Vice-Chancellor/Athletic Director
LSU
Joe Alleva LSU Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Joe Alleva continues to bring unprecedented national recognition to LSU as Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics. Under Alleva’s leadership, LSU enjoys one of the country’s premier athletics programs with success on and off the field of competition. Now in his fourth season at LSU, Alleva is dedicated to athletic and academic excellence, and is committed to providing the opportunities and the resources necessary for student-athletes to excel in competition, in the classroom and in the community. Alleva joined the LSU family on April 4, 2008 after a highly successful tenure as director of athletics at Duke University for 10 years. Alleva’s role at LSU was further expanded in August of 2009 when vice chancellor was added to his title by the LSU Board of Supervisors. It is the first time in school history that the director of athletics has also held a vice chancellor position. Alleva was recently appointed to a five-year term on the prestigious NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, reinforcing his position as one of the most respected athletic administrators in the country. Upon his arrival at LSU, Alleva unveiled a strategic master plan for the LSU athletics program -- “LSU: Thru and True” -- to ensure the advancement and future of LSU Athletics as an exemplary program. The central mission of the plan is to create an environment for student-athletes to reach their ultimate potential, prepare them to be champions in life and to set out goals and values for the entire athletics program. Alleva’s vision for LSU athletics facilities includes plans to enhance the appearance of Tiger Stadium and transform the North Stadium Drive corridor into a showplace for the university. Under his direction, LSU’s worldrenowned track and field program received a state-of the-art running surface last year when a new track was installed in Bernie Moore Stadium. Extensive renovations to the Tiger soccer facility will be completed this fall, and future plans include a new gymnastics practice facility, a tennis complex, and renovations to the Maravich Center and field house. Alleva directed a major renovation to the University Club golf course that was completed in September 2010 and allows the LSU men’s and women’s golf teams to compete on one of the most challenging courses in the country. The renovated course helped prepare Tiger golfers John Peterson and Austin Ernst, respectively, to win 2011 NCAA men’s and women’s individual championships, marking the first time both titles were claimed by players from the same school. The Lady Tiger golfers were third in the final team standings, marking the highest finish in LSU history. LSU Athletics completed another highly successful year in 2010-11, highlighted by a Fighting Tiger football squad that posted an 11-2 mark – including a Cotton Bowl victory – and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation. The 2010-11 athletic year also featured Top 5 national finishes both indoors and outdoors by the men’s and women’s track and field teams. In 2008-09, all 20 LSU sports competed in NCAA postseason play for the first time in school history and the Tiger baseball team won
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the national championship. This past year LSU ranked second among Southeastern Conference teams in the Learfield Director’s Cup All-Sports standings and finished in the Top 20 for the sixth year in a row. Alleva ensures that the Cox Communications Academic Center for StudentAthletes is a first-class facility that provides student-athletes the resources necessary for success in the classroom and personal development. The facility was recently enhanced by the addition of a media training center that gives student-athletes valuable assistance in improving their communications skills. And with a strong emphasis on community service and outreach programs, the implementation under Alleva’s direction of the “Geaux Givers” program fosters a relationship between the local community and LSU student-athletes, who regularly participate in philanthropic events. In addition, Alleva has bolstered the department’s L-Club program to reach out and connect with former student-athletes. Alleva oversees a staff of outstanding coaches and he made two critical additions to LSU’s coaching staff in the off-season. He lured the dynamic Nikki Caldwell to LSU to coach the Lady Tiger basketball team and then hired Beth Torina to direct the Tiger softball program, bringing a new wealth of knowledge and passion to the LSU women’s sports program. Alleva is an innovator with bold ideas that benefit not only LSU but all of Greater Baton Rouge. He has been instrumental in the planning of the Bayou Country Superfest, a twoday country music concert and festival held in Tiger Stadium each spring. The event attracts nearly 100,000 visitors to the LSU campus and makes a tremendous economic impact upon the local community.
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Alleva has served on numerous national committees throughout his career including the Football Bowl Certification Committee, the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and several Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference committees. He became director of athletics at Duke in 1998 and his impressive tenure there propelled the university into the ranks of America’s top all-around collegiate programs. Among his outstanding list of accomplishments includes the greatest 10-year period in Duke Athletics, winning more ACC and NCAA championships than in any other decade in school history. Alleva, whose hometown is Suffern, N.Y., majored in Finance at Lehigh University and received his bachelor’s degree in 1975. While at Lehigh, Alleva was the quarterback of the football team and team captain in 1974. Alleva also played on the Lehigh baseball team. He served as a graduate assistant football coach and earned an MBA in 1976. While at Duke, Alleva played a key role in Durham’s community sports scene. He started Little League Baseball in Durham over 20 years ago, and also began the American Legion baseball program. He is a member of the North Carolina American Legion Hall of Fame, Suffern High School Hall of Fame and the Rockland County Hall of Fame. Alleva and his wife, Annie, have three children, J.D., Jeff, and Jenny.
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