BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) welcomes back Erin McDermott, who assumed the role as Harvard University’s eighth John D. Nichols ’53 Family Director of Athletics on July 1, 2020.
She becomes the third woman to hold a position of Director of Athletics in the Ivy League joining Dr. M. Grace Calhoun at the University of Pennsylvania, Mollie Marcoux Samaan at Princeton University and Vicky Chun at Yale University.
McDermott arrives on Harvard’s campus after a seven-year tenure as Director of Athletics & Recreation at the University of Chicago. Under her leadership, the Maroons captured 19 University Athletic Association (UAA) championships, seven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) individual event championships and six top-20 finishes in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings among the 450 NCAA Division III institutions. Additionally, 15 Chicago student-athletes were selected as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America selections, one of the top academic awards in collegiate athletics.
During the 2018-19 academic year, Chicago finished ninth in the Learfield rankings – its highest finish in school history. Due to the institution’s success, McDermott was one of the recipients of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year Award. The award highlights the efforts of athletic directors, at all levels, for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and surrounding communities.
Additionally, McDermott spearheaded several major milestones, including the department’s first department-wide apparel agreement with Adidas and a full identity rebrand of its name and official logos. She was also instrumental in launching Chicago’s annual giving society, “The Friends of Maroon Athletics”, to enrich and enhance the student-athlete experience. Also, during her tenure she oversaw the addition of the Maroons’ 20th varsity sport – women’s lacrosse.
Well respected by her peers in the collegiate athletic arena, McDermott served on numerous national committees. A member of NACDA, she sat on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) as well as on the Board of Directors for Women Leaders in College Sports.
Prior to her seven years at Chicago, McDermott spent a significant part of her career in the Ivy League at Princeton University and Columbia University. In her 13 years at Princeton, she climbed the ranks to Deputy Director of Athletics, where she oversaw all internal operations for 38 intercollegiate sports and served as the administrator for both men’s and women’s water polo. Before Princeton, McDermott spent three years at Columbia as the Assistant Director for Compliance.
A Division I student-athlete at Hofstra University, McDermott was a senior captain of the women’s basketball team and was named school’s top female senior scholar-athlete as a senior. She graduated from Hofstra with a bachelor of business administration degree in international business in 1994 before obtaining her master’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in 1996.
