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n o r t h w e s t e r n f o o t b a l l • D I G I T A L P R O G R A M • N O R T H W E S T E R N v s . U N L V 9 COMBE FAMILY VICE PRESIDENT FOR ATHLETICS AND RECREATION JIM PHILLIPS James J. Phillips became Northwestern's 21st director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation on April 14, 2008, bringing 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 Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation. 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 shadow of the nation's third-largest city. His deep Windy City roots and family orientation are an integral part of a core philosophy of providing student-athletes with a world-class experience that enables them to thrive academically, socially and athletically. During Phillips' decade-plus of leadership, Northwestern student-athletes have reached new heights in the classroom, in the community and in competition. Academically, Wildcats set school records with 265 Academic All-Big Ten honors and 86 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards in 2018-19. The group of more than 500 young men and women combined to post a record GPA of 3.38 during the 2018-19 academic year. The spring of 2019 marked the 12th consecutive quarter in which the Wildcats exceeded a 3.3 average GPA as a group, with the average student-athlete GPA a record 3.40 during the term. During that most recent quarter, 83 percent of student-athletes posted a GPA of 3.0-or-better. NU scored a 98 percent overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest data released by the NCAA, a figure which leads all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. The Wildcats have scored 96 percent-or-higher overall in every year that GSR data has been released, finishing in the Top-4 among FBS athletic departments all 14 years. Northwestern football's 99-percent GSR is the top score among all FBS institutions across the nation, and leads the Big Ten by 10 points. Northwestern continues to be among the nation's leaders in community service, and Wildcats student-athletes totaled more than 5,500 hours in service of more than 100 community organizations in 2018-19. That emphasis on outreach has also included athletic department staff since 2012, during the annual Staff Service Day in early June. In 2012, Phillips guided the institution of the trailblazing 'NU For Life' program, an innovative four-year curriculum dedicated to guiding student-athletes toward their professional passion, connecting them with desirable internship and job opportunities, and preparing them for lifelong success after their playing careers are complete. In competition, lacrosse, softball, golf, fencing, soccer, tennis, field hockey, swimming, diving and wrestling all have won conference or national championships during Phillips' tenure. Nine of Northwestern's 15 all-time bowl appearances have been earned since 2008, and the football program has posted three 10-win campaigns, four bowl championships, and a Big Ten West Division title over the last seven seasons, including back-to-back-to-back bowl wins the last three years. With Phillips at the helm, Northwestern student-athletes have piled up 137 All-America honors, 41 Player of the Year awards and more than 2,500 Academic All-Big Ten honors. The Wildcats also have been recognized with 30 Coach of the Year awards, and have won 37 conference championships. Mirroring the evolution across campus, Athletics & Recreation is in the midst of a facilities transformation, led by unprecedented support from the Wildcats community. This year the department will officially introduce the new Trienens Performance Center and a dramatic renovation to the Gleacher Golf Center and Patten Gymnasium. Last year Walter Athletics Center, Ryan Fieldhouse and Wilson Field on Lake Michigan opened as the new nucleus of the day-to-day student-athlete experience, and the new Welsh-Ryan Arena debuted as the home of basketball, volleyball and wrestling. Northwestern also has opened a 30,000 square-foot expansion of the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion for recreation, a multi-million dollar sailing center serving the entire community, Miller Park, Martin Stadium, Hutcheson Field, and the renovated Lakeside Field in the last several years. He was elected by his peers as the inaugural chair of the NCAA Division I Council. 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, and helped lead the most sweeping legislative reform in history for the benefit of student-athletes across the nation. He is currently a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, the group's first Northwestern representative in 50 years. This year he serves on both the Rose Bowl Management Committee and Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors, and is a past president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Phillips was honored as the 2018 Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year, and as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year in FBS in both 2012 and 2016. Phillips and his wife, Laura, have five children: Luke, Madeline, Meredith, John and James. Combe Family Vice President For Athletics & Recreation JIM PHILLIPS