Anthem Executive | Anthem Academics Seeking Director of Athletics Texas A&M International University
July 23, 2026 – Athletic directors are playing an increasingly vital role at colleges and universities across the country. With the expansion of athletic departments and, for the larger schools, the infusion of big dollars for sports, more schools have turned to search firms when such positions become open. Too much is at stake, they feel, to go at it alone. What’s more, the AD job has come to demand greater business and management skills than the typical academic search.
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) recently selected Anthem Executive | Anthem Academics to conduct a national search for its next director of athletics. Michael Ballew, Scott Watson, Mike “JR” Wheless, and Florene Stawowy are leading the assignment. As TAMIU prepares to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of Dustdevil Athletics, the next AD will shape the program’s next era of excellence, competitiveness, and student-centered success. Reporting directly to the president, the director of athletics serves as the chief administrator for TAMIU athletics, providing strategic leadership and operational oversight for 13 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports competing in the Lone Star Conference.
The ideal candidate will be a visionary, community-engaged leader with proven success in fundraising, facilities development, NCAA compliance, and building a winning culture. Priorities include elevating competitiveness, strengthening donor and community engagement, advancing student-athlete well-being and academic success, and ensuring operational excellence. A bachelor’s degree and 10 years of progressively responsible management experience are required.
Founded in 1970, TAMIU is a public Hispanic-Serving Institution and member of The Texas A&M University System, enrolling over 9,000 students from 38 countries and 28 U.S. states on its 300-acre campus in Laredo. The University is experiencing significant gains in enrollment, student success, and national rankings, with deep community support and strong institutional momentum.
Finding Senior Leaders
Anthem Executive | Anthem Academics, headquartered in Houston, TX, serves clients across a range of business sectors, including higher education, health sciences, corporate and non-profit institutions, global software and technology, private equity, insurance, service and manufacturing, oil and gas, and others. Its consultants bring a combined 80 years’ experience in the search industry. The firm’s higher education practice spans the entire leadership spectrum. In other sectors, Anthem Executive covers all roles from CEO and other C-suite leaders, board directors, vice president, and directors, among others.
Related: Anthem Executive Assists the University of Montevallo With President Search
Mr. Ballew, a registered Native American and member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe, serves as the firm’s chief diversity, inclusion, equity, and compliance officer, as well as search committee facilitator. He joined the executive search industry 14 years ago following a 20-plus year career in senior-level management with expertise in recruiting, counseling, training, operations, strategic planning, facilitation, project management, and workplace diversity.
The Select Guide to America’s Top 250 Executive Search Firms
Hunt Scanlon Media proudly presents the Select Guide to America’s Top 250 Executive Search Firms.
This comprehensive online directory is your definitive resource for finding the best executive search firms to serve your talent needs.
Our guide is meticulously curated to connect you with leading firms that specialize in various industries and functions, ensuring you find the perfect match for your executive recruitment needs.
Mr. Watson has been in the executive search industry for over 30 years. In addition to higher education institutions, he has served hospital/health systems, global software and technology companies, private equity enterprises, MCOs, insurance companies, service and manufacturing organizations with global footprints, and others.
Mr. Wheless, a veteran of more than two decades in the search industry, has served a broad portfolio of clients across many industry lines on behalf of organizations ranging from small operations to Fortune $100 billion plus enterprises – including working with and recruiting some of the nation’s most influential leadership. Mr. Wheless has served institutions and organizations across a broad range of geographies and sectors in higher education, technology, healthcare, energy, financial services, law, insurance, hospitality and food services, retail, CPG, EPC, manufacturing, aerospace, mining, construction, and real estate.
Ms. Stawowy, who has been in executive search for over 20 years, is a core member of the higher education and academic health practice. Over the last two decades, she has developed deep expertise in senior‐level search, having been charged with numerous executive leadership transitions with a particular emphasis on higher education and academic health search.
Related: Anthem Executive Assists the University of West Alabama with Provost Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
