Shane Lyons is glad to be home. After 27 years of climbing the ranks in athletic administration, he has landed at the top as the athletic director West Virginia University, the school where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sport management.
The Parkersburg, W.Va., native was named WVU’s athletic director and associate vice president in January 2015. He now oversees 18 varsity sports at WVU and has been entrusted with advancing the teams’ standings in the Big 12.
“It’s good to be home. It’s something you never think is going to happen, but I’m fortunate that an opportunity presented itself to come back,” said Lyons.
After completing his master’s degree in 1988, he became the assistant commissioner of the Big South Conference. He has worked for the NCAA and served as associate athletic director for compliance at Texas Tech.
In 2001, Lyons joined the Atlantic Coast Conference as the associate commissioner. He led conference-wide compliance and academics initiatives and served as the human resource manager during his 10 years with the ACC. Afterwards, Lyons joined the athletic department staff at Alabama as deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer.
“One thing that hasn’t changed since leaving WVU is the passion of Mountaineer nation and how they support their teams. Coming back here as a part of the Big 12 meant a lot to means in terms of how we can grow,” explained Lyons. “We don’t want to be complacent and we want to look at this place as what it can be in the future, and that was appealing,” he added.
For all his accomplishments, Lyons was honored as the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus at the 22nd Sport Management Summit—the end of year celebration for WVU’s master’s in sport management program.
“He’s reached the pinnacle of college athletics and we are proud he’s reached that pinnacle here at WVU,” said Dallas Branch, assistant professor of sport management and coordinator of the program. “Other programs have hired master’s in sport management alumni as ADs and it’s nice to have one of our own here.”
The event gathers students in the on-campus graduate sports management program as well as alumni, faculty, CPASS administration and other guests from the industry.
“It’s our end-of-the-year event that honors the current students in the program. We want to recognize and support the students and that’s why we honor one of our own with the Distinguished Alumnus award and bring in a nationally recognized speaker,” said Branch, who taught Lyons as both an undergraduate and graduate student at WVU.
Lyons credits his master’s degree with his success, stating that “you wouldn’t be talking to me today as WVU’s athletic director without the master’s degree in sport management.”
“This is a very humbling experience. It takes teamwork, flexibility and taking advantage of opportunities to be successful in this industry. This past year has been overwhelming to come back and be embraced by WVU and its fans. It makes me proud to come back and be welcomed by WVU and this program,” said Lyons.