Derrick Gragg (born November 16, 1969)"Tulsa University chooses Derrick Gragg as Athletic Director,"

KRMG-FM KRMG-FM (102.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and serving the Tulsa metropolitan area. The station is owned by Cox Media Group, and airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast with co-owned AM 740 KRMG. W ...

, March 20, 2013. is an American college athletics administrator. He was the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, a position he has held from 2021 to 2024, before being moved to the position of Vice President for Athletic Strategy. He previously spent eight years, 2013 to 2021, as the

at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

, seven years, 2006 to 2013, as the athletic director at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

, six years, 2000 to 2006, as senior associate athletic director at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. Gragg played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, lettering as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

for four seasons, 1988 to 1991.

Early life, education and NCAA football

Gragg was born and raised in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, where he played football and basketball at Lee High School."EMU names Derrick Gragg intercollegiate athletic director,"
Eastern Michigan University, February 21, 2006. He attended

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and played wide receiver for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

football team from 1988 to 1991.Princine Lewis
"Former Vanderbilt football player and author Derrick Gragg to speak Feb. 26,"
Vanderbilt.edu, February 24, 2016.Jerome Boettcher
"AD finds inspiration in Vanderbilt’s growth – on and off football field,"
''

The City Paper ''The City Paper'' (also known as ''The Nashville City Paper'') was a free, weekly newspaper that served Nashville, Tennessee from November 1, 2000 to August 9, 2013. History ''The City Paper'' began publication as a daily, Monday through ...

'', July 28, 2013. He was recruited and played for head coach Watson Brown, before

Gerry DiNardo Gerard Paul DiNardo (born November 10, 1952) is an American former football player and coach. He played college football as a guard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he was selected as an All-American in 1974. DiNardo served as the head fo ...

took over as head coach his senior season. Gragg graduated from Vanderbilt in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in human development."Vandy Proud: Derrick Gragg, BS '92,"
''Vanderbilt Magazine'', May 12, 2016. He went on to earn a master's degree in sports administration from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in 1999, and a doctorate (Ed.D) in higher education administration at the

in 2004. He is a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity.

Career

Early academic career (1993–2006)

In 1993, Gragg was hired as an academic counselor at Vanderbilt University. Soon after he was promoted to director of student life in the athletics department. From 1995 to 1997, he was director of compliance at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

.Matthew Costa
"An Interview With Tulsa Athletic Director, Derrick Gragg,"
Football Matters, November 17, 2015. He went on to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he was an assistant athletic director from 1997 to 2000. Gragg joined the

athletic department in 2000 as an associate athletic director. In 2003, he was promoted to senior associate athletic director and then deputy director.Kyle Austin
“EMU confirms athletic director Derrick Gragg’s departure to Tulsa University,”
''

Ann Arbor News ''The Ann Arbor News'' is a newspaper serving Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw and Livingston County, Michigan, Livingston counties in Michigan. Published daily online through MLive.com, the paper also publishes print editions on Thursdays a ...

'', March 20, 2013.

Eastern Michigan (2006–13)

On February 21, 2006, Gragg was named the new director of athletics at

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

. At EMU, Gragg was responsible for an intercollegiate athletic program with 21 teams, 550 student-athletes and 80 staff members. Under his leadership, the

Eastern Michigan Eagles The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

totaled 24 Mid-American Conference team championships, 32 MAC Coach of the Year awards, 38 MAC Player of the Year honors and 164 individual MAC champions. Gragg also spearheaded construction of EMU's $3.9 million multipurpose indoor athletic practice facility. In March 2013, it was announced that Gragg would leave Eastern Michigan University for Tulsa University. His seven years as EMU athletic director was the longest tenure since Gene Smith oversaw the department from 1986 to 1993.

Tulsa (2013–2021)

On March 22, 2013, Gragg was officially introduced as the new vice president and athletic director at the

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. He was the first Vanderbilt Commodore football alumnus to become athletic director of a major NCAA Division I university. Following a 10-year tenure in C-USA, the

Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...

were upgraded to the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) in 2014, shortly after Gragg's arrival.Jesse Keipp
"Lunch with Derrick Gragg: AD talks about 'Elevate'-ing Tulsa sports,"
'' University of Tulsa Collegian'', February 9, 2015. They won four AAC championships in the 2014 season, including conference titles in men's and women's cross country and men's soccer. In the 2013–14 season, the Tulsa basketball team won 11 games in a row and earned its first NCAA tournament bid since 2003. They made the tournament again in 2016, losing in the first round both times. Over the course of his career, Gragg has been a presenter and panelist at events including the NCAA Presidential Summit, Future Coaches Academy, Champions for athletic director and Football Coaches, and the NCAA Annual Convention. He is a member of the

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is a professional non-profit organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more tha ...

and the

Black Coaches & Administrators The Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is "to foster the growth and development of ethnic minorities at all levels of sports both nationally and internationally". It currently is focused on athl ...

Northwestern (2021–present)

On June 4, 2021, Gragg was named the new athletic director at

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. Gragg assumed his position as the Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation on July 1, 2021. On June 13, 2024, Gragg was moved to the position of Vice President for Athletic Strategy.

Book

In October 2015, Gragg's book ''40 Days of Direction: Life Lessons From the Talented Ten'' was published. It relates the personal experiences of Gragg and 10 of his Commodore football teammates as African American student-athletes on the predominantly white campus of Vanderbilt University, and demonstrates how those experiences would shape their personal and professional lives, offering a blueprint for success."Inside Leadership: Derrick Gragg,"
''Athletic Management'', June/July 2016.

Honors and awards

Administrator of the Year, 2008–09 * Huntsville-Madison County (Ala.) Athletic Hall of Fame, 2010

Bibliography

*
Factors that Positively Affect Academic Performance of African-American Football Student-Athletes Who Graduate From Southeastern Conference Institutions
' (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2004) * ''40 Days of Direction: Life Lessons From the Talented Ten'' (3G Publishing, 2015)

External links

Northwestern profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gragg, Derrick Living people 1969 births American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks athletic directors Eastern Michigan Eagles athletic directors Northwestern Wildcats athletic directors Tulsa Golden Hurricane athletic directors University of Arkansas alumni University of Missouri staff Vanderbilt Commodores football players Wayne State University alumni Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama Players of American football from Huntsville, Alabama African-American college athletic directors in the United States Michigan Wolverines athletic directors