerous campus committees and as the liaison with many campus constituents. Additionally, Griffin was also the department’s Senior Woman Administrator during her entire tenure in Amherst.

”We are very excited to welcome Darrice to the Bulldog Family,” said McGarity. “She is the perfect fit for our program. This is an important first step as we reorganize our administrative staff.”

Also during her time at UMass, Griffin had administrative oversight responsibilities for a number of Minutemen sports, including football, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, field hockey and softball. With those programs, she assisted with budgeting, competitive scheduling and the well-being of coaches, staff and student-athletes.

Prior to her arrival in Amherst, Griffin spent the previous six years (2010-2015) at Columbia University, including the last four as Associate Athletics Director for Intercollegiate Sports Programs. In that role, she oversaw a number of Columbia’s sports programs, was the University’s liaison to Barnard College — Columbia’s partner institution in New York City — and was responsible for gender and diversity initiatives within the department of athletics.

With the Lions, Griffin had oversight for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and baseball. She worked alongside the offices of admissions and financial aid, while also assisting in fundraising and development initiatives for both the athletic department at-large and her assigned sport programs. Griffin played a role in several student-athlete initiatives, including Columbia’s The First-Year Transition Program and The Leaders for Life Program.

Within the University itself, Griffin was an active member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault, had a leadership role on the University Bystander Intervention Task Force and played a key role in the University-wide initiative Step-Up.

Griffin originally joined the Lions as Director of Women’s Basketball Operations and Special Projects in August 2009 before moving into the senior leadership position the following summer.

A native of Seagraves, Texas, Griffin was a standout basketball student-athlete at Texas Tech, graduating in 2007 with cum laude honors in psychology. She was a four-time recipient of the Texas Tech Student-Athlete Merit Award, a two-time Academic All-Big 12 Conference honoree and was named an Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar in 2007. Griffin comes from an elite basketball family. Her mother, Tami Wilson, played at Texas Tech from 1990-92 and her sister, Teddy, also played for the Lady Raiders from 2005-08.

Griffin was the 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas. She was also an All-Texas First-Team selection and a McDonald’s All-American.