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MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, TENN. (March 2, 2021) – Milligan University President Dr. Bill Greer announced that Christian Pope will become the school’s next athletic director this summer, following the retirement of longtime administrator Mark Fox on Aug. 1.
“Mark Fox will be missed and we’re grateful for the legacy of success he leaves behind,” said Greer. “Christian’s breadth of experience in athletic administration, combined with his strong Christian commitment, make him well-suited to lead Milligan University’s efforts to take our athletic programs to a new level of excellence.”
Pope has 27 years of athletic administration experience and has spent the past 10 years as associate director of athletics at Campbell University in North Carolina. He has served in athletic leadership roles, including compliance, at Virginia Commonwealth University, Indiana University, Murray State University, University of Rhode Island, Chicago State University and Georgia Southern University.
He holds a master’s degree in athletic administration from Georgia Southern and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also attended the Sport Management Institute Executive Program at the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina.
“I’m privileged to have the chance to work alongside the university administration, coaches, student-athletes and staff at Milligan University,” said Pope. “My wife, Bonita, and I are excited for this next step in our lives and the future of growth that faces Milligan University athletics. In short, this opportunity is the realization of my lifelong dream to lead an athletics department at such an exceptional university.”
At Milligan, Pope will oversee an athletic program that has won numerous conference titles and several national championships in the past decade. In addition, more than 30 teams and 250 individual athletes qualified for national championships in their respective sports.
Milligan has 31 intercollegiate sports that compete in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Learn more about Milligan athletics at milliganbuffs.com.