Hamilton chosen to lead EWU athletics

Expect a lot of enthusiasm this afternoon when Dr. Darren Hamilton is introduced as Eastern Washington University’s new athletic director.

“One thing I always tell people is I’ve always been a part of something the athletic department has never done before,” Hamilton said Monday afternoon after arriving at the Spokane International Airport.

Hamilton, most recently athletic director at Chicago State, pointed to his first collegiate experience as a wide receiver at Penn State. The Nittany Lions, who never played for a national championship, won it all in 1982, his freshman year, and lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl his senior year.

There were smaller successes at his stops in athletic administration. He was assistant A.D. at Cheyney State (1992-94) and Bowling Green (2000-02) and coordinator for Academic Services at Duke (2002-05).

“How do you spell success?” he asked. “H.A.M.I.L.T.O.N.”

“We’re happy we can get involved with a program and institution that not only has pride, but not to sound cliché, it’s a great time to be an Eagle. Other people are dropping in enrollment, Eastern is increasing. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?”

Eastern appeals to Hamilton for two reasons, he said.

“One of the things that I certainly was very interested in was having an athletic director job that had a football program,” he said. “And my interest really heightened when (Chicago State) went through an NCAA investigation. The way I run a program doesn’t even push the envelope of those things.”

Hamilton said he was aware the Chicago State women’s basketball program was about to come off probation when he took the job but was told there was no other reason to be concerned. Two weeks after he started, the NCAA said it was coming to investigate because the school had fallen below 14 sanctioned athletic programs, the NCAA minimum. He was also told that had been an on-going problem for five years.

“They weren’t up front and honest with me,” he said. “At my six-month point I started pursuing other jobs. When the Eastern Washington job came open I started pursuing a job I wanted.

“Given my past of being at a school that has football and a program that does it the right way made it more rewarding to choose this position.”

Hamilton was a standout athlete at E.L. Myers High School in Wilkes Barre, Pa., before going to Penn State. He graduated with a BS in speech communications in 1985, earned a master’s in exercise and sports science in 1988 and a PhD in black history and sociology of sport in 1991.

EWU associate athletic director-senior woman administrator Pam Parks has been interim A.D. since last summer when Scott Barnes left for an associate position at the University of Washington.

The job was not advertised until spring when Dr. Rodolfo Arevalo was hired as the new president.

After the 1:30 press conference on the third floor of the press box, the public is invited to meet Hamilton and his family on the second floor.

Hamilton will stay in Cheney all week and will attend the annual Ron Raver Memorial Golf Tournament on Wednesday. He will officially begin his job on Sept. 1.