EMU confirms athletic director Derrick Gragg's departure to Tulsa University
Derrick Gragg is leaving Eastern Michigan to become the athletic director at Tulsa University, the schools announced Wednesday.
Derrick Gragg
Gragg, who spent seven years as EMU’s athletic director, will be introduced to the public at Tulsa on Friday.
"I am very excited to accept the position of director of athletics at TU. It is a wonderful opportunity to lead a program of this caliber," Gragg said in a release issued by Tulsa. "The university's combination of academic and athletic success dovetails perfectly with my own personal and professional core values. My family and I are eager to become an integral part the Tulsa community and the TU family."
Gragg’s departure was first reported by the Tulsa World Wednesday and later confirmed in news releases from both schools. According to the paper, Gragg met with his staff at Eastern Michigan Wednesday afternoon.
In seven years under Gragg, Eastern totaled 24 Mid-American Conference team championships, 32 MAC Coach of the Year Awards, 38 MAC Player of the Year honors and 164 individual MAC champions.
"Dr. Gragg has had an outstanding impact at Eastern Michigan since arriving in 2006," EMU President Susan Martin said in a release. "He has led student-athlete success on the playing field and in the classroom.
During his tenure, EMU’s women's basketball program was also sanctioned for exceeding practice time and other NCAA violations.
Gragg came to Eastern Michigan in February, 2006, after spending six years as an assistant athletic director at the University of Arkansas. He also spent time at Columbia and Michigan.
Comments
KatiGal
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 11:22 p.m.
Congratulations, Dr. Gragg. Good luck to you and your family in Oklahoma.
SemperFi
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 12:57 p.m.
Dr. Gragg has actually done a commendable job at EMU. He has made a sizable investment in athletic facilites while working with a constrained budget. His hires, Gilbert not withstanding, have been good ones. Coach English has been fighting an uphill battle since he arrived and has been focused on recruiting quality student athletes to the football program. The non-revenue sports are continuing to attract excellent talent and the coaches are doing a great job at competing and winning championships. Good luck to Dr. Gragg and his family in OK.
nails
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 12:32 a.m.
Hopefully, he can take baseball coach Jay Alexander with him, just another EMU program that needs to go in another direction.
eagleman
Wed, Mar 20, 2013 : 11:19 p.m.
Mediocre athletic director. One of his hires was fired for violating NCAA rules(Ann Marie Gilbert), another is on the cusp of being fired for a lack of success(Ron English), and his last hire(Rob Murphy) has lead EMU to consecutive losing seasons. Oh and Murphy flirted with the Magic and signed a kid who(Devon Still) who was charged with felonious assault in Providence. Gragg's inability to judge character is a huge check against him. Hopefully, Eastern can hire a better AD than Gragg.