WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., May 4, 2017 — West Liberty University President Dr. Stephen Greiner has announced the appointment of Lynn Ullom as the university’s new athletic director.
The winningest women’s basketball coach in West Virginia collegiate history, Ullom takes the reins after serving as co-interim athletic director with head football coach Roger Waialae for the 2016-17 academic year. He will manage operations and oversight of the university’s 18 NCAA Division II sports while promoting continued athletic and academic excellence for all student-athletes.
“After a nationwide search, I’m pleased to announce the selection of Coach Lynn Ullom as West Liberty University’s full-time athletic director,” Dr. Greiner said. “Lynn has provided strong leadership and direction over the past year while serving as co-interim athletic director and I am confident he will continue to drive the excellence of Hilltopper Athletics for our student-athletes.”
A 1985 West Liberty graduate and a member of the WLU Athletic Hall of Fame, Ullom has spent more than three decades on the university campus as a student, coach and administrator.
“I’m really excited about meeting this new challenge,” Ullom said. “I have been fortunate enough to pursue the love of my life, coaching basketball, and now I’ve been given a new set of challenges that will still enable me to maintain my relationships with student-athletes while taking a more active role in addressing their needs and enhancing their experience on the WLU campus.
“I feel blessed to be employed at a great university with one of the region’s finest athletic departments. We have outstanding leadership in our upper administration that has set very ambitious goals in positioning our university for the future. Intercollegiate athletics has always played a prominent role in higher education and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to help advance our school’s mission.”
Ullom has spent the past quarter-century building the WLU women’s basketball program into a perennial NCAA Division II Atlantic Region power. Averaging more than 20 wins a season over the past 26 years, his 534-252 (.679) career record ranks among the nation’s top 15 NCAA Division II coaches in wins and winning percentage.
His Lady Hilltoppers have posted 17 20-win seasons, won five regular-season conference titles, six conference tournament crowns, played in 14 conference tournament championship games, advanced to the conference tournament “Final Four” in 20 of the past 23 seasons and earned 14 NCAA tournament bids.
A 3-time Conference Coach of the Year, Ullom was the first women’s sports coach ever to earn the prestigious West Virginia College Coach of the Year Award from the West Virginia Sportswriters Association. He was also named the 2011 WBCA Region 2 Coach of the Year and was a 2016 Victory Award Club recipient at the WBCA national convention.
Ullom’s teams and players have set numerous school records and won multiple NCAA athletic and academic honors. No less than 52 Lady Hilltoppers have been first- or second-team All-Conference selections during the Ullom Era and every player who finished her career at West Liberty has earned her degree. Six of his former assistant coaches have gone on to become head coaches at the collegiate level.
In addition to his coaching achievements, Ullom has also gained extensive administrative experience during his time on the hilltop. After serving as the school’s Sports Information Director for more than a decade he spent several years as Associate Athletic Director under the legendary Jim Watson before filling the role of co-interim AD this year. He also chairs the WLU Hall of Fame Committee.
“Having the chance to work with somebody of the caliber of Jim Watson was invaluable to me,” Ullom said. “Coach Watson was the driving force behind ushering our conference and our school into NCAA Division II and it’s impossible to overstate his impact on the rise and development of our athletic department. It was a great learning experience for me.”
In his capacity as Associate AD, Ullom had the opportunity to represent the WLU athletic department on numerous university committees, including two stints on the institution’s Strategic Master Planning Committee. At the conference and regional levels, he served several terms as President of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Group and was a long-time member of the NCAA Division II Regional Basketball Advisory Committee.
In their roles as co-interim athletic directors, Ullom and Waialae were able to bring several projects to fruition.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Roger Waialae this year,” Ullom said. “He’s a great colleague who was actively involved in all aspects throughout our interim appointment. We were fortunate to be able to launch numerous initiatives, including the addition of Men’s Soccer and Acrobatics & Tumbling to our athletic program. I’m thankful for the opportunity to gain a valuable year of experience before assuming the title on a full-time basis.”
A native of Cameron, W.Va., Ullom has two children, Jared, a student at Wheeling Park High School, and Tessa, a student at Warwood Middle School. He and his wife, Karen, reside in Wheeling. Karen has two daughters, Micah and Alycia.
ABOUT WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education and offering nearly 70 undergraduate majors and 30 programs. Graduate programs include the Master of Arts in Education, the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, the Master of Professional Studies, the Master of Science in Criminology and the online MBA degrees. For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB (1.866.937.8542)