University of Connecticut Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Athletic Director - Executive Director for Development for Athletics
- Email:
Woodward, the Associate Athletic Director for Development, Director of Major Gifts, enters his 9th year at UConn and his 36th year in Division I college athletics. Since his time returning to Storrs in 2014, Woodward has been heavily involved with significant fundraising for UConn Athletics. This has included multiple capital projects: the $45 million Werth Family Basketball Champions Center, the $80 million soccer-baseball-lacrosse-softball Rizza Performance Center and UConn’s new Hockey Arena. In addition, he has helped lead the coordination of major and principal gifts for the Department resulting in 137 gifts at that level over the past 3 years for capital projects, scholarship endowments and operational annual funds. He has been a senior leader for the Athletics Development team which has posted their best 3-year financial commitments in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, securing over $70 million. In addition, Woodward has individually secured over $28 million while at UConn including 7 principal gifts over the past 4 years. He has been an established member of the UConn Foundation development team soliciting record-commitments in 2021, $93.5M, after previously setting the record in 2020, $89.5M.
Woodward was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in January 2020 after previously ascending to Assistant AD and Director of Major gifts, beginning his career at UConn as Associate Director of Development. Furthermore, Woodward is the sport-specific fundraiser for the UConn Men’s Basketball and Soccer teams, in addition to serving on the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Woodward returned to Storrs in 2014 after a long career coaching basketball in the Division I ranks. A UConn alumnus, parent and two-time staff member, Woodward’s UConn roots run deep with the Huskies. He began his career as an assistant basketball coach for Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun in 1986. Woodward served as assistant coach for UConn, Harvard, Central Connecticut and Maine before being elevated to the University of Maine Black Bears Head Coaching position in 2004, a role which he held for 10 seasons. He was named the College-Insider.com America East Coach-of-the-Year in 2010 and was named a national finalist for the Skip Prosser Man-of-the-Year award that same season. He also was the Head Golf Coach at Maine from 1997-2001. Woodward has been an active member of many leadership-oriented prestigious NCAA, Conference and University committees throughout his career.
Woodward earned his Master’s in Education (Sports Management concentration) from UConn in ’89, after completing his BA at Bucknell in Economics in ’86. The native of Suffern NY is married to his wife Linda, with 2 grown children, Jillian, an elementary schoolteacher and Tommy, UConn ’19 and a recent grad from Penn State Law.
