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VP FOR ATHLETICS & RECREATION JAMES J. PHILLIPS, Ph.D. James J. Phillips became Northwestern's 21st director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation on April 14, 2008, bringing with him a track record of success at the Division I level and a commitment to the values Northwestern always has maintained in collegiate athletics. Four years into his tenure, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro elevated Phillips to the position of Vice President for Athletics & Recreation. One of 10 children from a middle-class family and a native of the Portage Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side, Phillips has proven to be the perfect fit to lead Northwestern's 19-sport program in the nation's No. 3 market. His deep Windy City roots and family orientation are an integral part of his core philosophy of providing student-athletes with a "world- class experience" that enables them to thrive academically, socially and athletically. While successfully elevating the profile of Northwestern Athletics locally, Phillips has simultaneously garnered the respect of his peers across the college sports landscape. He was elected as the inaugural chair the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Council in February 2015. During a two-and- a-half year term, he served as the first-ever sitting athletic director on the NCAA Board of Directors and Board of Governors. In March of 2017 he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Selection Committee, Northwestern's first representative in 50 years. He also was appointed to the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors in early June, and previously served as the president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the first Northwestern A.D. to be elected to the position. Academically, Wildcats student-athletes have had banner years with Phillips at the helm. Northwestern has surpassed 200 Academic All- Big Ten honorees each of the last seven years, including in 2016-17 when a school-record 245 NU student-athletes earned the distinction. The group of nearly 500 student-athletes representing 19 varsity athletic programs combined to post a record GPA of 3.338 during the 2016-17 academic year. NU scored a 97 percent overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest data released by the NCAA, a figure which leads the Big Ten by seven percentage points and ranks among the best scores in the nation. The Wildcats have paced the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) metric every year since the award's inception in 2004-05. Northwestern continues to be among the nation's leaders in community service under Phillips, who in 2011 oversaw the creation and hiring of NU's first assistant A.D. for community relations. All of Northwestern's nearly 500 student-athletes participated in at least one philanthropic initiative during the 2016-17 academic year, with the group as a whole serving more than 100 community organizations. Phillips launched the first master facility plan study in Northwestern history, and the department is currently in the midst of a facilities transformation. The University opened a multi-million dollar sailing center on Lake Michigan, recognized as a leader in energy and environmental design and honored by the U.S. Green Building Council with USGBC LEED Gold Certification, and a 30,000 square-foot expansion and renovation of Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, which included three new fitness studios, a 7,000-square foot strength and conditioning area, two massage therapy suites, classrooms and offices. Over the last two years NU has unveiled the new Rocky & Berenice Miller Park, as well as Lanny & Sharon Martin Stadium, Chap & Ethel Hutcheson Field and Lakeside Field alongside Lake Michigan. Construction is currently ongoing on the transformational Walter Athletics Center and Ryan Fieldhouse, scheduled to open in the summer of 2018, as well as a complete renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena slated to re- open in the fall of that year. In competition, Northwestern has achieved historic success. During Phillips' time in Evanston, lacrosse, softball, women's golf, fencing, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis, field hockey, men's swimming and wrestling all have won team or individual conference championships. Seven of Northwestern's 13 all-time bowl appearances have been earned since 2008. Two of the program's three bowl victories have captivated the Wildcats community in the last five seasons. And three of the team's four 10- win seasons, including two in the last five years, have happened with Dan & Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald on the field as a student-athlete or coach. In 2013, former Illinois Mr. Basketball Chris Collins was recruited away from his alma mater, Duke University, to lead the Wildcats men's basketball program. Now endowed as the Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach, the 'Cats win total has gone up every season since Collins arrived, culminating in a school-record 24 in 2016-17 and a joyous ride to the program's first NCAA Tournament victory. In April of 2017, Phillips simultaneously announced long-term contract extensions for both Fitzgerald and Collins that secure their futures in Evanston through 2025. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Phillips started his career as a manager and student assistant in Illinois' athletic department. He earned a master's degree in education at Arizona State University while serving as a restricted earnings basketball coach during a period in which the Sun Devils reached the postseason in five-straight years. Phillips also holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from Tennessee, where he served as an assistant athletics director with the Volunteers until 2000. He then moved to the University of Notre Dame, where he served as associate director of athletics and senior associate director of athletics for external affairs, before being named athletic director at Northern Illinois University in 2004. Phillips and his wife, Laura, have five children: Luke, Madeline, Meredith, John and James. CLICK HERE FOR FULL BIO Game 10 vs. Purdue Boilermakers < < < 8