On Monday, Jan. 23, Richard ‘Doc’ Sander was named the permanent athletic director for East Tennessee State University.
Sander has a distinguished list of accomplishments in his career associated with ETSU and outside of the university.
Sander first came to ETSU in January 2013 serving as director of Intercollegiate Athletics where he served until 2017. During this time, he reinstated the football program in 2013, created the Global Sport Leadership program, built the William B. Greene Football Stadium, helped restructure Freedom Hall, and returned ETSU’s status as a member of the Southern Conference.
“Most importantly, he put his focus on the student-athlete. He would say to me time and time again when we met, that his goal was to ensure that our student-athletes had a world-class experience on and off the court; and that we position them in the classroom to realize their dreams,” said Brian Noland, ETSU president.
After the conclusion of his term as athletic director in 2017, Sanders remained a faculty member until reinstating as interim athletic director in August 2022 following the resignation of Scott Carter.
“We have to figure out a way to be sustainable, to develop plans that help us with funding, facilities, community engagement, with student-athlete development. All of those things are critically important,” said Richard ‘Doc’ Sander “I’m really excited about where we are going, this is a great university.”
Prior to ETSU, Sander has been assistant athletic director of the University of Memphis, and Athletic director of Virginia Commonwealth University for 20 years. He is known as one of the most respected people in collegiate athletics in the nation.
