Scott Woodward Position: Director of Athletics

University of Washington President Mark A. Emmert announced on Sept. 17, 2008 the appointment of Scott Woodward as the school's 16th director of intercollegiate athletics. Woodward, the UW's Vice President for External Relations since 2004, served as interim athletic director for the previous seven months.

"The search committee and I looked all over the country for an athletic director," said Emmert. "I concluded that we had the best person for the job already in place. Scott is a talented administrator who knows higher education and understands the place of intercollegiate athletics at a university like this. He is student-oriented and as his background in politics suggests, is highly competitive and puts a premium on winning. I have great confidence in his abilities and know he will provide excellent leadership for the department."

Woodward worked with Emmert at Louisiana State University as director of external affairs in the Office of the Chancellor from 2000 to 2004. In that position, he acted as the liaison between the university and government and corporate officials and advised the chancellor on the implications of potential policy changes external to the university. He also served as the liaison from the Chancellor's office to the LSU athletic department and helped Emmert oversee it.

While Emmert and Woodward were at LSU, the institution's intercollegiate athletic teams won 10 NCAA national championships, including one in football in 2003. Woodward also experienced first-hand national championship caliber teams in baseball, basketball, and track and field. In addition, during that span the athletics program ranked among the top 11 in the nation three times in the annual NACDA Director's Cup - a measurement of broad-based competitive athletics success - and claimed 11 CoSIDA Academic All-America selections.

"Scott has seen what it takes to compete at the highest levels and to do it the right way," said Emmert. "He knows the kind of support coaches need and has the right values to provide the kind of leadership our athletic program requires."

Woodward holds a bachelor's degree in political science from LSU. In Louisiana, he served as a political consultant, a legislative liaison in the office of the governor, a lobbyist, and for eight years as a principal in his own government and public relations firm.