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Shardonay Blueford

Shardonay Blueford Named Associate AD For Governance & Compliance

December 01, 2022 | Athletics Department

Blueford had been a member of Georgia Tech’s compliance staff since 2013

AMHERST, Mass. – Shardonay Blueford has joined the University of Massachusetts athletics department as the Associate Athletics Director for Governance & Compliance.  

"We are pleased to welcome Shardonay to our athletic department to lead our important governance and compliance efforts," Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford said. "Shardonay comes to UMass with extensive experience at all levels of collegiate athletics and her knowledge will help us navigate the current NCAA environment and allow us to adapt our operations accordingly. She is well respected in her field and will work well with our coaches, student-athletes and support staff to generate superior service in the compliance space."     

Since 2013, Blueford worked for the Georgia Institute of Technology Athletics Association and was named Georgia Tech's Director of Compliance in March of 2019. 

"I'm excited to be joining the leadership team at the University of Massachusetts," Blueford said. "I want to thank Ryan and the search committee for their confidence in me to fulfill this opportunity. I am truly humbled and honored to be leading the UMass compliance unit. I look forward to being an asset at such a prestigious institution as our office serves an integral role for student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus and external constituents." 

As Georgia Tech's Director of Compliance, Blueford oversaw $12M athletics scholarship and $300K NCAA Student Assistant Fund (SAF) budgets. She served as the compliance liaison for many campus units, including the Office of Financial Aid, Bursar's Office, Residence Life, Bookstore, Procurement and Dining Services. She also coordinated on-campus housing for student-athletes and assisted with securing off-campus housing. 

Blueford provided rules interpretations and managed all rosters and squad lists for athletic teams, practice players, spirit/cheer squad and managers. She assisted in the eligibility certification process and coordinated summer school for student-athletes and monitored the Georgia Tech agent database and provided agent education to elite student-athletes and their parents.  

In addition to the day-to-day compliance duties, Blueford managed the compliance assistant in Georgia Tech's office and was the co-lead for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Huddle efforts. Additionally, she served as a secondary sport administrator for the men's and women's tennis programs. 

Blueford worked her way up through the Georgia Tech compliance department, serving as an assistant director (2013-17) and associate director (2017-19) prior to her most recent appointment. In those roles, she gained experience including eligibility certification, on-campus and off-campus recruiting related activities, rules education, electronic monitoring, pre-certification and initial eligibility, pre-enrollment, amateurism cases and administering complimentary admissions.  

Prior to joining the Georgia Tech athletics department, Blueford was an Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at the College of Saint Rose (2011-13) and a Compliance Assistant at Harvard University (2010-11).  

Blueford completed her master's degree in sports studies at High Point University in December 2010.  

A 2008 graduate of Norfolk State University with a bachelor's degree in exercise science, Blueford was an outside hitter on the women's volleyball team from 2005-08 and was also a member of the women's basketball team during the 2005-06 season. She was a two-time volleyball team captain and garnered team MIP honors as a junior and team MVP accolades as a senior. Blueford earned a spot on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) all-academic team throughout her four years.  

Blueford is a member of the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC), the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), Women Leaders in College Sports and served roles with Leading Women at Tech and the Atlantic Coast Conference's Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE). She was also a 2012 NCAA Leadership Institute participant and graduate.