Karlton Creech
Karlton Creech, former athletic director at the University of Maine, was hired in February as DU’s new vice chancellor for athletics, recreation and Ritchie Center operations. He assumed his new position on May 1.
Creech, who replaces outgoing athletics director Peg Bradley-Doppes, has spent more than two decades in sports administration, building a reputation for leading exceptional athletics programs. At DU, he oversees 17 Division I teams and a recreation program that engages more than 60 percent of the student body. That includes intramural sports, club sports and the Coors Fitness Center.
“I am eager to continue the tradition of athletic and academic excellence that has been established at the University of Denver,” Creech said in February. “Athletics is personal. My wife, Staci, went to school on an athletics scholarship, so I know the importance of our student-athletes excelling in the classroom and the community.”
Before Maine, Creech spent a decade at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he coordinated an $88 million expansion of the football stadium and ultimately served as senior associate director of athletics. He is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and serves on the American East Conference’s executive committee.
“Karlton, with his focus on students and celebrating achievement, is a perfect fit for our diverse, ambitious and innovative community,” says Chancellor Rebecca Chopp. “Known as a bridge-builder on and off campus, Karlton will help us all achieve our dreams and aspirations.”