Sam Baker bio
1/16/2009 5:10:00 AM | General
Building a strong future for the Georgia Southern sports programs in his 17 years as Director of Athletics, Sam Baker has positioned the Eagles for success with new or renovated facilities, a foundation of financial stability and decisions to ensure the best for the student-athlete. An integral component of this ideology is the commitment to “Rings and Diplomas,” as the Athletics Department provides the opportunity for every Georgia Southern student-athlete to win a championship ring and earn a diploma.
The emphasis on the “student” in student-athlete is one trademark of the Georgia Southern athletics program as Baker promotes the initiative and continued support for excellence in the classroom.
Continuing to add to the lengthy list of accomplishments for the program, two Southern Conference championships were added last year in football and softball which upped Georgia Southern’s total to 32. Those championships gave the Eagles 29 appearances in postseason play. The most acclaimed is the Eagle Football program, accounting for nine SoCon titles, 10 NCAA playoff appearances (Division I FCS) and back-to-back NCAA FCS titles in 1999 and 2000, two of the nation’s-best six FCS national championships, during the Baker tenure.
A primary focus of Baker’s efforts has been facility improvements for fans and student-athletes. Planning and fundraising has begun for a new operations building for the Eagle Football program to be located at Paulson Stadium. The Gene Bishop Field House opened in the fall 2006, anchored the west end of the stadium with aesthetic changes to the concourses at Paulson Stadium made in 2007 and 2008. Softball stadium enchancements were completed in 2008 with the construction of stadium seating, team locker rooms and public rest rooms. In the same time period, the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center was completed, providing Eagle Golf with one of the top all-around practice facilities the nation.
Building and renovations were completed for several projects including the renovation of J.I. Clements Baseball Stadium, the construction of a Track/Soccer Stadium, renovation and expansion of Iron Works (Georgia Southern’s athletic performance center) and Men’s Basketball Locker Room (donated by Michael and Katrina Curry). In addition, other team locker rooms, sports medicine treatment center, equipment room, and coaches’ offices in Hanner Fieldhouse have undergone renovation and upgrades. Baker also served as the driving force behind the Dan J. Parrish, Sr., Football Building, the Herring Pavilion, football practice field renovation and the Troy Cowart Building (home to the Athletic Foundation and Athletics Ticket Office).
As a leader in his profession, Baker has been active in his service to the Southern Conference and the NCAA. From May 2000 to May 2002, he served as chair of the SoCon Athletics Directors Association. As Georgia Southern Athletics Director, he served as a member of the NCAA Special Events, Olympic Liaison and Division I Football Issues Committees. In June 2009, he was honored with recognition as the NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year for the Football Championship Subdivision’s Southeast Region.
Baker, a native of Front Royal, Va., joined the Georgia Southern management team after five years as Director of the College Football Marketing Corporation, a subsidiary of the College Football Association (CFA).
Baker’s responsibilities with the CFA included securing title sponsorship for and administration of its “Promise of Tomorrow” scholarship program. A four-year agreement with Hitachi awarded $1.3 million in scholarships to aid individuals involved in intercollegiate football with the means to pursue careers in the field of education.
From 1986-90, he was associate athletic director for financial development at Vanderbilt, where he oversaw the National Commodore Club. In the two years before moving to Nashville, Baker was associate athletic director for external affairs at the University of Oregon, the institution where he served as director of athletic marketing from January 1983 to May 1984. Baker entered the field of intercollegiate athletics at the College of William & Mary, where he spent seven years (1976-82) as director of athletic promotions.
Baker holds a 1976 master’s degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University and a 1974 B. A. in Communication Arts from James Madison University.
He and his wife of 36 years, Ann, are the parents of three children: Zeb, Elizabeth Ann, and Josie.
