WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue vice president and athletics director Mike Bobinski, in partnership with vice president for development Amy Noah, announced the hiring of Abilene Christian University director of athletics Lee De Leon as executive senior associate athletics director/assistant vice president for development Thursday.
De Leon (pronounced DAY LEE ON) will work in direct partnership with Bobinski, Noah and deputy athletics director Jason Butikofer to provide vision and leadership to advance the athletic department's fundraising efforts. He will manage the day-to-day internal operations of the John Purdue Club with a concerted focus on building the donor base and engaging contributors.
"It is a pleasure to welcome Lee, Lacey, Landon and Luke to the Purdue Athletics family," Bobinski said. "Lee is a broadly experienced, results-driven college athletics administrator with a proven record of success in managing development operations and orchestrating fundraising campaigns. Our alumni, donors and fans will immediately take to his amiable personality and commitment to broad-based success."
De Leon, who will start June 25, has served as athletics director at Abilene Christian since November of 2014. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest Division I athletics director in the country.
"I have a lot of mixed emotions today," De Leon said. "I'm sad to be leaving all the wonderful people at ACU, but I'm thrilled to be joining the tremendous staff at Purdue University. My time in Abilene has been unforgettable, and I'm forever grateful to (ACU president) Dr. Phil Schubert for allowing me to fulfill my career goal of becoming a Division I athletics director at such a special place. However, the opportunity to go to a nationally recognized university like Purdue and to be a part of a leadership team in the Big Ten Conference was extremely appealing to me. My family and I are so thankful to Mike Bobinski, Amy Noah and Jason Butikofer for allowing me to join their outstanding team in West Lafayette."
In three and a half years, De Leon grew Abilene Christian's annual revenue by 81 percent and increased the operating budget by almost 40 percent - in large part due to new multi-year contracts with NIKE, IMG and Vivature - while also overseeing increases in ticket sales, merchandise sales and concessions and the re-launch of the Wildcat Club, the official fundraising organization of ACU Athletics. The first year of the organization led to 700 inaugural members, followed by an increase in the second year to 980 members. In its initial year, the Wildcat Club raised more than $6.25 million through the Wildcat Annual Fund, capital and endowment gifts, as well as donations to sport-specific funds.
De Leon also oversaw the construction of Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium, Abilene Christian's first on-campus football stadium in more than 70 years. ACU Athletics has completed $57 million worth of new and improved facility projects since 2014, including a new soccer/track & field stadium, artificial turf at both baseball and softball stadiums, a new tennis operations facility, and the renovation of the Teague Special Events Center (football offices, locker room, and training room facilities).
Prior to joining the Abilene Christian staff, De Leon served as a member of the senior staff at three Division I-FBS institutions.
From 2011 to 2014, De Leon was the associate director of athletics for development at the University of New Mexico. He served as executive director of the Lobo Club, UNM's official fundraising organization for athletics that raises funds for all Lobo teams, programs and student-athletes. Previously, De Leon worked three years (2009-11) at the University of Arizona, first as the director of annual giving before being promoted to assistant athletics director for major gifts and annual giving. Before that stop, De Leon spent three years (2006-08) at the University of Houston as assistant director of marketing and director of marketing. De Leon began his career in college athletics at LSU in 2005 as a marketing assistant.
A native of Houston, De Leon earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame in 2004 and a master's degree in sport management from Texas A&M University in 2005. He and his wife, Lacey, have two sons, Landon and Luke.