J. Lin Dawson Named Interim Athletic Director at ECSU

J. Lin Dawson

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina  -- Elizabeth City State University has announced the appointment of J. Lin Dawson as the Interim Director of Athletics.

A native of Kinston, N.C., Dawson has held significant roles in higher education and business settings where he has been a professional athlete, entrepreneur, graduate school instructor, minister, consultant, athletic administrator, and senior officer.

As an athletic administrator with over twenty years of experience, he served as the Director of Athletics at North Carolina Central University from 2000-2003. Among the highlights of his tenure was to initiate the Life Skills Program for student-athletes, increase athletic scholarships by forty percent, eliminate a budget deficit from a previous administration, refurbish McDougald Gymnasium, and maintain the conference's best corporate partnership program.

His success would continue at Grambling State University where he was awarded the Commissioner's Cup for having the best athletic program in the SWAC in 2010. His teams won several conference championships and the distinction of National Black Champions in Football (2009). He initiated a new fundraising program called the Roaring Tiger Club and increased alumni donations and fan participation, made several capital improvements to Robinson Football Stadium, Tiger Soccer Stadium, Tiger Softball Stadium, and the football practice field. He created the Port City Football Classic which produced net revenues of $700,000 in first year. In addition, he increased corporate sponsorships dollars by four hundred percent.

As a former student-athlete for the NC State Wolfpack, Lin was a four year starter and member of the ACC Championship Team of 1979. For ten years, he was the starting tight-end for the New England Patriots and was an integral part of the AFC Championship and Super Bowl team. During his tenure with the Patriots, he served as team chaplain for six years and team representative for four years.

As one of the first practitioners in the country to design and implement leadership diversity programs for collegiate athletic programs and professional sports, Dawson helped over 40 major universities and professional sports organizations such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Soccer to launch successful diversity initiatives.

His primary consultations with Fortune 500 corporations are in the areas of organizational design and development, executive coaching, teambuilding, and leadership diversity.

Dawson holds an MBA with a specialization in human resource management and knowledge/learning management. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in Applied Management and Decision Sciences- Organizational Change and Leadership.

He has received numerous awards and accommodations from The White House, the Anti-Defamation League, National Football League, NCAA Division IA Athletic Directors Association, The Peter F. Drucker Foundation, The Boston Herald American, and the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. He and his wife, Margo (28 years), have three (3) young adult children.

COURTESY ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION