Georgia Southern University Athletics

Matt Varnadoe, a former student-athlete with a decade of experience as a Division I athletics administrator, joined the Georgia Southern University athletics administrative team as the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Compliance on October 1, 2023. He transitioned to Governance and Strategic Initiatives on July 1, 2025.
 
Varnadoe arrived at Georgia Southern after four years at Northern Illinois University, where he was the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and NIL Coordinator. At Georgia Southern, Varnadoe serves as the department's sport administrator for women’s soccer and the department’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator. Varnadoe will also serve as the department's primary liaison to Georgia Southern's campus partners, and leads the Athletics Compliance Office.
 
At NIU, Varnadoe oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Compliance Office as well as a member of the department heads team and served on the Strategic Plan Committee, NIL Committee, Revenue Generation Committee, and the Campus Sexual Violence Committee. He helped to develop and implement athletic department and compliance policies and procedures.
 
Prior to his time at NIU, he served as the Director of Compliance at James Madison University from 2016-19 where his responsibilities included overseeing NCAA bylaws 13, 16, and 17 and also included initial eligibility, rules education, interpretations, and waiver submissions.

In his first full-time position as Compliance Coordinator at the University of North Dakota (2014-16), he assisted in compliance operations for all sports for the Fighting Hawks.

Varnadoe is a 2013 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Limestone College (now University) in Physical Education Teacher Education while also competing as a pitcher for the NCAA Division II baseball program. He went on to earn his master's degree Cum Laude from Miami in 2014 while studying sport administration. Varnadoe is a member of the National Association of Athletics Compliance Coordinators
(NAAC).

A Charlotte, North Carolina, native, Varnadoe is married to the former Sarah Ward (Varnadoe), from Harrisonburg, Virginia.