July 19, 2016
THE FLATS – Joeleen Akin, a former Georgia Tech athletics staff member with more than 20 years of experience in college athletics, has returned to Georgia Tech as associate athletics director for student-athlete development and senior woman administrator, director of athletics Mike Bobinski announced on Tuesday.
Akin rejoins the Georgia Tech athletics administration after 13 years at nearby Agnes Scott College. She served as Agnes Scott’s athletics director and physical education chair for 12 years (2003-15) before being promoted to associate dean for athletics and student activities in February 2015.
Prior to her 13-year tenure at Agnes Scott, she spent seven years at Georgia Tech as director of women’s basketball operations (1996-98), marketing/operations manager (1998-99) and director of marketing (1999-2003).
“I’m very pleased to welcome Joeleen back to Georgia Tech,” Bobinski said. “Her significant intercollegiate athletics experience, positive and energetic manner and knowledge and appreciation for Georgia Tech will allow her to be impactful across our entire organization.”
During her 12 years as athletics director at Agnes Scott, an NCAA Division III institution in Decatur, Ga., Akin oversaw a program that produced eight NCAA Tournament teams and a coaching staff that earned 12 different coach-of-the-year recognitions. Under her direction, Agnes Scott student-athletes maintained a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and participated extensively in on- and off-campus service projects.
Akin’s tenure at Agnes Scott was marked by innovation and vision. She created and implemented numerous student-athlete development and engagement initiatives at ASC, including a new student-athlete orientation program, Safe Zone training for student-athletes, coaches and staff and coordination of campus-wide academic resources for student-athletes.
Administratively, she developed a unique revenue-generation model that resulted in a 200-percent increase in the school’s athletics budget and partnered with a national franchise Snap Fitness to bring a state-of-the-art fitness facility to campus at no cost to the college. She also coordinated with the school’s communications department to create the now-trademarked tagline “Smart Women Sweat” to promote the Scotties’ athletics programs.
In addition to her duties as athletics director and physical education chair, Akin was Agnes Scott’s women’s basketball coach from 2003-07 and was named the Great South Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2006. She also served as commissioner of the Great South Athletic Conference from 2011-16 and was a member of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball committee and NCAA volleyball regional advisory committee from 2014-16.
“I am thrilled to return to Georgia Tech,” Akin said. “I want to thank Mike Bobinski and the coaches and staff members that were part of the search process. I am excited about working closely with the student-athletes and coaches. While opportunities and life changes took me elsewhere 13 years ago, my passion for Georgia Tech never wavered. It feels good to be home.”
Prior to her arrival at Georgia Tech in 1996, Akin also served as a sports marketing assistant at Auburn and NC State and as a member of the women’s basketball staffs at UNC Wilmington and Kansas State.
A Kansas native, Akin earned bachelor’s (1991) and master’s (1993) degrees from Kansas State.
She and her husband, Charles, have two children: Bobbie and Ryan.
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