Quatrocky is named AD at Maryville College

April 5, 2021

Photo of Sara Quatrocky

Maryville College has named Sara Quatrocky its next athletic director.

Quatrocky, who was named the College’s interim AD last December, will be the ninth AD at the institution but the first to serve in the role without coaching or teaching responsibilities, or both. The full-time AD position was presented last fall as part of a new leadership model at the College.

Dr. Bryan F. Coker, president of Maryville College, made the announcement of Quatrocky’s change in status today in an email communication to the campus. In it, he referenced the athletic department’s successes in a demanding semester that has seen all 14 varsity teams compete because of COVID-related postponements last fall.

“As I hope you have all noticed, this semester has been full of good news for our athletics department, amidst the most challenging of circumstances,” Coker wrote. “Ben Fox was introduced as our new head football coach in late January. Our women’s and men’s basketball teams were both conference champions, women’s soccer completed their regular season undefeated, and volleyball appears to be on a similar path now, as well.

“This is all immensely impressive, especially when you consider that we have had all our sports taking place at once, coupled with extensive COVID testing and protocols,” the president continued. “Such accomplishments do not occur in challenging times without strong and solid leadership.”

Coker acknowledged that when announcing the interim AD appointment last fall, the College intended to conduct a search for the permanent position, but Quatrocky’s proven leadership abilities, as well as positive feedback from coaches, had necessitated a change of plans. According to the president, a recent survey of head coaches revealed “extremely strong and impassioned support” for making Quatrocky the permanent AD.

“Our Athletic Department currently has incredible momentum in these challenging times, and we certainly want to maintain that momentum,” Coker wrote. “While we could certainly spend time, money and energy on a full-scale search process, we are convinced such a search would not yield a stronger candidate.”

Quatrocky joined the Maryville College staff in 2019 following a national search for an associate athletic director. In that capacity, she was responsible for assisting the athletic director in administration of the department, as well as ensuring compliance with NCAA, USA South Athletic Conference, and College policies and procedures; contract administration; strategic planning and assessment; budget planning; and personnel oversight.

She holds an M.B.A. in sports administration and a bachelor’s degree in international communications from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. She also worked for Lynn’s athletic department for more than 12 years. Prior to her move to Maryville, she served Rhodes College as the senior woman administrator for athletics.

She has represented various men’s and women’s sports while serving on numerous NCAA committees.

As Maryville College’s permanent and full-time AD, Quatrocky will be responsible for strategic and visionary leadership of the athletic programs, including the cultivation of philanthropic support. The job description aligns with Coker’s desire to greater utilize sports programs to position the College for greater visibility, growth and advancement.

“The future of MC Athletics looks quite bright under Sara’s leadership, and I could not be more excited and optimistic about her ability to build on a solid legacy of success on and off our fields and courts,” Coker wrote.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”