Phillips named NIU athletics director

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DeKALB - University of Notre Dame Senior Associate Athletics Director Jim Phillips was introduced at 10:30 a.m. today as Northern Illinois University's new athletics director. The university made the announcement official in an initial press conference held at Mike Ditka's Restaurant in Chicago and was set to announce it again at a 3 p.m. Convocation Center gathering. Phillips succeeds Cary Groth, who ended a 23-year association with her alma mater - the last 10 as AD - in March when she chose to become the athletics director for the University of Nevada at Reno. Phillips, who initially worked with NIU President John Peters at the University of Tennessee, was selected over Oregon State University Executive Associate Athletics Director Kevin Anderson after a third finalist, Eastern Washington University Athletics Director Scott Barnes, withdrew on Aug. 16 after receiving a contract extension and raise. In selecting Phillips, Northern opted for an individual with state roots. A graduate of Weber High School in Chicago, Phillips also is an alumnus of University of Illinois, where he began his career as an administrative assistant in the athletic department from 1988-90. Considered to be one of Notre Dame Athletics Director Kevin White's major right-hand aides, Phillips has been involved extensively in UND fund-raising efforts ranging from corporate sponsorships to major donations. After his start at Illinois, Phillips served at Arizona State University as a Sun Devil men's basketball assistant coach from 1992-97 before working in the ASU athletic development office from 1997-98. He then worked as an assistant athletics director at the University of Tennessee (1998 to 2000) where he oversaw a $12.4 million athletic giving program. Phillips then joined the Notre Dame program, in which he spent his first three years as associate director of athletics for community relations. He was then elevated to his current role as senior associate director of athletics for external affairs. His primary duties at Notre Dame included the creation, coordination, management and implementation of all annual, endowment and capital development activities for the Fighting Irish athletics department in alignment with the school's Central Development Office. For 2002-03, Phillips, along with the school's Central Development Office, launched the Rockne Heritage Fund - a first-ever annual fund designed to enable Notre Dame to offer the full NCAA complement of athletic scholarships in all sports. Steve Nemeth can be reached at snemeth@pulitzer.net.