Jon Palumbo

Veteran athletics administrator Jon Palumbo, joined Georgia Tech’s athletics staff as executive deputy athletics director and chief operating officer in November 2022.

In his role, Palumbo serves as Georgia Tech’s primary football administrator and oversee other internal operations.

Palumbo came to The Flats after serving as director of athletics at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to unprecedented achievements during his four years as A.D. (2018-22), including perhaps the most successful year in school history in 2021-22. The Islanders’ 2021-22 highlights included:

• winning a school-record seven Southland Conference championships, including in men’s basketball, where Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went from 5-19 in 2020-21 to 23-11 in 2021-22 under first-year head coach Steve Lutz, who led the Islanders to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007;
• claiming the Southland Conference’s women’s all-sports championship for the first time in school history;
• earning the Southland Conference’s Academic Performance Award for the first time in school history (recognizing the conference member with the highest four-year NCAA Academic Progress Rate score;
• student-athletes performing 2,778 hours of community service.

Other achievements during Palumbo’s four years at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi include the first women’s basketball conference championship in program history in 2019-20, a 17% increase in men’s basketball attendance prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Islanders’ student-athletes earning a 3.0-plus grade point average in every semester of his tenure as A.D. and the completion of an ambitious five-year strategic plan to serve as the blueprint for future success entitled “Making Waves.”

Prior to his arrival at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Palumbo served as deputy A.D. at VCU from 2012-18. At VCU, he supervised the day-to-day operations of the athletics department and was the administrator for the Rams’ flagship men’s basketball program, which made five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2013-17 and sold out every game during Palumbo’s six-year stint in Richmond. He also implemented budget management procedures that resulted in five-straight years of surpluses, which were reinvested in capital projects, including the construction of a $25 million basketball practice facility, a project that Palumbo was involved with during every stage of construction.

Palumbo also owns experience in the ACC, having served as associate A.D. for business at Maryland from 2008-12, where he worked alongside Batt. Palumbo’s professional experience also includes stints at American (associate A.D. – 2006-08), William & Mary (business manager – 2003-06) and LaSalle (graduate assistant – 2001-03).

As a student-athlete, Palumbo played baseball at LaSalle, where he was a team captain, member of the Athletics Relations Council and graduated with honors in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2001. He went on to earn an MBA from LaSalle in 2003.

Palumbo and his wife, Rachel, have two Australian shepherds, Camden and Dan.