YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics has named Christian Spears as its Deputy Director of Athletics. The announcement was made today, July 28,  by EMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke.  His first official day will be on Aug. 11.

Spears will join the athletic department's Executive Leadership Team and oversee the External Division including development, marketing, corporate partnership efforts, fan experience and media relations. He also will lead strategies to increase ticket sales, merchandise and other revenue streams. In addition, Spears will assist with the administration of the football program and be responsible for football scheduling.  

"With his strong leadership skills, intellectual abilities, solid experience in all facets of intercollegiate athletics administration and his passion for making a positive difference in the lives of student-athletes, Christian is the ideal person to add to our administrative team," Lyke said.  "I am honored to welcome Christian and his family to the Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics."

"What an amazing time to be at Eastern," added Spears. "The team that Heather is putting together with the support of President Martin has the opportunity to make a substantial impact on the future of Intercollegiate Athletics at Eastern Michigan University.  Eastern is uniquely positioned for tremendous growth and we will continue to develop new ideas and initiatives that honor the student-athlete experience while creating an environment that is engaging for our students, faculty, staff and the Southeastern Michigan community."
    
Spears arrives in Ypsilanti following a five-year tenure in the Northern Illinois University Athletics Department where he most recently served as the Deputy Director of Athletics and as the sport administrator for the NIU football team. He also served as the acting director of athletics for nearly five months while NIU conducted a national search for their new Director of Athletics following the football team's Orange Bowl appearance in 2013.

While in DeKalb, Spears' responsibilities included serving as the primary liaison between several campus units and Intercollegiate Athletics, including Academic Affairs and Student Affairs as well as the Office of General Counsel.

Additionally, Spears directly supervised the following administrative areas for NIU: Academics, Compliance, Life Skills, Strength and Conditioning, Sport Psychology, Football Operations and Equipment. Moreover, he coordinated the department's Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Graduation Success Rate (GSR). He was also the sport AD for football, men's basketball, baseball, cross country and track and field.

In addition to his duties at Northern Illinois, Spears served as president of the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) in 2012-13 and on the NAAC Board of Directors from 2008-14.  

Prior to joining NIU, Spears served for six years at Southern Illinois University, where he was the Assistant Athletic Director. Spears came to SIU in fall of 2003 from Harvard University.

Spears began his career as a graduate student working in the athletic marketing office at Long Beach State University; he then served as the Big Ten Minority Intern for Ohio State University working in their athletic compliance office while he matriculated through the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State.

Spears is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he majored in political science. He obtained a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Long Beach State University in 1998 and he received his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law in 2002.

Spears and his wife, Julia, have three children, Rainier, Kai and Skyla.
 

The Christian Spears File
Name:	Christian Spears
High School:	San Marino H.S. - San Marino, Calif.
College:	University of Washington - Bachelor's degree in Political Science - 1996
	Long Beach State University - Master's degree in Public Administration - 1998
	The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law - Juris Doctorate - 2002
Family:	Wife - Julia; Children - Rainier, Kai and Skyla
Professional Experience
Year	School/Company	Position
2009-14	Northern Illinois University	Deputy Director of Athletics
March-Aug. 2013	Northern Illinois University	Acting Director of Athletics
2003-09	Southern Illinois University	Assistant Athletic Director
2002-03	Harvard University	Assistant Director for Athletic Compliance
2000-02	The Ohio State University	Big Ten Conference Minority Intern
1997-99	Long Beach State University	Assistant Director of Marketing
1996-97	Long Beach State University	Graduate Administrative Assistant