Four finalists for Winthrop AD position named

Winthrop University has named four finalists for the school’s soon-to-be-vacant athletics director position, according to an email sent to faculty Tuesday night.

The email from Eduardo Prieto, Winthrop’s vice president for access and enrollment management, who is heading the committee to replace retiring AD Tom Hickman, named:

▪ Howard University’s Shelley C. Davis

▪ Florida Atlantic’s Melissa Dawson

▪ Eastern Washington’s Ken Halpin

▪ Cal State Stanislaus’ Michael Matoso

Winthrop received around 100 applications for the job. Prieto is heading a 15-member search committee that conducted initial interviews with 13 candidates, alongside Winthrop President Dan Mahony, before whittling the group down to the final four.

“We’ve been using our five guiding principles,” Prieto said on Wednesday morning. “Those were things like commitment to the student-athlete experience, commitment to gender equity and diversity, and the last three kind of run together, and that’s fund-raising, marketing and relationship building.

“These folks that we’re bringing in were consistently the best in all these areas.”

The four finalists are scheduled to visit campus between Sunday and May 2. Halpin will visit first, on Monday and Tuesday; followed by Dawson on April 26-27; and Davis on April 27-28. Matoso will visit on May 1-2.

All four have excellent credentials and education; in-person meetings will be crucial in providing Winthrop’s AD search committee with a better idea of who the candidates are as people.

“We’re looking to see how they handle themselves and how they respond to the questions that they get peppered with over the time that they’re here,” said Prieto.

The school’s goal is to have the next AD hired and in place by July 1. Search firm Collegiate Sports Associates is helping with the process.

Hickman is retiring after 27 years at Winthrop, including 20 as the AD. He oversaw $20 million in spending on the school’s athletic facilities, while Eagles sports teams qualified for 49 NCAA tournaments. Hickman said he wanted to announce his departure to give the school plenty of time to find a replacement by the July 1 target date.

More about the four finalists:

Shelley Davis

Davis is Howard’s deputy director of intercollegiate athletics. She spent much of 2015 as the school’s interim AD, and also has experience at the conference level after working as assistant commissioner for championships for the Southwestern Athletic Conference. She previously worked as the director of education and professional development at the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators.

Davis graduated from N.C. Central, and is currently pursuing an MBA at Howard.

Melissa Dawson

Dawson is executive associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Florida Atlantic. She served as an interim AD at her current school, from March to August of 2012.

Dawson oversees game operations, facilities, human resources, strength and conditioning, the equipment room, sports medicine, turf maintenance and grounds for 14 of the 21 FAU teams. She also spearheaded the addition of FAU’s sand volleyball program and has had sport oversight of each of the school’s 21 teams, including football and men's basketball, during her tenure.

Dawson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida State.

Ken Halpin

Halpin is Eastern Washington’s deputy athletic director, a title that carries a range of responsibilities from covering all external operations, including development, marketing, communications, ticketing, sponsorships, licensing and special projects and events.

Halpin graduated from Willamette University in 2005, before subsequently earning an M.A. in sports administration from Gonzaga and a doctorate in higher education administration from Washington State this past year.

Michael Matoso

Matoso has served as Cal State Stanislaus’ AD for almost four years. Matoso is credited with increasing average annual fundraising to $900,000 per year and overseeing $5 million in facility improvements during his tenure.

He previously worked at the University of San Diego for 13 years in various athletics administration roles. He graduated from Cal Poly.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Four finalists for Winthrop AD position named."