An in-depth look at new Penn Athletic Director M. Grace Calhoun

Penn Provost Vincent Price announced today that the next Penn Athletic Director is M. Grace Calhoun, effective July 1. Calhoun is currently the athletic director and assistant vice president at Loyola Chicago, having assumed the former role there in Feb. 2011.

Calhoun oversaw Loyola Chicago Athletics as the university jumped from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2013. A month after taking over at Loyola, Calhoun fired men’s basketball coach Jim Whitesell, assuming control of a men’s hoops program that had (and still has) no NCAA appearances since 1985. Calhoun replaced Whitesell with Porter Moser, who has gone 32-61 in three seasons. Calhoun also hired women’s basketball coach Sheryl Swoopes and oversaw the final stages of renovation to the Gentile Center, Loyola’s basketball venue.

Additionally, Calhoun dealt with cuts to the school’s volleyball program in 2011, when seven players were dismissed from the program.

Calhoun has the Ivy League and urban university background to guide her at Penn. In fact, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky’s successor has a long background in athletics administration and also chaired the NCAA Research Committee from 2006-08.

2011-14: Athletic Director at Loyola Chicago
2005-11: Associate Athletic Director at Indiana
2002-05: Associate Athletic Director at Dartmouth
1998-2002: Associate Executive Director of the Patriot League
1997-98: Acting Athletic Director at St. Francis (Pa.)
1993-97: Florida Athletics, including working for Florida’s University Athletic Association
1992 Brown graduate, bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
Husband Jason is a PGA golf professional