STATESBORO - Dan O'Dowd, who has over 21 years of intercollegiate athletics experience, has been named the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Executive Director of the Athletic Foundation at Georgia Southern, as announced Monday by director of athletics Tom Kleinlein. O'Dowd, who has recently been employed at Ole Miss and ULM, returns to Statesboro where he spent nearly a decade working for the Foundation.

"I want to thank Tom Kleinlein, the members of the search committee and the Foundation Board for the opportunity to serve Georgia Southern and Eagle Athletics," O'Dowd said. "Georgia Southern has always been a big part of our family and Angela and I are excited to return to Statesboro. I look forward to reconnecting with our many fans and donors and getting to work as we continue to build momentum heading into the future."

O'Dowd spent the past five years at the University of Mississippi where he served as associate athletics director for development with the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation. In his role at Ole Miss, he oversaw the annual giving team and assisted in fundraising for the Forward Together campaign which has completed over $175 million in facilities projects for Rebel Athletics.

Prior to Ole Miss, he served three years as associate athletics director for development and executive director of the ULM Athletics Foundation at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He was responsible for the development and execution of various revenue streams including annual giving, major gifts, corporate sponsorships and ticketing. He also coordinated the athletic department's external operations and served as a member of the university's development team.

Before joining ULM, O'Dowd served eight years at Georgia Southern University. As the director of development, he was responsible for the Athletic Foundation's annual giving campaign. He also worked with the EFAA leadership on its annual reverse raffle and golf tournaments and had a role in re-organizing Paulson Stadium's game day parking plan. Prior to Georgia Southern, O'Dowd served nearly three years as director of development for Marshall University's Big Green Scholarship Foundation and one year as director of marketing and promotions at Troy State University.

"We're excited to bring Dan and his family back to Statesboro to serve as the executive director of our athletic foundation," Kleinlein said. "When you look at his resume, you see someone who has continued to progress professionally and has made a positive impact on every program he has served. Dan brings Power 5 experience to the table but also has roots in the Sun Belt having worked here, at Troy and in Monroe. We're looking forward to seeing the continued growth of our Foundation under Dan's leadership."

A 1995 graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in sport management with an emphasis on business, O'Dowd also holds a master's degree in sport management from Western Illinois University (1997) and earned his MBA from Georgia Southern University in 2007.

Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, O'Dowd and his wife, Angela, have two sons, Davis and Brendan.