High Point AD Craig Keilitz Named to NCAA Championship/Sports Management Cabinet

HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University Athletic Director Craig Keilitz has been named to the NCAA Div. I Championship/Sports Management Cabinet for the next four years starting in July. Now in his fourth year as AD at High Point, Keilitz has been active in many committees while leading the Panthers to their most successful athletic seasons in the Div. I era.

The NCAA Div. I Championship/Sports Management Cabinet votes and makes recommendations on issues such as the number of teams in each NCAA Tournament, tournament formats and travel parties as well as competition dates and the number of regular-season games each sport is allowed. For instance, the cabinet voted in February to expand the NCAA Tournament for women’s lacrosse from 16 to 24 teams as soon as next year. The move has to move through some other stages, including budget approval, before it is finalized.

At the Big South Conference-level, Keilitz is active on six different committees, including chair of the Men’s Soccer Committee. He is also on the Baseball Committee, Women’s Basketball Committee, Championships Committee, Compliance Committee and Television Development Committee.

In the past four years, High Point has won eight conference championships in the regular season or tournament. HPU won just six in its first nine years after moving up to NCAA Div. I in 1999-2000. This past year, HPU won the Big South women’s cross country title and women’s lacrosse National Lacrosse Conference regular season championship.

The Panthers finished third in the Big South Sasser Cup all-sports standings in each of the past three years. Prior to that, HPU had never finished higher than fourth. The Sasser Cup gauges athletic success across all sports.

High Point University Athletics has undergone many changes under Keilitz’s leadership, including the addition of women’s lacrosse in 2011 and men’s lacrosse for the 2013 season. HPU has upgraded staff positions in all areas and increased resources to be competitive with the top schools in the Big South.

HPU has had several facility upgrades in the last four years, including a $2 million renovation of the Millis Center and new locker rooms for volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s lacrosse. In 2011, Vert Stadium was upgraded with Mondo 3NX turf, which is the most advanced artificial turf surface.

Prior to HPU, Keilitz worked at Wake Forest University for 13 years, rising to the level of Associate Athletic Director supervising the marketing and promotions, media relations and facilities operations while also overseeing the baseball and women’s volleyball programs. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Michigan.