Brian Clinard enters year three as the Director of Athletics at Spalding University.
In Clinard’s first two and a half years at the helm of Spalding Athletics the Golden Eagles have seen success both in competition and in the classroom.
Since 2022 the Golden Eagles have won 9 SLIAC Conference Championship including 4 regular season championships and 5 conference tournament championships resulting in Spalding making their first NCAA Tournament appearances in baseball, softball and men's soccer and women’s soccer. In addition to winning championships Spalding has hosted both the 2022 SLIAC Cross Country Championship and 2024 SLIAC Softball Tournament Championship.
Spalding student-athletes have also been excelling in the classroom posting a 3.36 cumulative GPA in the 2023-24 academic, the highest departmental GPA since 2010-11. To shine a light on student-athletes academic achievements the Spalding Athletics in conjunction with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies formed a Spalding Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society inducting Spalding’s inaugural class in the spring of 2024.
The athletics department has also seen growth in its student services with the founding of the Eagle Excellence Program, a holistic program focused on the overall well-being of student-athletes with a focus on supporting student-athletes athletically, mentally, academically, and emotionally. Spalding has also embraced NIL by partnering with OpenDorse, the leader in Name, Image and Likeness, as Spalding’s official NIL partner providing opportunities for Spalding student-athletes.
Clinard currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisville Sports Commission, the University of Louisville Sport Administration Alumni Advisory Council, Advisory Board for the Spalding University School of Business and is a mentor in the Jefferson County Public Schools Big Brother Mentor Program.
Prior to serving as the Director of Athletics, Clinard served 10 years at Spalding where he previously oversaw all strategic communications for the athletics department at Spalding, which includes 16 NCAA Division III varsity athletic programs, including, media, public relations, statistics, graphic design, web content and development, and live broadcasts.
In the summer of 2015, Clinard negotiated the Golden Eagles partnership with Stretch Internet to provide free streaming and live stats for Spalding athletic events.
In 2013, Clinard led the rebranding and redevelopment of the school's athletics website and logos, creating a new visual identity for the Golden Eagles. The standardized, unified look serves as the current graphic identity of all 16 sports and is seen primarily through their SIDEARM Sports website.
Upon arrival in 2012, Clinard created and established all social media outlets for the athletic department, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Proficient in graphic design, Brian has established the SU Athletics social media through integration of infographics and promotional flyers.
In addition to leading the department's rebranding, Clinard played a significant role in landing an apparel deal with Under Armour and BSN Sports in 2015, another major step in unifying Spalding Athletics.
Brian has also established an internship mentoring program at Spalding. Each semester, Clinard brings in several for-credit interns through the University of Louisville Sport Administration program and integrates them into Spalding Athletics.
In November 2017, Clinard assisted the Louisville Sports Commission and Spalding in hosting the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships. In addition to helping Spalding host NCAA events, Brian assisted the University of Louisville in hosting the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Regional, 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Regional, 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Second and Third Round, as well as, helped Bellarmine University host the 2014 NCAA Division II Fall Championship Festival.
A Louisville native, Clinard earned his Bachelor of Science in Sport Administration at the University of Louisville, as well as a Master of Science in Business Communication from Spalding University in 2019. In addition, Clinard has been a member of CoSIDA since 2012.
