Following the departure of Colin Hargis who is headed to North Carolina State, Florida Gulf Coast University turned to someone who has been in charge of the athletic department before — Lauren Leister.
She previously helped run the department in 2023, and has been part of the athletic department since 2020.
She now has the title of interim athletic director.
According to latest data from the NCAA, prior to Leister's promotion, there were only 57 female athletic directors on the Division One level. That's roughly 16 percent of Division One schools.
At a media briefing on the change Monday, Leister was asked Leister about what it means to be a part of that small group.
"Being a female leader in this industry is something I take very seriously, and something I've thought a lot about, specific to the college athletics industry. Because there haven't been a lot of people that have able to do what you described," she said. "It comes with a great level of responsibility, and what I would say about is I owe it to the next generation of women to create the floor for them. So everything that I want to accomplish, I want the next generation of women to think ... well that's great, I can do better."
She faces a daunting task of moving into the athletic director role in a time where smaller conferences — like the Atlantic Sun — are losing players in a number of sports to larger conferences who have more money for NIL (name, image, and likeness) money that players can be paid.
She was asked about NIL in her new role at the university.
"Absolutely it's something I've thought about. I think it would be a disservice to this department if I hadn't. It's something we talk about frequently, with individuals across campus, including university advancement. Yes, that strategy is important, and something we will definitely be looking at," she said
Leister moves into the interim position while also serving as deputy athletics director and chief operating officer.
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