Entering his 20^th season at the helm of the Tennessee Tech Department of Athletics, Mark Wilson strives to lead the program towards success and building towards its future.

The next phase of that is underway as the university’s athletics facilities look forward to a refresh with anticipated turf installations at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex and the Tech Softball Field, leading the fundraising push toward the new Football Operations Center and overseeing the demolition and installation of a new West grandstand at Tucker Stadium.

With the success of the Tech baseball program in 2018 as the team reached the NCAA Super Regionals – the first Ohio Valley Conference program to accomplish that feat – Wilson was instrumental in bringing Matt Bragga back to Cookeville to take charge of the program he built to national prominence.

Success isn’t just measured on the playing field. Tennessee Tech’s student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, registering a cumulative GPA of 3.305 in the Spring 2022 semester – the 27^th straight semester that Golden Eagle student-athletes have surpassed the 3.0 mark since Spring 2009 – and 13 of the 14 teams recording GPAs above 3.0.

With 241 student-athletes reaching the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in the spring, 115 were named to the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and 23 awarded the OVC Academic Medal of Honor for the highest grade-point average in their respective sports.

The mission Wilson has set for each and every student-athlete is simple – a championship ring on one hand, a diploma in the other.

Since arriving in Cookeville in 2004, Wilson has been determined to improve every facet of Tennessee Tech’s athletic experience, from academics, athletic performance, student-athlete welfare, all the way to fan experience and engagement. 

Under his watchful eye, improvements to the department are plentiful. From the addition of basketball offices and skybox, as well as improved seating, a floor projection system and a videoboard in the Hooper Eblen Center, the addition of a videoboard and upgraded track and lights at Tucker Stadium – one of the largest in the Football Championship Subdivision, lights at Tech Soccer Field, as well as the 25,000-square-foot Athletic Performance Center, those have become crucial pieces to athletic life on campus.

Wilson also oversaw the transition of Cookeville Golf Club into Tennessee Tech’s hands as it became Golden Eagle Golf Club. The facility allowed a place for the Tech men’s and women’s golf teams to practice as well as coaches’ offices, while also providing a meeting area for athletic functions and events.

He also initiated a branding and standard graphic identity program for regional and national recognition of Tennessee Tech athletics. Golden Eagle teams have also been supportive in community outreach programs, such as Habitat for Humanity and Mustard Seed Ranch, a local home for disadvantaged youth.

With the recent additions of Bragga and Danielle Penner for softball, Wilson has had success in hiring coaches to lead the 15 programs under the Tennessee Tech umbrella. In his tenure, the Golden Eagle teams have won 34 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships, as well as the 2012 OVC Institutional Sportsmanship Award.

In 2011, the Tech football team – under the direction of Watson Brown – won its first OVC title since 1975 and made its first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs. Leading up to its 2018 NCAA Super Regional run, Bragga’s baseball program claimed two OVC regular-season crowns, an OVC tournament title and the conference’s first NCAA Regional championship. Kenny Doyle’s program in men’s tennis has been nothing short of dominant, winning the regular-season title eight out of 10 years, as well as tournament championships in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Women’s indoor and outdoor track and field won its first-ever OVC championships in 2018 under the direction of Wayne Angel.

Under Wilson’s leadership, relationships in the community and beyond have strengthened with partnerships with the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, the Tech student body and campus community. He played an important part in Tennessee Tech and Cookeville hosting the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl high school football state championship games from 2009 to 2020.

Tech, during Wilson’s tenure, has also seen a growth in media exposure for Tech’s athletic programs with the OVC Digital Network into the conference’s current streaming partnership with ESPN+. With an updated branding initiative, modern ticketing and increased digital presence, following Golden Eagle athletics has become easier for fans.

Wilson was named one of four recipients of the Athletic Director of the Year Award for the Football Championship Subdivision in 2013, presented by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America. He has also been active in the OVC’s governance structure, serving as the chair of the conference Board of Directors of Athletics and represented the OVC on the NCAA Leadership Council.

He served as the President of the FCS ADA Executive Committee after a year as the First Vice President. Wilson has also served on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee, was its Chair in 2015-16 and served on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee.

Wilson was named Director of Athletics on July 1, 2004. He came to Tennessee Tech from the position of Associate Athletic Director at Ohio University. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Athletic Marketing for the University of Massachusetts, worked as a graduate assistant in the UMass athletic department and interned with the Northwestern University ticketing and marketing departments.

Wilson received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 from the University of Maine in physical education and health and earned his master’s in sports management from the University of Massachusetts in 1994.

Mark and his wife, Melanie – a 1999 Tech graduate – have five daughters: Katey, Lakeland, Brookland, Meaghan and Riverland.