AIKEN, S.C. – University of South Carolina Aiken Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson is pleased to announce the hiring of Dexter Harris as Deputy Director of Athletics.
"I have known Dexter for over 30 years," Wilkinson said. "I have watched him grow as a student-athlete baseball player, young professional, co-worker, leader, student advocate, advisor, nationally recognized programmer for institutional culture and belonging, and parent. His addition to our athletic leadership support team is a game changer. He is a complete athletics professional administrator with director credentials. His strong background in operations and sport oversight along with experience in human resources specific to Title IX will strengthen our division and university.
"There are many others that can do athletic administrative work, but Dexter has a skill set in relationship building and student welfare that is special. He earns respect and trust through his integrity and core values. Dexter's attributes connect perfectly in supporting the expectation of excellence as the standard for Pacer athletics. USC Aiken is very fortunate to add a leader of this magnitude to mentor and support our students."
Harris comes to USC Aiken after being the Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and Event Management and Coordinator of Student Equity at Barton College. He organized and executed gameday operations for 23 sports. Harris developed, coordinated and implemented programs for institutional culture and belonging, Title IX and cultural engagement initiatives. He assisted with monitoring diversity, inclusion and multi-cultural recruiting efforts. Harris was instrumental in retention and professional development of employees in addition to helping with recruitment, retention and graduation rates. He helped revise Barton's policies, procedures, protocols and practices.
Prior to his time with the Bulldogs, Harris was the Director of Student Center/Intramurals and Recreation at Howard University from 2014-17. During that time, he ensured a diverse portfolio of extracurricular sports activities as well as health and wellness opportunities through sports programming. He was instrumental with coordinating and developing relationships responsible for the funding of intramural sports and he cultivated sponsorships to facilitate continuous funding streams. Harris managed 50 staff members who were responsible for the Burr Gymnasium's evening operations, officiating athletic contests and events planning for the conference space.
From 2005-10, Howard was the Associate Director of Athletics at Howard University. He served as the Intramural Director with the Bison from 2000-06. Harris negotiated contracts for football and basketball, surpassing $725,000. He also cultivated sponsorships with major national brands. Harris provided guidance and leadership regarding gameday events, marketing, facility management, travel, staffing and overall day-to-day operations of the department.
Harris was also the Executive Director for United Soccer Conference from 2005-07. He worked as the County Athletic Director at Northampton Public School System from 2010-14 and he also held the title of Director of Parks & Recreation for Elizabeth City from 2017-20.
After graduating from Barton College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Administration, Harris was an area scout supervisor for the Atlanta Braves (1997-99).
Harris holds a certification in municipal administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in addition to graduating from NRPA Director's School in 2018.
