HICKORY, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics has announced the hire of Andrew Stafford as the department's new Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance. Stafford comes to Hickory from Elon University where he was most recently serving as the Assistant Director of Compliance.
"I am thrilled to add Andrew Stafford to lead our NCAA rules compliance office," said Kim Pate, Vice President for Athletics. "Andrew will be a great addition to our leadership team and will build on the strong foundation and culture of compliance we value at Lenoir-Rhyne while streamlining and strengthening our operations and systems. Andrew will bring a collaborative, relational, and process driven approach to put our student-athletes, coaches, and the overall athletic program in a strong position for success."
"I would like to thank Vice President for Athletics Kim Pate and President Fred Whitt for the amazing opportunity to join Lenoir-Rhyne University," said Stafford. "This is an institution that is highly recognized for its academic achievement and an athletics department with a tremendous vision for driving student-athlete success. Its supportive fans, strong alumni base, and wonderful location in Hickory creates a vibrant environment I am thrilled to work within. Lenoir-Rhyne is a phenomenally supported institution and I cannot wait to be a part of the Bears family."
In his previous role at Elon, Stafford helped manage all facets of compliance for the Phoenix, including helping create the institution's Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy. He also handled initial eligibility tracking and certification for prospective student-athletes, engineered processes through the ARMS platform, and cultivated relationships with campus partners in the Office of Admissions, Resident Life, Financial Aid, Bursar, and Academics. He also governed NCAA rules for all staff and student-athletes through rules education, LSDBI research and RSRO violation reporting.
Prior to his compliance role at Elon, Stafford worked there for two years as the Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Services. In that role, he planned and implemented programming around student-athlete development for 400+ athletes in 17 different sports, served as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) advisor, designed a financial literacy program and two athlete-centered leadership development programs for academic credit, and facilitated gender violence prevention and Title IX education for athletic department staff and student-athletes.
Before working at Elon, Stafford obtained his Master's of Science in Sport and Recreation Leadership from James Madison University in 2019 while working for the football team under former LR head coach Mike Houston. He started as an operations and recruiting intern before being promoted to Assistant to the Head Coach, a role he held for two years. Stafford received his bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science with a concentration in Sports Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015.
Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics welcomes Andrew Stafford to Hickory as the new Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance.
