Monique Holland Named Northwestern's Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief of Staff

Her role with the Wildcats will include leadership of strategic planning, external relations, department meetings and campus partnerships.

Northwestern Athletics released the following statement regarding the new hire Friday afternoon.

EVANSTON, Illinois – Monique Holland has been named Northwestern’s Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief of Staff, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg announced Friday. Her role with the Wildcats will include leadership of strategic planning, external relations, department meetings and campus partnerships, as well as serving as a key advisor on Gragg’s executive leadership team.

“We are excited to welcome Monique to our Northwestern family,” said Gragg. “With more than two decades in athletics administration, she has perspective on the student-athlete experience from every angle. At each stop of her career, she has been relentlessly committed to advancing the well-being and success of young men and women in the classroom, in the community and in competition.”

Holland comes to Evanston after three years at Auburn University as Executive Associate A.D. for Student-Athlete Experience and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). During her tenure on The Plains, she provided leadership and oversight for AuburnYOU programs, including academics, counseling and sports psychology, nutrition, student-athlete enhancement, sports medicine and sports performance. Holland also served as the department’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator and oversaw all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In addition to her role as Chair of the Sport Administration group, she had direct oversight of the Tigers’ gymnastics, women’s basketball, softball and men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs.

“I am extremely grateful to President Schapiro, Dr. Gragg, and the NUDAR executive leadership team for this incredible opportunity,” said Holland. “Northwestern is committed to preparing Wildcats for success, not only as undergraduates, but for the rest of their lives long after graduation. My entire professional journey has been focused on making a positive impact on the student-athlete experience, and the leadership and mission alignment in Evanston offers amazing potential to contribute to something special. It is difficult to leave a place like Auburn and I always will be thankful for the support Allen Greene provided me, and the wonderful successes we earned and celebrated.”

During her career, Holland has served on many conference and national committees and is a graduate of various institutes including Sport Management Institute (SMI), Leadership Enhancement Institute (LEI), and LEAD1 Institute. In July of 2021 she was honored as one of 12 inaugural members of the LEAD1 Diversity Fellowship Program, a year-long opportunity for people of color and female administrators evaluated by a panel of experts as the industry’s most ready to assume an athletics director position.

She serves on the Board of Directors of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lee County, and is a proud member of The Links, Incorporated, one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women.

Prior to arriving at Auburn, she was the Senior Associate A.D. for Administration and SWA at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As the Mustangs’ Executive Senior Associate A.D. for Administration, Holland was responsible for the administration of SMU's 17 varsity programs, including student-athlete welfare, personnel, compliance, finance, equity and Title IX. Holland also had administrative oversight of business operations, internal controls, human resources and sports performance departments. She had direct sport oversight of the men's and women's basketball, cross country and track and field programs, and chaired the Athletics Diversity Council.

Holland began her professional career as an assistant basketball coach at Georgia Tech. She continued her journey in athletic administration at Georgia Tech, Clayton State, the NCAA office in Indianapolis and Georgia State prior to serving as the Director of Athletics at her alma mater, Alabama State University.

A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, Holland’s passion for college athletics began as a student-athlete, where she was an was an Academic All-American and served as the captain of the women’s basketball team at Alabama State, and was vice-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She earned her undergraduate degree in Therapeutic Recreation at ASU, and a Master of Science degree in Sport Administration from Georgia State University.

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