Jim Phillips Position: Director of Athletics and Recreation

James J. Phillips became Northwestern's 21st director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation on April 14, 2008, bringing with him a track record of success at the Division I level and a commitment to the values Northwestern always has maintained in collegiate athletics.

"The opportunity to lead Northwestern's athletic and recreation programs is both exciting and humbling," Phillips said. "Northwestern is a world-class institution that does everything right in terms of college athletics and what they should stand for."

One of 10 children from a middle-class family, Phillips, who grew up in the Portage Park neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, is the perfect fit to head up Northwestern's 19-sport program in the nation's No. 3 market.

His deep Windy City roots and family orientation are an integral part of his core philosophy of providing the student-athlete with a "world-class experience" that enables them to succeed academically, socially and athletically.

Phillips' first sport season with the Wildcats came during the second half of Northwestern's traditionally strong spring. Phillips was on board when women's lacrosse won its fourth-consecutive national championship, women's tennis finished No. 2 in the national polls after capturing their record 10th-straight Big Ten title and softball won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament crowns in the same year for the first time. In addition, the Wildcats earned four ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and two Academic All-America accolades. Forty-six student-athletes were named Academic All-Big Ten during the spring of 2008.

Phillips took little time to make a big impact on the Northwestern athletic department, hiring ultra-successful women's basketball coach Joe McKeown in June of 2008. McKeown came to Evanston after 19 years as the head coach at George Washington, where he took his team to the postseason 17 times. McKeown never has had a losing season in 22 years as a head coach, bringing a career record of 509-174 (.745) with him to NU.

Prior to arriving in Evanston, Phillips served as Northern Illinois' athletic director for four years beginning in 2004. During that time, the Huskies had unprecedented athletic success and consistent academic achievements. On July 1, 2006, Phillips was promoted to associate vice president, in addition to his director of athletics title, after already being recognized by his peers in the Mid-American Conference with his selection to serve as chairman of the MAC Athletic Director's Council. He also was a member of the NCAA Women's Basketball committee during his time in the MAC.

Phillips was extraordinarily successful in fund raising and marketing at Northern Illinois. He spearheaded the fund raising and construction of the $14-million Yordon Academic and Athletic Performance Center at NIU, the largest capital project in athletics history at NIU, and led several successful fund-raising campaigns for athletics. In addition, the Huskies opened an indoor practice facility for baseball, softball and men's and women's golf and began construction in the spring of 2008 on a new soccer/track and field complex.

During Phillips' tenure at NIU, he was instrumental in scheduling high-profile football games against Michigan and Ohio State that resulted in the first national television appearances for NIU. He also negotiated playing the University of Iowa in 2007 at Soldier Field in Chicago as a home game at NIU, a game that sold out in less than a week. In addition, Phillips negotiated a multiple-year agreement for the radio power WSCR-AM (The Score) to carry football, men's basketball and a weekly NIU Live radio show to discuss all Huskie athletic programs.

Phillips helped secure the 2007 NCAA Men's Golf Central Regional, which the Huskies hosted at the new home of NIU golf, Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., rated among the Top 50 golf courses in America according to Golf Digest. Phillips also assisted in securing a bid for preliminary men's soccer rounds for the 2016 Olympics at Huskie Stadium should Chicago be named the host city.

A 1990 graduate of the University of Illinois, Phillips started his career as a manager and student assistant in Illinois' athletic department. He earned a master's degree in education at Arizona State University while serving as a graduate student and as a restricted earnings basketball coach during a period in which the Sun Devils reached the postseason in five-straight years.

Phillips also holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from Tennessee, which he completed in the summer of 2007. Phillips served as an assistant athletics director with the Volunteers until 2000. He directed a $12.4 million annual athletics giving program, and was directly responsible for identifying, cultivating and soliciting all major gifts and donations for the Volunteer athletic program. He aided in originating the first-ever capital campaign for athletics at UT that raised over $50 million for endowments, facilities and programs. In addition, he had supervisory duties over athletic programs and a variety of other areas.

Phillips then moved to the University of Notre Dame in 2000, where he served as associate director of athletics and senior associate director of athletics for external affairs. During 2002-03, he helped launch the Rockne Heritage Fund, which became the first athletics annual fund that directly benefited student-athlete grant-in-aid scholarships. In addition, he managed the ticket office, various corporate sponsorships, athletic programs and a weekly Irish radio show.

At the same time, Phillips played an integral part in the funding of a new $24-million, 96,000-square foot athletics facility. At Notre Dame, Phillips directed all phases of the athletics community relations program and helped develop new institutional and departmental advancement programs.

Phillips and his wife, Laura, have four children: Luke, Madeleine, Meredith and John Patrick.

The Phillips family (clockwise from top left): Jim, Laura, Madeleine, John Patrick, Meredith and Luke