Bio

Vice President for Athletics Michelle Caddigan began her third full academic year at Catawba College in the fall of 2024, leading the Athletic Department’s steady rise as among the most successful in the South Atlantic Conference, Southeast region and beyond. During the 2023-24 academic year, Catawba set a department record for highest ranking in the Learfield Cup.  Catawba finished 32nd (just six years ago, Catawba ranked 244th), higher than any program in the Southeast outside of the SAC. Additionally, Catawba set a 17-year high with a third-place finish in the SAC Echols Excellence Award.

Last season, three Catawba teams and four individuals competed at the NCAA National Championship site, four earned All-American status, six teams participated in the NCAA Tourna­ment, two were named SAC Scholar-Athletes of the Year, four earned SAC Coach of the Year, seven were named Player/Runner/Pitcher of the Year, Catawba was named SAC Athletic Communica­tions Staff of the Year, Catawba Women’s Swimming earned the number one GPA in the country, while the department as a whole earned a 3.434 GPA.

Upon her arrival to Salisbury in January of 2022, Caddigan was tasked with organizing a department experiencing an immense amount of turnover. In her first 20 months as Director of Athletics, Caddigan led the hiring of eight head coaches and five administrators. Since those hires, Catawba has retained every head coach, while also adding Men’s Volleyball.  The Catawba Indians have claimed two region titles already during her tenure, with both reaching the national semifinals, along with six team conference titles.

Caddigan brought 25 years of administrative and coaching experience to Catawba College’s Athletic Department.  She was promoted to Deputy Director of Athletics in January of 2019 at Wingate while also serving as the Senior Woman Administrator. Caddigan served as the SWA since 2000 and coached the softball team from 1997-2012. She assumed the role of assistant athletic director from 2006-2012 and was promoted to Associate AD in 2012.   

Caddigan has served on multiple Regional Advisory Committees and was a member of the Division II Women’s Volleyball National Committee from 2013-2017. She chaired the committee from 2015-2017. She is a 2017 graduate of the Women Leaders in College Sports Executive Institute.  She was honored with the South Atlantic David Riggins Service Award in 2020

Before moving into administration full time, Caddigan spent 16 seasons as Wingate’s softball coach, compiling a 529-287-3 overall record. Caddigan reached the 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350-win plateau quicker than any other softball coach in South Atlantic Conference history. The Bulldogs finished in third place or better 13 of her 16 Wingate seasons as head coach. She guided the Wingate program to two SAC regular season championships seven second-place finishes, four third-place finishes and three conference tournament titles during her coaching career. She was named league coach of the year four times.

Caddigan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in K-12 Health and Physical Education from James Madison University. She earned her Masters of Science from James Madison in Kinesiology with a concentration in Athletic Administration. After graduating from JMU, she taught Health and Physical education and coached softball, basketball and volleyball at C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Va.  She was inducted into the Potomac High School Hall of Fame in 2003.