UC Santa Cruz Director of Athletics and Recreation Susan Harriman has announced she will be stepping down from the post effective May 5th, 2023.
Under Harriman's leadership over the past five and a half years, the Banana Slugs accomplished significant growth and success on behalf of the UC Santa Cruz community. Harriman's leadership led to the University becoming a founding member of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference in 2020. The structure and format of the conference was innovative and imaginative for enhancing the student-athlete experience while balancing the prestige and geographic challenge of being the only remaining Division III institution in northern California. The formation of the new C2C conference was also paramount in allowing UC Santa Cruz to compete for automatic bids to NCAA championships in 13 of its 17 varsity sport programs. The Banana Slugs have since won four C2C conference championships in addition to five Banana Slugs earning C2C player of the year honors and six coaches receiving Conference Coach of the Year honors. In 2020, men's swimming and diving won the program's first-ever Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference title.
Eight teams have made the NCAA championships during Harriman's tenure. Women's cross country made its NCAA nationals debut as a team in 2022 and the men's volleyball team were national runners-up in 2019. The 2022 women's volleyball team had their highest national ranking in program history and made the NCAA Tournament. Women's basketball, women's soccer, indoor & outdoor track & field, swim & dive, and women's golf have also represented UC Santa Cruz on the national stage over the past five years. Harriman also hired five new head coaches who have each brought new energy, subject-matter knowledge, and support for student success. Harriman's leadership and encouragement of the staff has ultimately improved the competitiveness and academic prowess of UC Santa Cruz Athletics in its endless pursuit of excellence on behalf of the institution at large.
Harriman's leadership also facilitated academic excellence in classrooms and laboratories around campus. In the past two seasons, 299 student-athletes across all varsity programs have earned Academic All-Conference (cumulative 3.20 GPA or greater) honors. In Fall 2022, 24% (74 of 308) of all student-athletes earned a place on the UC Santa Cruz Dean's Honors List for attaining at least a 3.74 GPA in a minimum of 15 units studied. 44 student-athletes have earned Academic All-American (3.5 cumulative GPA minimum and national vote) honors in the past five years. Since Harriman was hired as Director of Athletics & Recreation, UC Santa Cruz has enjoyed two nominees - Peyton Bell (2019) and Abby McPhillips (2021) - named C2C Conference Woman of the Year.
Athletically, seven Banana Slugs have been named All-Americans during the last five years among the countless, individual school records broken by the student-athletes. Women's basketball, women's golf, and women's volleyball each earned their highest national rankings ever. The athletic success continued after graduation, with three alumni continuing their basketball careers in international professional leagues and six Banana Slugs called to represent their respective national teams in various sports.
Recreationally, Harriman focused on increasing equitable program and facility access to the student body. Working with the campus' Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Harriman facilitated increased opportunities for students to participate in all recreational programming at no additional cost and ensured the effort was funded by existing institutional funding while simultaneously decreasing barriers to entry for students. This effort impacted first generation college students, students that come from historically low-income and/or of a low socioeconomic background, students who have experienced educational disadvantages, as well as undocumented students, former foster youth students, and current or veteran military service members. Additionally, Harriman restructured the Slug Membership program allowing all students and other Slug Recreation members to participate in group exercise programming as part of their existing membership. During the pandemic, Harriman championed staff innovation for virtual programming for all areas of the department where possible.
Harriman's service as Director of Athletics & Recreation also included a full organizational restructure and rebranding resulting in increased connectivity and integration of a large athletics and recreation unit comprising multiple, diverse program areas. Harriman's leadership of a campus-wide rebranding campaign for Athletics & Recreation led to comprehensive student engagement in multiple survey processes. The rebranding also led to the institution's first licensing partner agreement, paving the way for new revenue streams that will support and grow the Banana Slugs brand. Harriman's legacy will forever include being an integral leader to increase visibility for the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs and establishing new opportunities for the institution to be recognized as a positive contributor to the local, regional, national, and global community. Harriman always supported and strengthened the notion that the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs identify as one of the most unique institutions of higher education and brands on the planet.
Susan Harriman's tenure as director also extended to multiple facility enhancements for the student body focusing on projects that increased health, safety, security, and experiences of all students. Every facility area from the East Field House Complex to the East Lower Field and West Field House enjoyed improvements over the last five years with institutional support and utilization of existing fund sources in place to support the Athletics & Recreation Department and the success of the student body.
Senior Associate Director of Athletics & Recreation and Senior Woman Administrator designate, Courtnie Prather, will serve as Interim Director of Athletics & Recreation. Prather is in her third year as the Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator of UC Santa Cruz's Department of Athletics and Recreation. She oversees all internal operations, physical education programming and serves as the sport administrator for men's basketball, men's volleyball and women's golf. Within her Senior Woman Administrator designation, Prather serves as the liaison between campus and local community resources for students and staff, particularly for those from marginalized populations. She was honored with the 2022 NCAA Division III LGBTQ Administrator of the Year Award, serving as the department's LGBTQ OneTeam representative. Additionally, Prather serves as the department's adviser for Title IX and Title VII compliance and education and is a member of numerous campus-wide committees.
Prather joined UC Santa Cruz from Loyola University New Orleans, where she served as the Assistant Director of Athletics from 2016-2019. Prather led the athletic department's internal affairs, assisted with sport supervision, financial operations, and external affairs for Loyola Athletics. She also served a critical role in developing the Southern States Athletic Conference Women Leaders Initiative (WLI), which provides mentoring, professional development and networking opportunities that aid in advancing the professional and personal goals of women coaches, administrators, and support staff.
Prior to joining the Wolf Pack, Prather spent three years (2013-2016) at Southern University in Baton Rouge as the Women's Soccer Head Coach after serving as the program's assistant coach from 2010-13 and worked as an assistant soccer coach at William Carey University from 2004-10. During her time at William Carey, Prather earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology and Coaching and her master's degree in Psychology.
Before entering the coaching profession, the San Antonio native had two separate stints in the United States Armed Forces, serving in the Air Force and Texas Army National Guard.
