FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State University President Dr. Mirta M. Martin and the University's Board of Governors announced the promotions of Tim McNeely and Chad Fowler to leadership positions within her administration and the Department of Athletics.
 
McNeely, who has served as Director of Athletics since March 2013, has been named Vice President of Student Affairs and Athletics at Fairmont State University. Fowler, who has served as Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Development since the summer of 2013, has been named Director of Athletics and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the department.
 
"Fairmont State University has been blessed by the passion and expertise of both Tim and Chad," said President Martin. "With their efforts, we have improved in every facet of athletics, from the court to the classroom and from the playing field to fundraising and donor development. We are not only more competitive and becoming more widely known nationally, but we're also winning where it counts: in the classroom with tremendous student-athlete success. These promotions ensure that Falcon athletics programs – and our dedicated student athletes – will continue to soar."
 
During McNeely's tenure as Director of Athletics, the department significantly improved its fundraising, competitiveness and academic goals – resulting in marked improvements and successes for Fairmont State athletics programs and student-athletes.
 
Six programs have reached NCAA Division II postseason competition under McNeely's leadership, including football, men's basketball, volleyball, women's swimming, men's swimming and men's tennis. The postseason appearances include Fairmont State's run to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in March 2017, when the men's basketball team finished one win shy of a national title in Sioux Falls, S.D. That same year, the Falcon football team finished the season with a 10-1 record and hosted an NCAA Division II Playoff Game for the first time in school history.
 
The Fairmont State football and men's basketball programs have each appeared in the top 25 of the national rankings in each of the last two seasons, including a No. 1 national ranking for the men's basketball team and a No. 17 ranking for the football team back in 2016.
 
The department's fundraising efforts have also seen significant improvement under McNeely, highlighted by the efforts to complete a $1.2 million renovation of Joe Retton Arena that was completed in November of 2014. The Department of Athletics has also significantly increased revenue generation through game day sponsorships, game day advertising and the $1000 Club.
 
The department also added its 16^th athletic program with the addition of women's soccer in the fall of 2013.
 
Prior to arriving in Fairmont, McNeely was in charge of the PGA TOUR's – The Greenbrier Classic, since the tournament's inception in 2009. The tournament, broadcasted annually by CBS, is considered one of the top stops on the PGA TOUR. In 2011, The Greenbrier Classic was awarded "Best in Class" by the PGA TOUR as the top event on tour that year.
 
Prior to The Greenbrier Classic, McNeely was the Executive Tournament Director of the PGA TOUR's – The Nationwide Tour Players Cup; the first ever $1MM purse on the now Web.com Tour.
 
A native of Logan County, McNeely was a four-year letterman on the WVU Basketball Team under Coach Gale Catlett and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Sport Management from West Virginia University in 1992. He continued his education at the WVU College of Law earning his law degree in 1995.
 
Fowler, who has served as Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Development for the past five years, has spent his entire career in professional athletics, collegiate athletics and professional sales.
 
During his tenure at Fairmont State, Fowler has helped acquire critical donors to complete the $1.2 million renovation to Joe Retton Arena in 2014. The renovation has significantly improved the game day experience for Falcon fans while also enhancing the critically important student-athlete experience at Fairmont State.
 
Fowler also launched the Fighting Falcon $1000 Club to help fund student-athlete scholarships and athletics programs at Fairmont State University. To date, the $1000 Club is approaching $1MM in donations for the Fairmont State Department of Athletics.
 
Fowler has also managed all game day sponsorship and advertising efforts since joining the department's administrative team in the summer of 2013.
 
Fowler began his professional career in 1996 with the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. He began his career as an Assistant Director for Community Relations where he helped service programs and charity fundraisers in conjunction with area organizations. He also helped implement the largest "Stay In School" program in the NBA with over 58,000 middle school students.
 
Fowler then became a Sponsor Services Manager with the Hornets for four years. He was responsible for managing sponsorship contracts in excess of $3 million dollars and sold promotional concepts to clients. He was in charge of creating sponsorship proposals, directed in-store promotional items and managed several special events for the organization.
 
Fowler came to Fairmont State University after spending more than a decade in pharmaceutical sales in Charlotte, NC., where he was among the national sales leaders for Schering-Plough Corporation and Merck & Company, Inc.
 
A Bridgeport, W.Va. native, Fowler currently resides in Morgantown and is a 1994 graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Sport Management.