Scott Dolson
Longtime IU Athletics administrator and IU alumnus Scott Dolson began his tenure as IU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics July 1, 2020. A native of Michigan City, Ind., Dolson spent the previous 11 years as the department’s Deputy Director of Athletics and chief operating officer, where he played an integral role in helping IU Athletics to record-setting successes on the field and off.
In his previous role as Deputy Director of Athletics, he was instrumental in helping IU Athletics establish records for both athletic and academic success, including graduating students at unprecedented rates; make historic investments in facilities; deliver unprecedented fundraising dollars; and establish nationally recognized programs and policies focused on holistic student development and welfare.
Dolson helped oversee strategic planning of all facility projects and renovations, ensuring the successful completion of the university’s Bicentennial Facilities Master Plan for IU Athletics, which includes over $150 million in facility construction and renovations.
Under Dolson’s stewardship, the athletics department renegotiated a new, 10-year multimedia rights agreement with Learfield Sports, and it has dramatically increased student and general attendance at both football and men’s basketball games. Recent years have seen IU football achieve record attendance and increase public season ticket sales. In men’s basketball, IU continues to sell more student season tickets than any other program in the country and regularly ranks among the nation’s leaders in attendance.
In addition to his role as deputy director of intercollegiate athletics, Dolson maintained his leadership as the fourth director of the Varsity Club. As director, he managed the athletic department’s overall fundraising program for scholarships, annual giving, endowments and athletic facilities.
The Michigan City, Indiana, native graduated from IU with a bachelor’s degree in management from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. While doing his undergraduate work, Dolson was a student manager for the IU men’s basketball team for four seasons, serving as the program’s head manager in 1988. Following graduation in 1988, he worked for Tim Knight Enterprises before joining the joining the Varsity Club staff in December 1989.
Dolson and his wife, Heidi, who works as a Special Events Manager at the IU Alumni Association, have five children: Luke, Sam and Zach Wisen, and Kristen and Nick Dolson.
