Will Lawler, Assistant Commissioner for Compliance at the Southeastern Conference since January 2013, has been named Executive Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at the University of Georgia according to an announcement Thursday by UGA J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity.

“Will brings an extraordinary depth of experience to our program and we are so fortunate to have him join the Bulldog family,” said McGarity.

Prior to joining the SEC office, Lawler served as Director of Compliance at the University of Tennessee in 2012 and 2013.

“The University of Georgia is a special place, and I am excited and honored to be joining the team,” Lawler said. “My family and I look forward to the transition to Athens and getting started in the coming weeks.”

His duties with the SEC included serving as the staff liaison to the SEC’s Faculty Athletics Representatives and Compliance Directors, as well as serving as SEC member institution’s primary contact for NCAA and SEC rule interpretations His role also included advising member institutions regarding various other NCAA and SEC matters.

At Tennessee Lawler was responsible for coordinating various aspects of the Volunteers’ compliance program. He also served as the compliance department’s liaison to Tennessee’s Faculty Athletics Representative, the Registrar’s Office, the Admissions Office and the Thornton Academic Center.

Prior to joining the staff at Tennessee, Lawler was the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance at Western Kentucky (2011-12), Compliance Coordinator at Arkansas State during the 2010-11 academic year, and served four years as an attorney with the law firms of Adams and Reese and Carr Allison, both located in Birmingham.

Lawler is a 2002 graduate of Samford University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history as a Dean’s List student and was a member of the school’s football team. He earned a Juris Doctorate, graduating cum laude from Samford’s Cumberland School of Law, in May 2006.