ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION DR. ROBERT (BOB) BELL University President - Florida 1969 Dr. Robert (Bob) Bell, now in his 11th year as President of Tennessee Tech, is an avid supporter of TTU and Ohio Valley Conference sports. He currently chairs the OVC President’s Board of Directors. Bell became TTU’s President in 2000 after serving as dean, associate dean, assistant dean, and a chairperson in the university’s College of Business. After taking the post, he oversaw the reorganization of the athletics department, bringing in a full-time athletics director for the first time in almost 20 years. He has also been involved in statewide economic development on behalf of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, working on the THEC master plan focusing on links among higher education and stakeholders in business, health care and state government. Bell has served four terms on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award’s Board of Examiners and was appointed a charter member of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence in 1992, serving on the group’s panel of judges from 1994 to 2005. He represented Tennessee as a state delegate to the White House Conference on North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 and spent two years as an economic development consultant for the nation of Mauritius.
Dr. Bell has served on or chaired a variety of professional, regional and national organizations, including the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business International, the Southern Business Association, the North American Case Research Association, the Tennessee College Association, and a number of Tennessee higher education task forces, among others. In 2005, Bell was named the first recipient of the Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award, presented by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence. In the scholarly arena, he has been published extensively in the fields of management, organizational design, computer science and quality/productivity management, authoring two books and more than 70 articles, case studies and papers. Bell is also well known and respected in the Cookeville community. He has chaired the Cookeville-Area Putnam County Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, the Regional Quality Council and the Putnam Tomorrow Task Force for the Putnam County Commission. A past president of the local YMCA, Bell currently chairs the Cookeville Industrial Development Board and is a member of the Board of Directors for CityScape and Blood Assurance Corp. He has been an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America since 1988 and serves on the executive board for the Middle Tennessee Council of BSA. He is also a member of the Cookeville Rotary and Evening Lions Clubs.
MARK WILSON Director of Athletics - Maine 1991 Mark Wilson’s first six years as Director of Athletics at Tennessee Tech have been highlighted by vision, energy, and enthusiasm. Those factors have facilitated growth and excellence in all areas and have placed the focus on generating a better student-athlete experience. Wilson is currently serving an appointment on the NCAA Leadership Council through April, 2011. It gives the Ohio Valley Conference, TTU and Wilson a voice in a variety of strategic decisions that can affect intercollegiate athletics. Wilson, 41, has led Athletics to several milestone accomplishments during his first six years, including enhanced facilities and fund raising, high profile staff additions, and compliance and academic success. Under Wilson’s guidance, the program has continued to focus on the academic success of its student-athletes, with soaring numbers each semester on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. Tech’s studentathletes have achieved their highest overall combined semester GPAs. Wilson also developed a strategic plan for Tech’s athletic facilities and has already seen some of those plans become reality. During the past three years Tech has completed several construction projects to athletic facilities, including resurfacing the outdoor tennis courts, a new natural grass practice field, installation of new turf in Tucker Stadium, renovating the running track, renovating the football offices, meeting rooms and locker rooms, and new lights at Tucker Stadium. Most recently, Athletics opened a spacious, new basketball office complex in
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Eblen Center and construction is underway on an new Athletic Performance Center on the western edge of campus. Additional building plans call for a new student-athlete center. Another step achieved under Wilson’s direction has been increased fund raising and development efforts with the goal of providing the necessary resources for Tech’s student-athletes, coaches and staff. All of those accomplishments have come while the department has continued to stay focused on compliance with all NCAA rules and regulations. Wilson was named Director of Athletics on July 1, 2004. He came to Tennessee Tech from Ohio University. Since his first day at Tech, Wilson has made rapid and steady progress. He began by restructuring the department and implemented plans for a better student-athlete experience. In addition, athletics launched a dynamic new website, gained NCAA certification and was found in complete compliance, created a far-reaching “WIN” program for academic success, opened an entertaining and popular Tailgate Park, and started plans for two capital projects. Before going to Ohio, Mark served as the Director of Athletic Marketing for the University of Massachusetts. He also worked as a graduate assistant in the UMass athletic department and interned with the Northwestern University ticketing and marketing departments. Wilson received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 from the University of Maine in physical education and health, and earned his master’s in sports management from the University of Massachusetts in 1994. Mark and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Katey (15) and Meaghan (10).
TENNESSEE TECH FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE F 2010