Cowherd Named UofL’s Associate AD for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
November 12, 2021 | General
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Derek Cowherd, a former University of Louisville football student-athlete with nearly 20 years of experience in athletic administration, has been appointed as Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Cardinal Athletics.
"I am excited for Derek to sign with UofL Athletics for the second time in his life," said Vice President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra. "Once, as football student athlete and now as a senior administrator in the athletics department. As a student athlete, he made a great impression on his teammates and coaches. As an athletics and academics administrator, he had the same impact on constituents from various areas attached to campus and athletics. His depth and breadth of his experience in diversity, equity and inclusion will add great value to the strides that we have made over the last handful of years. He will allow us to further stretch that impact across campus and our community as much as our department."
The new position within the UofL Athletics senior leadership team will elevate and oversee department-wide strategic initiatives to foster the improvement of diversity, equity and inclusion within the Athletic Department across all constituencies, including student athletes, staff, and the broader university community.
The position will serve as the athletic department's Chief Diversity Officer and will develop, facilitate, and implement DEI initiatives and programming for UofL Athletics that aligns with the department's goals and core beliefs, as well as the University's Cardinal Principles and strategic plan. Cowherd will be responsible for strategically partnering with the University's Office of Diversity and Equity, internal and external contacts to provide education and advocacy related to DEI, and provides expert guidance and leadership to all organizational levels to resolve significant and complex issues.
"I'm very honored to be coming back home to the University of Louisville," said Cowherd. "I am very excited to learn under Vince, a principled leader with such an accomplished record. I am also beyond elated to be led at the University level by such a visionary leader as President Neeli Bendapudi and to continue the hard work that has already begun."
Cowherd's most recent experience has been as a senior consultant since April with Third Eye Consulting Group, an Indianapolis-based firm with an emphasis on improving organizational and cultural understanding through equity-minded and culturally-responsive awareness and leadership competencies. The firm's clients have included Pacers Sports and Entertainment, Capital One, American Red Cross, Indianapolis Colts, and Northwestern University.
Prior to his role with Third Eye, Cowherd spent nearly three years at Ohio State as the Executive Director for Student-Athlete Support Services Offices & Senior Associate Athletics Director (2018-21). During his tenure, OSU student-athletes achieved record-high 3.36 cumulative GPA, and academic progress single year rate with an overall score of 995 for all thirty-six sports combined.
Cowherd served as the senior associate athletics director for student-athlete development at Ole Miss for six years (2012-18), where he helped to develop a variety of programs related to the academic success of student-athletes, pushing the graduation success rate to a school-best 86 percent while achieving four consecutive overall GPA's above 3.00 for the department for the first in school history.
Before heading to Mississippi, Cowherd was the director of academic affairs at LSU, a position he assumed in 2011 after joining LSU's Academic Center for Student-Athletes in 2007. His primary role at LSU was academic oversight of the Tiger football team while supervising seven full-time advisors and other sports staff.
Cowherd began his career in athletic administration at UofL, first, as a student-athlete, then graduate assistant, academic counselor, and ultimately as the assistant director for academics in athletics.
Cowherd, who competed with the Cardinals football program as a linebacker from 1994-96, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Med Biology from UofL in 1998 and completed his Master of Business and Public Administration in 2003. A native of Greensburg, Ky., Cowherd and his wife Misty have two children, Jackson and Eden.
"I am excited for Derek to sign with UofL Athletics for the second time in his life," said Vice President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra. "Once, as football student athlete and now as a senior administrator in the athletics department. As a student athlete, he made a great impression on his teammates and coaches. As an athletics and academics administrator, he had the same impact on constituents from various areas attached to campus and athletics. His depth and breadth of his experience in diversity, equity and inclusion will add great value to the strides that we have made over the last handful of years. He will allow us to further stretch that impact across campus and our community as much as our department."
The new position within the UofL Athletics senior leadership team will elevate and oversee department-wide strategic initiatives to foster the improvement of diversity, equity and inclusion within the Athletic Department across all constituencies, including student athletes, staff, and the broader university community.
The position will serve as the athletic department's Chief Diversity Officer and will develop, facilitate, and implement DEI initiatives and programming for UofL Athletics that aligns with the department's goals and core beliefs, as well as the University's Cardinal Principles and strategic plan. Cowherd will be responsible for strategically partnering with the University's Office of Diversity and Equity, internal and external contacts to provide education and advocacy related to DEI, and provides expert guidance and leadership to all organizational levels to resolve significant and complex issues.
"I'm very honored to be coming back home to the University of Louisville," said Cowherd. "I am very excited to learn under Vince, a principled leader with such an accomplished record. I am also beyond elated to be led at the University level by such a visionary leader as President Neeli Bendapudi and to continue the hard work that has already begun."
Cowherd's most recent experience has been as a senior consultant since April with Third Eye Consulting Group, an Indianapolis-based firm with an emphasis on improving organizational and cultural understanding through equity-minded and culturally-responsive awareness and leadership competencies. The firm's clients have included Pacers Sports and Entertainment, Capital One, American Red Cross, Indianapolis Colts, and Northwestern University.
Prior to his role with Third Eye, Cowherd spent nearly three years at Ohio State as the Executive Director for Student-Athlete Support Services Offices & Senior Associate Athletics Director (2018-21). During his tenure, OSU student-athletes achieved record-high 3.36 cumulative GPA, and academic progress single year rate with an overall score of 995 for all thirty-six sports combined.
Cowherd served as the senior associate athletics director for student-athlete development at Ole Miss for six years (2012-18), where he helped to develop a variety of programs related to the academic success of student-athletes, pushing the graduation success rate to a school-best 86 percent while achieving four consecutive overall GPA's above 3.00 for the department for the first in school history.
Before heading to Mississippi, Cowherd was the director of academic affairs at LSU, a position he assumed in 2011 after joining LSU's Academic Center for Student-Athletes in 2007. His primary role at LSU was academic oversight of the Tiger football team while supervising seven full-time advisors and other sports staff.
Cowherd began his career in athletic administration at UofL, first, as a student-athlete, then graduate assistant, academic counselor, and ultimately as the assistant director for academics in athletics.
Cowherd, who competed with the Cardinals football program as a linebacker from 1994-96, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Med Biology from UofL in 1998 and completed his Master of Business and Public Administration in 2003. A native of Greensburg, Ky., Cowherd and his wife Misty have two children, Jackson and Eden.
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