Daron Montgomery was appointed as the Lenoir-Rhyne Vice President for Athletics on December 17, 2024. During his first year leading the Bears, Montgomery provided stability and a renewed vision for the university’s NCAA Division II athletic program.
Montgomery, a 1995 graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne, holds more than 27Â years of experience in the field of intercollegiate athletics at the NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III levels.
He successfully completed five head coaching searches in just his first six months at LR, and the Bears continued to build on their championship tradition in 2025. Two teams made history – men’s basketball set a program record with 29 wins and advanced to the NCAA DII Elite Eight, with LR baseball reaching the NCAA DII National Semifinals for the first time ever while setting a new DII record for home runs in a single season.
Women’s triathlon won its third national championship in four years, women’s soccer scored its third NCAA Regional Title in five years, volleyball earned a third straight NCAA tournament appearance, softball won its second consecutive South Atlantic Conference tournament championship, and men’s lacrosse scored another trip to the NCAA post-season.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s student-athletes were equally successful in the classroom and posted an average GPA of 3.44 for the 2025 calendar year, with all varsity teams achieving above a 3.00 team GPA. LR won the South Atlantic Conference's league-wide challenge for Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), an award based on community service and overall sports GPA.
Early on in his tenure, Montgomery had the opportunity to represent Lenoir-Rhyne on a national level, having been selected to serve as a panelist for Division II enrollment management at the 2025 NCAA Convention held in Nashville.
Prior to Lenoir-Rhyne, Montgomery served as the Vice President for Athletics at Saint Anselm College (NCAA Division II) for nine years, where he oversaw 23 varsity teams and more than 600 student-athletes. During his final five academic years, the Hawks made 21 NCAA Division II post-season team appearances and earned three NCAA Division II individual selections.
Across that span, Saint Anselm reached the Elite Eight (women’s basketball), Final Four (men’s basketball), and NCAA Division II national championship game (softball and field hockey). Saint Anselm won its first-ever national championship (field hockey) during Montgomery’s final year. The Hawks collectively achieved their highest-ever finish in the NCAA Division II Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings in 2019.
Saint Anselm expanded its varsity sports offerings under Montgomery’s leadership, adding women’s golf, women’s bowling, and women’s and men’s track & field (indoor and outdoor).
Montgomery also played a key role in elevating women’s ice hockey to Division I status and led the Hawks transition into its new league, the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). He served as the NEWHA’s executive director in 2017-18 before the conference tabbed a permanent commissioner. The NEWHA was officially recognized for Division I membership in 2019-20.
The Hawks set all-time records for athletics fundraising under Montgomery’s direction, and he spearheaded several major facility improvements during his time at Saint Anselm. These included completion of $2.5 million in new locker room construction/renovation, new upper and lower-level bleacher seating and lighting in Stoutenburgh Gym, a state-of-the-art Student-Athlete Academic Success Center, and the addition of a new varsity team film room. Montgomery also reinstated the Athletics Hall of Fame after a 10-year hiatus in 2017 and dedicated the Salamone Family Athletics Hall of Fame Project in 2020.
He negotiated the athletic department’s transition from Nike to Under Armour and also brokered a college-wide formal licensing agreement. These partnerships created new and significantly increased revenue streams.
Prior to Saint Anselm, Montgomery served as the Director of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for four and a half years. At UW-Stevens Point, he oversaw 20 NCAA Division III teams which competed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Under his leadership, the university earned 14 conference championships, 30 NCAA appearances and numerous All-American recognitions, with eight teams nationally-ranked during his tenure.
Montgomery established philanthropic records for both donors (70% increase over three years) and funds raised ($2.2 million in external revenue through new athletic corporate sponsorships over four years).
Before his arrival at UWSP, Montgomery spent 13 years at the University of Detroit Mercy, a Division I private, Catholic institution in the Horizon League. He held several administrative positions, including Senior Associate Athletic Director, during his final five years. As Senior Associate AD, he served as second in command and provided daily oversight for a 19-sport Division I program.
He was Chief Athletics Development Officer with an emphasis on major gift fundraising and coordinated capital campaigns that culminated in facilities construction and renovation projects on campus, including locker rooms, office suites, an outdoor track and synthetic turf multi-purpose playing field and a brand-new tennis complex.
He also served as Detroit’s head women’s tennis coach from 2000 until 2009, when he set a new record for wins in his final season and took the team to the Horizon League Championship match for the first time in the history of the program. Montgomery holds more wins than any other coach in Titan tennis history and was tabbed as the league’s Coach of the Year in 2002.
Montgomery served as Tournament Manager for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship – Midwest Regional and 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship – Final Four held at Ford Field in Detroit. He worked extensively with the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and played a key role in all facets of the events, while also working as host institutional chair for the Detroit Local Organizing Committee (2003-2009).
The Florida native holds a Bachelor of Arts in sports management from Lenoir-Rhyne University and a Master of Arts in athletic administration from Ball State University. He and his wife Karen reside in Hickory and have three children, Bailey (19), Izzy (17), and Jack (13).
