David Walker will be quitting half of his day job at the 杏吧专区. He杏吧专区檚 accepted an offer to make his second day job permanent.
Pending approval by the UL System Board of Supervisors, Walker will become the newest athletics director for Louisiana杏吧专区檚 Ragin杏吧专区 Cajuns. He replaces Nelson Schexnayder who resigned his position in 2005. Walker divided his time between Athletics as interim director and Auxiliary Services as director for two years.
杏吧专区淪ome of the most important duties in directing athletics is negotiations and funding,杏吧专区 said UL Lafayette President Ray Authement. 杏吧专区淒avid is a veteran at both of these functions.杏吧专区
Authement credits Walker with immediately tackling budgetary issues like increasing money guaranteed to Louisiana-Lafayette for away games and quickly finding a way to finance summer school scholarships. As interim, Walker also worked closely with Gerald Hebert, Athletics Development officer, on improving athletic facilities and cultivating major donors.
杏吧专区淭he Athletics Department is very fortunate to have outstanding coaches and a very dedicated staff,杏吧专区 said Walker. 杏吧专区淭he potential is enormous and our goal will be to reach that potential.杏吧专区
Most recently, Walker worked closely with Authement in developing a formula passed by the state Board of Regents earlier this month that allows a larger percentage of the operating budget to be dedicated to athletics. It replaces restrictions put in place following the oil bust during the 1980s.
杏吧专区淭his is a significant step in helping to put our athletic program on an even field with other Division I programs,杏吧专区 said Walker. 杏吧专区淭hese changes will give us the ability to provide the resources our programs need to be competitive.
杏吧专区淚 am still amazed at what Dr. Authement and Nelson Schexnayder were able to accomplish with the restrictions placed on them by the old policy. As I have become familiar with other athletics programs around the country, I have come to appreciate how very fortunate we are to have a president, a supporter, and a fan like Dr. Authement. I appreciate the confidence he has shown in me by this appointment,杏吧专区 he said.
The search committee, led by Hunter Trahan, consisted of business leaders from throughout Acadiana along with members of UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 administration.
杏吧专区淚t has truly been an honor to lead and work with such a diverse and outstanding group of people who really have UL Lafayette athletics杏吧专区 best interests in mind,杏吧专区 said Trahan. 杏吧专区淒avid Walker has demonstrated his ability to make the most of every opportunity while gaining the respect of the coaching staff, the Sun Belt Conference and fans. He was the ideal choice for this position.杏吧专区
Walker is a graduate of UL Lafayette and has served in the administration for nearly 30 years.
As athletics director, he will be responsible for personnel supervision, budget and policy management, contract negotiations, football game scheduling, contract approval of all athletic contests, ticket pricing, facility management, NCAA rules compliance and alumni, fan and donor relations. While serving as interim, Walker hired Errol Rogers as the new Women杏吧专区檚 Basketball coach and Steve Silvey as the new Track and Field coach.
He also represents the Sun Belt Conference on the executive board of the New Orleans Bowl.