Jeff Mitchell
A proven administrator with 20 years of diverse experience in intercollegiate athletics as a student-athlete, graduate assistant, coach, and administrator, Jeff Mitchell is in his first year at Southern Miss and serves as the Deputy Director of Athletics. Mitchell joins Southern Miss after a twelve year stint at Santa Clara University. Most recently he was the Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations at Santa Clara, and he served as the University’s acting Executive Director of Athletics from April to August of 2015.
In his role at Southern Miss, Mitchell is the chief advisor to Athletic Director Jon Gilbert and assists Gilbert with oversight of all day-to-day operations of the athletics department and provides directed guidance for the compliance, academic support, and sport performance units. In addition, Mitchell serves as the department’s chief legal liaison to the office of the general counsel and is the sport administrator for the Golden Eagles’ football and men’s basketball programs.
From December 2014 to August 2018, Mitchell managed the day-to-day operations of the Santa Clara athletics department with a directed focus on external operations and revenue generation while providing guidance and support to the department’s administrative and coaching staffs. Mitchell was the department’s chief financial officer, chief revenue officer, and primary legal liaison. In addition, he served as the sport administrator for the Broncos’ men’s basketball and baseball programs. Mitchell was a member of the West Coast Conference basketball cabinet and served a three-year term (2015-2017) on the NCAA Division I Baseball Regional Advisory Committee for the West Region.
As the Broncos’ number two administrator, Mitchell led the department to three consecutive years of record financial growth with year-over-year increases in operating budgets and in revenue generation. He tripled the size of the department’s external operations staff and negotiated deals to partner with The Aspire Group to grow the department’s ticketing efforts and with Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment to develop a comprehensive corporate sponsorship program. Mitchell also finalized the department’s current Nike apparel agreement.
From October 2006 to November 2014, Mitchell oversaw compliance, student services, and legal affairs at Santa Clara. During the 2010-2011 academic year, Mitchell helped guide the University through a successful NCAA re-certification process.
During his time at Santa Clara, the Broncos secured 22 team NCAA tournament bids and 11 individual NCAA postseason invitations across eight different sports. The Broncos also claimed two postseason tournament titles in men’s basketball in 2011 (CIT) and 2013 (CBI).
A native Mississippian, Mitchell is a 2001 graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a four-year member of the varsity baseball team and a four year member of the athletic department’s sports information staff. After graduation, Mitchell began his professional career as the Director of Sports Information at Millsaps and served as an assistant coach for the 2003 Millsaps baseball team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III South Regional Tournament. Mitchell also earned an MBA from the Millsaps College Else School of Management in May of 2003.
Mitchell’s career in athletic administration was nurtured while he was in law school at the University of Mississippi, from which he earned a Juris Doctorate in December of 2005. While at Ole Miss, Mitchell served as a graduate assistant in the external relations unit and primarily worked with the Ole Miss football and men’s basketball programs.
Mitchell is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. Mitchell has been a guest lecturer on the NCAA and intercollegiate athletics for the Sports Law class at the Santa Clara School of Law and has been a panelist at multiple Sports Law forums. Mitchell has also co-authored a text book entitled Sport, Ethics and Leadership, which was published in July of 2017.
As an accomplished public address announcer for 20 years, Mitchell has announced Division I baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and volleyball in the SEC, PAC-12, and/or WCC, Division III football and basketball in the SCAC, and Division III NCAA Tournament basketball.
Mitchell resides in Hattiesburg with his wife, April. They have one daughter, Harper Wynne, age 10, and one son, Carson James, age 5.
