Eastern Michigan University Athletics

The mark of an exceptional athletics program is the progress that is made each year.

And under the leadership of athletics director Dr. Derrick Gragg, the Eastern Michigan University department of athletics has turned in successful campaigns in each of his first four years at the helm.

During Gragg’s first year at EMU in 2006-07, the department set a school and Mid-American Conference record by capturing a remarkable eight team conference titles, adding a league post-season crown and recording two runner-up finishes.

The MAC-record eight team championships eclipsed the mark of six held jointly by Central Michigan University (2003-04) and Western Michigan University (1984-85).

In 2007-08, Gragg’s second as athletics director, EMU followed up the record-breaking eight championships in 2006-07 with four league regular-season titles and one MAC Tournament crown and the Eagles secured the Reese Trophy which is awarded annually to the top overall men’s athletics program in the league. Eastern had won the prestigious Reese Trophy three previous times (1987-88, 1990-91 and 1995-96).

Gragg was nationally recognized for his leadership in 2008-09, earning the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) Administrator of the Year Award. He received the award at the BCA National Convention and Expo Awards Banquet, May 29, 2009, in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Eagles won a pair of MAC titles during the 2008-09 campaign in men’s cross country and swimming, while finishing as the runner-up in men’s golf, men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track, women’s golf and women’s soccer en route to a second place finish in the Reese Trophy standings.

Eastern continued to excel in 2009-10 with a trio of MAC team titles, 30 individual MAC Championships and 60 student-athletes named to the All-MAC teams. Gragg also helped spearhead the construction of EMU’s $3.9 million multi-purpose indoor athletic practice facility located near the north end of Rynearson Stadium.

Gragg was named EMU’s 11th athletic director, Feb. 21, 2006, after spending the previous six years at the University of Arkansas. He first joined the U of A in 2000 as an associate athletic director and was promoted to senior associate athletic director in 2003 and then to deputy athletic director. In his tenure at Arkansas, Gragg was involved in various areas including: athletic administration, sport program oversight, marketing, sports information, recruitment, budget, student-athlete support, compliance, facilities and game management, fund-raising and research.

During his career, Gragg has published several articles and editorials on intercollegiate athletics as well as a nationwide study on sports-related gambling. He is a former member of the NCAA’s Minority Opportunities & Interests Committee, having served as co-chair of the committee in 2004-05. Gragg also served as a member of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas Board of Directors and as a member of the American Heart Association, Northwest Arkansas Board of Directors. He currently serves as a member of the NCAA’s Legislative Council and is a member of the NACDA Division I-A Athletic Directors Scholarship Ad Hoc Steering Committee.

A former collegiate wide receiver, Gragg lettered four years at Vanderbilt while earning his degree. He graduated with a bachelor’s in human development in 1992 and was a member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll during his senior year. Gragg served from 1993 to 1995 as an academic counselor at his alma mater before adding the title of director of student life in his final year at Vanderbilt.

During his time as a Commodore athletic administrator, he coordinated student life and support programs as well as supervising the academic counseling programs for student-athletes. In 1995, Gragg was named director of compliance & operations at the University of Missouri.

During his two years in Columbia, he was the game event manager for 10 Olympic sports programs and served on the Big 12 Compliance Coordinators Group during his last year as compliance coordinator at the university.

Named assistant athletic director for compliance at Michigan in 1997, Gragg spent three years with oversight of the UM compliance department.

While serving in Ann Arbor, Gragg also earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State University. He then served on the faculty at WSU, teaching intercollegiate sport administration and sports marketing classes. During the past three years, he has also served as an adjunct faculty instructor at both WSU and EMU. Gragg earned his doctorate in higher education administration from the U of A in May of 2004 and also taught two undergraduate courses during his tenure there as an athletic administrator.

Inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County (Ala.) Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, Gragg is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He is also a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA).

Gragg and his wife, Sanya, have a daughter, DeSha, 16, and two sons, Avery, 13, and Phillip-Raymond, 9.