COLLEGE

Rob Fournier, Wayne State athletic director placed on leave, announces retirement

Tony Paul
The Detroit News

Rob Fournier, Wayne State’s athletic director since 2000, who was placed on administrative leave this month for an undisclosed reason, has announced his retirement, according to an email sent out Wednesday by the university president.

“I think we can safely say that today’s Wayne State athletics department is far beyond what it was when Rob arrived in 2000,” Wayne State president M. Roy Wilson wrote in an email to staff. “And we are all the beneficiaries of this development.”

Rob Fournier, Wayne State’s athletic director since 2000 who was placed on administrative leave this month for an undisclosed reason, has announced his retirement, according to an email sent out Wednesday by the university president.

Wilson said the university will announce an interim athletic director soon. Erika Wallace has been leading the department in Fournier’s absence. When Fournier was placed on leave, university officials said he was not to contact staff members, and staff members were not to contact him.

In Fournier’s tenure, Wayne State has won 41 conference championships, 17 conference tournament championships, and 51 conference coach-of-the-year honors. He was instrumental in the construction of the new $25-million, 70,000-square-foot basketball arena, which is shared by the Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.

The athletic department has $2 million in reserves because of Fournier’s fundraising.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984