Bio

Christie Ward was announced as Catawba College's Deputy Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator in July of 2022. Ward will assist and support the Director of Athletics by providing leadership, organization, administrative oversight, and evaluation for the Department of Athletics.  

In her role, Ward serves as the senior most member of the Director of Athletics’ administrative leadership team, oversees components of game day operations, marketing, special events, and community engagement. She will also have oversight of the department budget as well as administrative supervision of selected teams

Other duties Ward will supervise the Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance to ensure compliance of NCAA, SAC and Catawba College regulations, management and regular review of team and department budgets, serving as the primary liaison to the Student Affairs office (discipline, financial obligations, academic issues, and student-athlete welfare), and directing all championships and tournaments hosted by Catawba College which includes the completion of necessary NCAA host bids for postseason play. 

Prior to Catawba, Ward served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Colorado State University Pueblo. While there, Ward administered the day-to-day internal operations of the athletics program in coordination with the Athletic Director, served as the Title IX Coordinator, RMAC/NCAA Compliance Coordinator for Athletics, and was also the liaison with Academic Departments, Admissions, Registrar’s Office, Residence Life, Student Conduct, Financial Aid and Title IX Office.

Ward also developed a master list and oversaw all NCAA, RMAC, and federal reporting requirements, served as the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development, and oversaw Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She was responsible for hiring, supervising, and setting schedules of all administration work study students, and she managed student-athlete complaints and disciplinary issues with head coaches. Ward served as the Athletic department grant writer and author of Department Standard Operating Procedures and Student-Athlete Handbook at CSU Pueblo, as well as serve as a member of the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame Committee.

In her role, she also supervised the Coordinator for Student-Athlete Services, Director of Sports Medicine, and Director of Sport Performance while also supervising the operation of Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s lacrosse and Softball. On top of that, she served as an informed member of the RMAC Council of Athletics Administrators and was on the Senior Staff, Administrative and Executive committees for the athletic department. 

Before her stop at CSU Pueblo, Ward spent 12 years at Georgia Southwestern State University as the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance from 2009 until 2015 then, transitioned to Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator from 2015 until 2021. 

In her Associate Athletic Director role with GSW, Ward served on several Division II committees including:

• Division II Committee on Infractions (appointed January 2016 to September 2021)
• Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for Women’s Tennis (2016 to September 2021)
• Division II Management Council (appointment started January 2019-September 2021)
• Division II Membership Committee (2020-2021)
• Division II Enforcement & Infractions Task Force (2020)

Ward received her Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. She also earned her bachelor's degree from Georgia Southwestern where she graduated magna cum laude with a 3.88 GPA.

As a student-athlete, Ward was a two-time Academic All-American and a two-time All-Conference softball player at GSW in 2002 and 2003. She also was a Third Team All-Region selection in 2003.

Ward currently resides in Salisbury.