March 5, 2012

Morrow, Ga., March 5, 2012 – For only the second time in school history, Clayton State University has a new athletic director.

The University announced on Monday that Carl McAloose will be the Lakers new athletic director, overseeing the institution’s 12-sport NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics program that competes in the Peach Belt Conference.

"I would like to thank Dr. (Tim) Hynes for the great opportunity he has given me because I think Clayton State has the potential to be one of the top NCAA II athletic programs in the country,” said McAloose. “Mason Barfield has done a great job assembling a fantastic group of coaches, and I hope to continue to build upon his dream.”

He added, “I believe with the university leadership and the location of the University, we can do something extremely special. My goal will be to create an outstanding environment for our student-athletes that enable them to be successful in the classroom and in the playing arena."

Clayton State President Hynes said, “We are delighted that Mr. Carl McAloose will be our next director of athletics. He brings to Clayton State a wealth of knowledge and experience both as an athletic director and as a conference commissioner. We anticipate that he will build on the foundations of an excellent program now, and only make it better-measured not only by continued athletic excellence, but by expanded student academic success, community engagement, and community support.”

McAloose takes over the Laker program after the retirement of long-time athletic director Barfield in the fall of 2011. He had served as the school’s only athletic director, starting the intercollegiate program in the 1990s. Assistant athletic director and head cross-country and track coach Mike Mead has served as the interim athletic director for last six months.

“I do want to take this chance to thank retired athletic director Mason Barfield, who’s 22 years of dedication to this institution helped attract an incredibly rich pool of gifted candidates from which Mr. McAloose emerged,” said Dr. Hynes. “I also want to thank coach Mike Mead, whose service on an interim basis helped continue the forward momentum of the program.”

McAloose most recently served as president and CEO of Athletics Staffing & Consulting, a consulting company that supports college and university athletic programs with feasibility studies, strategic planning, compliance reviews, NCAA membership initiatives and conference realignment proposals.

Prior to his role with Athletics Staffing & Consulting, he served as the director of athletics at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL from 2000 to 2008. Like Barfield at Clayton State, McAloose built the FGCU program from scratch in 2000, overseeing a program with 14 sports and an annual operating budget of $8 million.

A few of his more notable achievements at FGCU include: Leading the program’s move to NCAA Division I and the A-Sun Conference in 2007, the fastest in NCAA history; overseeing the construction of the University’s $30 million athletic complex, which included multiple facilities; and helping secure a $5 million gift, the largest cash contribution in the school’s 10-year history, for the construction of the school’s $20 million Alico Arena.

In addition to his success in building the FGCU program, several individual teams and many student-athletes were also successful on the playing field, in the classroom and active in the community during his tenure at the school.

The FGCU student-athlete grade point average was over 3.1 each semester and the department averaged over 7,500 hours of community service each year. Ten athletic squads advanced to the NCAA postseason in the school’s final year at the Division II level, which included two teams ranked No. 1 in the country. Later at the Division I level, seven FGCU teams won conference championships in the school’s first two years of competing at the NCAA’s highest membership level.

Along with his experience as an athletic director, McAloose also brings a wealth of experience in athletic conference administration. He served as the commissioner of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference from 1996 to 2000 after serving as the associate commissioner in the Big South Conference from 1992 to 1996. He also served in associate athletic director roles at both Coast Carolina University and at West Chester University.

He earned a master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Physical Education and Athletic Administration from Frostburg State University in 1988. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from McDaniel College.

McAloose has three children Krista, 19; Savannah, 16; and Hunter, 14. His oldest daughter Krista plans to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, in June.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.