Bethany Dannelly named Ohio Athletic Conference commissioner
After a nationwide search, the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) has named Bethany Dannelly as its next conference commissioner.
Dannelly, who currently serves as Deputy Director of Athletics at Washington and Lee University, succeeds Sarah Otey, who was at the helm for three years following the retirement of Tim Gleason. Dannelly will be the third fulltime commissioner in the history of the conference and the second woman to hold the post.
“I am very appreciative of President King, the members of the Presidents Council, and the search committee for the opportunity to serve as the next commissioner of the OAC," said Dannelly. "The unique combination of academic excellence, athletic competitiveness and collegiality among the member institutions is truly exciting. I look forward to serving the membership as we continue to emphasize the student-athlete experience and navigate the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics together.”
While at W&L, Dannelly oversaw facilities and operations for the 24-sport department in addition to being appointed as the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee. Additionally, Dannelly serves on the Division III Women's Basketball National Committee.
Prior to Washington and Lee, Dannelly served as Director of Championships for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) for five years. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating the operations for 24 conference sponsored championships. She also assisted with conference financial operations, coordinated operations with the supervisors of officials for nine conference sports and handled additional tasks within the conference office. Among them was helping to lead the conference efforts for diversity, inclusion and leadership development within the ODAC and its member institutions.
Dannelly earned a bachelor of arts in psychology with a concentration in poverty studies from Washington and Lee in 2005. She was a four-year starter on the women's basketball team and a three-year letterwinner in track & field.
Dannelly has also had experience coaching at the collegiate level, serving as assistant basketball coach at Colby College from 2011-15, also holding the title of assistant strength and conditioning coach for three of those years. She was also a graduate assistant coach (2008-10) and assistant director of operations (2010-11) for the women's basketball program at the University of Virginia, where she earned a master of education in exercise physiology in 2010.
"Bethany offers a unique perspective as a former Division III athlete, coach and administrator who has spent the majority of her career supporting college student-athletes," said Greg King, president of the University of Mount Union and chair of the OAC Presidents Council. "Her deep expertise, passion and commitment to both athletic and academic excellence will be invaluable to our conference. We are excited about the promising future of the OAC under Bethany’s leadership."
Dannelly will begin her new appointment on Sept. 30.
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