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July 23, 2007
Emory taps Tim Downes to serve as athletic director

By john farina

Tim Downes has been named director of athletics and recreation. He will begin his duties at Emory on Aug. 13.

Downes comes from Franklin and Marshall College, a member of the Centennial Conference, where he served as the director of athletics and recreation since August 2004. As athletics director, he was responsible for the administration of 27 intercollegiate programs with more than 600 students participating in those varsity sports. In addition, Franklin and Marshall sponsored 11 club sports and intramural programs with an approximate total of 1,250 participants in those activities.

“As someone who has a great deal of experience and success with Division III athletic programs, Tim is a perfect fit for Emory,” said Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life John Ford.

Among his many accomplishments at Franklin and Marshall were a number of a capital projects that led to the creation of the Brooks Tennis Center, a renovation of the school’s squash facility and the planning and subsequent construction of a new synthetic turf athletic field. Downes played a major role in adding women’s crew as a varsity sport and saw the Diplomats’ women’s lacrosse team capture the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III national championship.

“I am very excited to be joining one of the nation’s premier research universities and particularly one that believes that a first-class athletics and recreation program only enhances the educational mission of an institution,” Downes said. “In my mind, the Emory program embodies everything that is right and good about college athletics and with the University’s commitment to ensuring that athletics is a vibrant part of the student experience, I’m excited about the possibilities.”

Downes has also served as director of athletics, physical education and recreation at California Institute of Technology, as associate athletic director at Johns Hopkins University, and as assistant executive director for compliance and championships for the Patriot League.

Downes was the first commissioner for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He has served as chair of the NCAA Membership Committee, and is a member of the Jostens Trophy National Selection Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators, and the Division III Commissioners Association.

Downes attended Dartmouth College where he earned a B.A. in government and English in 1988. He was a four-year starter on the men’s varsity lacrosse team and was named to the All-New England team as a senior. He earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee in 1993 and was admitted to the Maryland State Bar in December 1993. Downes and his wife, Beth, are the parents of a daughter, Kelley, and sons, Andrew and Will.

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