May 2, 2014

Anton Goff, currently the Director of Athletics at Bowie State University, was named the next athletic director at the University of Hartford, as announced by President Walter Harrison at a press conference on Friday morning. Goff's introduction as the University of Hartford's fifth athletic director concludes a national search for a successor to Patricia H. Meiser, who announced her retirement after spending 21 years at Hartford. He will assume his new position at Hartford in July.

"I am absolutely delighted that we have attracted an individual of Anton's capabilities to be our athletics director," said Harrison. "I am excited by the energy, the enthusiasm, and the experience that he brings to this university. I can't wait to work with him in further strengthening our athletic program."

Goff has nearly 20 years of experience in athletic administration. Prior to his three-plus year stint at Bowie State, he held positions at the University of Maryland, Michigan State University, Kent State University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

"I was attracted to Hartford athletics by its academic and athletic accomplishments," Goff declared. "This university has created opportunities for students to be successful both in the classroom and on the field, and I want to build on that. I want Hartford Athletics to dominate academically and athletically."

The Pittsburg native was named the Director of Athletics at Division II Bowie State in October of 2010, and since his appointment, he has increased the academic success rate of the programs while capturing Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Championship titles in men's basketball and women's bowling, both in 2013.

Under his leadership, Bowie State has enhanced their existing facilities, including a remodeled fitness center and weight room in the Leonidas S. James Complex, the addition of lights at the football stadium, the installation of air conditioning and a revamped sound system in the A.C. Jordan Arena, and the installation of a field house at Bulldogs Stadium.

In addition to facility growth, Goff developed and initiated the 1,001 Bulldogs Booster Club, which is the first organized fundraising effort for the athletic department. This initiative more than tripled athletic donations at Bowie State. The current president of the CIAA Athletic Directors Associations, he also served on the CIAA Football Competition Committee and the CIAA Basketball Tournament Committee during his time at Bowie State and was a member of the CIAA Management Council.

Prior to his appointment at Bowie State, Goff was an Associate Athletic Director at Maryland where he served as a supervisor for six sports. In that role, he managed multi-million dollar budgets while directing the academic support and student services for over 700 student-athletes on 27 varsity teams.

Goff had previously served as the Assistant Director for Academic Support and Career Development at Maryland from November 1998 through January 2001. While at Maryland, he developed an academic program for the men's basketball team under coach Gary Williams. That academic program resulted in a graduation rate of 75 percent or higher for individual cohorts while raising the APR scores above the 925 threshold.

Prior to returning to Maryland in 2004, Goff spent three-plus years at Michigan State University where he served as the Associate Director of Student-Athlete Support Services. At MSU he coordinated all academic support services for football student-athletes, which included supervising a staff of 17-19 academic counselors, mentors and tutors.

Highlighting his achievements at Michigan State was the inception of the Intensive Learning Program, an initiative that reduced the football team's number of academically ineligible and probations student-athletes from 47 to two within a one-year period. He also formalized the process of identifying at-risk student-athletes through standardized testing, interview and academic research.

Goff's initial venture into athletics administration started in 1995 at Kent State University where he worked as an Academic Counselor and CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator. In this position, he worked with the football, men's basketball, and men's and women's track and field teams and also served as the Diversity Liaison for the department.

A former football player at Bowling Green State University (1986-89), Goff earned a Bachelor of Science in the administration of justice from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1991. He went on to receive a master's degree in the same discipline from VCU in 1994.

Goff and his wife Wendy, a former volleyball standout at Gonzaga (1992-95), have two daughters: nine-year-old Alexa and five-year-old Gianna.