HICKORY, N.C. – Vice President for Athletics Kim Pate has announced the hiring of Monica Gordy Polizzi to the role of Senior Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations. Polizzi had served as the Assistant Athletic Director at Mars Hill University since June 2019.

"I am beyond excited to welcome Monica and her husband Justin to our Bears Family," said Vice President for Athletics Kim Pate. "I have had the special privilege of getting to know Monica as a colleague and have observed the extraordinary impact she has made at Mars Hill as well as at the conference and national level. She has garnered tremendous respect across our league and association and is truly one of the top athletic administrators across our division. She has a genuine passion and heart to serve coaches and will bring strong leadership, mentorship and a commitment to elevating the student-athlete experience."

"I would like to thank Vice President for Athletics Kim Pate and President Fred Whitt for the incredible opportunity to join the Bears family," said Polizzi. "Lenoir-Rhyne continues to excel not only in the South Atlantic Conference but also on the national stage and I couldn't be more excited about supporting the coaches and student-athletes as they continue to pursue success."

While at Mars Hill, Polizzi served as the Institution's Director of NCAA Compliance and the Senior Woman Administration. In addition to those duties, Polizzi oversaw much of the department's internal operations, including team travel, event ticketing, facility scheduling and budget oversight for women's sports teams. She also served as the co-advisor to Mars Hill's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Polizzi is also active on the conference and NCAA levels. In 2019, Polizzi was selected to serve on the NCAA Division II National Football Committee and became the first woman to serve in that capacity. Polizzi is the co-chair of Super Region II and oversees the Regional Advisory Committee.

Within the conference, Polizzi serves as the SWA liaison to the football coaches committee and also serves as a member of the SAC Competition and Scheduling Committee as well as the SWA liaison on the AD Council.

Before stepping into an administration role, Polizzi was Mars Hill's Head Softball Coach from 2011-19. During her tenure, her teams consistently earned the highest team GPA within the Mars Hill department. Polizzi coached two athletes who earned All-American honors and numerous SAC All-Conference selections. Under Polizzi's leadership, Robyn Stanek was named the SAC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

Polizzi also held the Head Softball Coaching position at Louisburg College for four years. She developed the 2010 and 2011 Region X Player of the Year to go along with five All-Region selections.
Polizzi played at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) from 2000-04 and was a four-year starter at three different positions. She earned the 2004 Most Valuable Player award and the Offensive Player of the Year in the Sunshine State Conference. She held the school record for career home runs, single-season and career batting average and single-season and career RBI's.

In her position at Lenoir-Rhyne, Polizzi will be responsible for assisting with the overall strategic planning, implementation, administration, direction, and supervision of the athletic department.  Polizzi will serve as the athletics chief financial officer and oversees all athletic department business operations as well as administer the tracking and forecasting of athletics enrollment. In her role, she will provide administrative oversight for multiple sport programs, assist with hiring and mentoring coaches and staff.  Polizzi will serve in the role of Senior Woman Administrator representing Lenoir-Rhyne on conference and national committees while heading up a number of strategic initiatives on behalf of the athletic department to support and enhance the student-athlete experience.