Florida A&M's Interim President Ousts Leadership Including VP/Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

VP Sykes is no longer with Florida A&M University.

Florida A&M Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes addresses Rattler Nation at the first 220 Quarterback Club Luncheon of 2024 at the Old West Florida Enrichment Center in Tallahassee, Florida, Wednesday, February 28, 2024. / Gerald Thomas / USA TODAY NETWORK

HOUSTON - HBCU Legends received confirmation that vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics, Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, was no longer with Florida A&M University.

We emailed Sykes' email address at the institution and received an automated reply, "I am no longer employed at FAMU. Please email Michael Smith."

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Sykes changed her social media profile without referring to Florida A&M University.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/eOe85zGHLw

— Tiffani-Dawn (@Tiffani_Sykes) August 13, 2024

Vaugh Wilson of HBCU Gameday reported at 12:15 ET on 8/13/24: "FAMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes has sent communications to her circle that she is no longer employed at FAMU. She directs athletics inquiries to associate athletic director Michael Smith."

FAMU VP and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes informed friends that she is no longer employed at FAMU and further athletics inquiries should be made to Michael Smith. @HBCUGameday

— VR Wilson (@VRWilson52) August 13, 2024

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HBCU Legends will have more information on this developing story.

FROM THE FLORIDA A&M ATHLETICS WEBSITE

Tiffani-Dawn Sykes took over the Florida A&M Athletics Department as the vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics on January 4, 2023, after being announced to the position in October 2022 by President Dr. Larry Robinson.

In Sykes' first year and a half, the Rattlers have seen consistent success on and off the field.  In her first six months, the women's tennis and baseball team won their first SWAC championship.  During her first full academic year (2023-24), the Rattlers made history, winning two HBCU National Championships in the same season for the first time in department history after football defeated Howard 30-26 in the 2023 Celebration Bowl and golf won the 2024 PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship by 29-strokes. The Rattlers also saw cross country, football, and women's indoor track & field win their first SWAC championship. The Rattlers nearly added five more championships, as volleyball, men's golf, tennis, softball, and women's outdoor track & field all finished second at the SWAC Tournament/Championships. 

Sykes made department history off the field as the department saw six teams achieve six perfect 1,000 scores in the 2022-23 Academic Progress Rate (APR) report for the most in department history. 

Sykes also led in renaming the football field to Ken Riley Field, the football locker room to George "Godfather" Thompson Locker Room, and the softball field to Veronica Wiggins Field. The Rattlers also hosted the 2023 Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) Football State Championships for the first time since 1978.  Under Sykes' leadership, the Rattlers also launched its first-ever digital streaming platform, Rattlers+, and its first-ever athletics app.

Before joining Florida A&M, Sykes was the executive senior associate athletics director for varsity sports and senior woman administrator (SWA) at Dartmouth College.  Sykes joined Dartmouth in October of 2019 as the associate athletics director for compliance before later being promoted to senior associate athletics director for varsity sports while also taking on the role of senior woman administrator (SWA).  Then, in March 2022, Sykes was promoted to her most recent title of executive senior associate athletics director for varsity sports and senior woman administrator (SWA).

Sykes provided leadership and direction to Dartmouth's 35 Division I varsity sports. She directly oversaw select varsity sports programs and other functional areas within the department, including varsity athletics communications, compliance, and the ground-breaking Dartmouth Peak Performance (DP2) initiative.

She not only oversaw all of the complex and challenging issues surrounding player eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded the successful effort to bring the NCAA Skiing Championships to Hanover in 2025. Sykes also served on the Ivy League scheduling committee, the ECAC executive committee, and the ECAC student-athlete of the year selection committee.

Before Dartmouth, Sykes served as the assistant athletics director for compliance at Grambling State in Louisiana for two-and-a-half years, overseeing the day-to-day responsibilities of the department's compliance program, including monitoring, education, and certification. She also had sports responsibilities as the supervisor for the baseball, softball, and women's tennis teams, plus created "The Maul," a fueling station for all GSU student-athletes.

Sykes has also spent four years at Norfolk State as an NCAA eligibility specialist and three years at Chowan University in North Carolina as the director of NCAA compliance. She began her career in college athletics in 2002 at Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, in sports information and took on the role of the SWA during her four years there. Other stops include Virginia Union University and an initial stay at Grambling State.  During this time, she earned her master's degree in sport administration, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference office.

Sykes currently serves on the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee and was selected in Summer 2022 to participate in the highly competitive NCAA Pathway Program, a yearlong initiative designed to prepare senior-level athletics administrators for the next career step as directors of athletics or conference commissioners. Additionally, Sykes was featured as a panelist at the 2022 National Association for Athletic Compliance (NAAC) and the 2022 Minority Opportunites Athletic Association (MOAA) conferences and presented at the 2022 American Football Coaches Association convention. Sykes is also a 2007 graduate of the NCAA Leadership Institute.

A 2001 graduate of Virginia State with a bachelor's degree in health, physical education, recreation, and dance, Sykes was a team captain and four-year starter for the Trojans' volleyball team and a three-year letter winner on the track and field team. She is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC), Women Leaders in College Sports, and the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association.