DOVER, Del. --- Delaware State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Skip Perkins has announced that Alecia Shields-Gadson has been appointed as the new University Associate Athletics Director for Compliance
Shields-Gadson will be responsible for implementing a comprehensive compliance program within the Delaware State Athletics Department. She will head the day-to-day operations of the Office of Compliance, which monitors the institution's adherence to NCAA legislation involving issues in recruiting, initial and continuing eligibility, athletics grant-in-aid, awards and inducements, and Title IX. Shields-Gadson will also serve as a Deputy Title IX Officer and a member of the Equity Resolution Panel for the DSU campus.
Prior to accepting the Delaware State position, Alecia Shields-Gadson served more than twenty years in intercollegiate athletics as a senior level administrator and head coach, most recently at fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Coppin State University. While at Coppin State, she twice served as interim director of athletics, interim director of compliance, and in her role as Deputy Director of Athletics/SWA she had direct oversight of several administrative areas most notably academics, media relations, marketing and promotions and sport administration. She was also an instructor in the Sports Management department.
During her tenure at Coppin State as Deputy Director of Athletics/ SWA, Shields-Gadson chaired various NCAA committees, including Minority Opportunities and Interests, Division I men’s and women’s track and field committee and Woman of the Year selection committee. She was also instrumental in the awarding to Coppin State of a $900,000 NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) grant designed to improve academic standards at institutions with limited resources.
“We are extremely privileged to have someone with Alecia’s background and experience join our staff,” said Perkins. “In addition to her vast knowledge of collegiate athletics rules and compliance, her background as a coach and familiarity with our conference made her an ideal choice for the position.”
As a track and field coach, Shields-Gadson has directed both men’s and women’s collegiate programs garnering conference championships, NCAA All-Americans and international competition accolades. She is the personal coach of 2016 Olympian, two-times World Championships participant and two-times USA national champion triple jumper and Coppin State grad Christina Epps.
While at Alcorn State as Sr. Associate Athletic Director and SWA, Shields-Gadson was a graduate of the NCAA Fellows Leadership development program and served on various conference and university committees. She was a successful track & field student-athlete at Southern University at Baton Rouge and where she also served as team captain.
A native of New Orleans, La., Shields-Gadson received a bachelor’s degree in English/Communications from Southern University in 1992 and a master’s in Athletic Administration and Secondary Education/Physical education from Alcorn State in 1995.