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Skyhawk Athletic Administration | Phil Dane - Athletics Director

Phil Dane has served as the Director of Athletics since 2000 after serving as Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance at UT Martin for 13 years. He has overseen facility improvements, budget increases, and staffing changes during that period which have contributed to Ohio Valley Conference championships in football, men's basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, women’s soccer, softball, and women's tennis. 

Dane has overseen major facility improvements for football, basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, and softball facilities (Click Facilities tab at www.utmsports.com). A significant portion of these improvements came from an increase in student fees after a proposal was submitted to the Student Government Association in 2007 and supported by 63% of the voting student body. Almost $2,000,000 in private funding was raised that funded a significant portion of the Bob Carroll Football Building, Field Turf for the football stadium, and the new Rhodes Golf Center.

Dane has guided the university through its most recent NCAA Division I Certification. In addition, he has served as a peer reviewer in the NCAA Division I Certification Program for the University of Delaware, Western Kentucky University, Robert Morris University, Sam Houston State University, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Dane served as the chairman of the OVC Athletic Directors Council in 2010-2011. He also serves as the administrative liaison for the Ohio Valley Conference men's golf coaches.

Before he was named athletics director in 2000, Dane served as vice chancellor for business and finance from 1987-2000. In 1999, he chaired a commission to study the role and funding of intercollegiate athletics at UT Martin. The study commission developed a plan that allowed scholarship football to continue, and since 2000 Dane has worked with the university's administration to restore funding for football scholarships to the same level as other OVC institutions. He has held various positions at UT Martin since 1979. He is an Air Force veteran and a three-year baseball letter winner at Tennessee Tech University. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting in 1978 from Tennessee Tech and worked for Price Waterhouse and Company before beginning his association with UT Martin. He earned his MBA from UT Martin in 1984. Dane is active in community and church organizations. He has served as commissioner of the Martin Girls Softball League and president of the Breakfast Optimist Club. He is currently a member of the Martin Rotary Club and is a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Martin.

Dane’s wife, Debbie, and their three daughters have five degrees from UT Martin. Debbie teaches third-grade teacher at Martin Elementary School. Shelly works in the Shelby County School system. Katie teaches fifth grade at Martin Elementary School. Abbey is the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Memphis Zoo.

 

731-881-7661
pdane@utm.edu

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