Jeff Mitchell
As Ball State’s director of athletics, Mitchell will oversee athletic programs competing in the Mid-American Conference and the NCAA. He will implement the imperatives set forth within “Onward,” the Ball State athletics department’s comprehensive strategic plan, as well as guide the department’s “Ball YOU” program, an easily accessible platform to empower student-athletes in their name, image, and likeness (NIL) exposure and opportunities.
Mitchell has more than two decades of experience in higher education and athletics administration. At Southern Miss, he has managed the daily operations of the Golden Eagle athletics department and provided leadership for special projects, such as “#ToTheTop25,” the department’s strategic plan. He also negotiated the university’s long-term, multi-million-dollar multimedia partnership with LEARFIELD, and its long-term agreement with ticketing partner Paciolan, which is expected to generate $100 million in revenue over the term of the deal.
Mitchell joined Southern Miss after a 12-year stint at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., where he most recently served as the senior associate athletic director for external operations. A collaborative campus leader, Mitchell has served in various leadership roles and committees at Santa Clara and at Southern Miss—where he also taught business classes as an adjunct professor. 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, C-USA, WCC, Division III football and basketball in the SCAC, and Division III NCAA Tournament basketball.
Mitchell is the co-author of a textbook entitled “Sport, Ethics and Leadership,” which was published in 2017. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (2001) and Master of Business Administration (2003) from Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., where he was a four-year member of the varsity baseball team, a four-year member of the athletic department’s sports information staff, and assistant baseball coach. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2005, where he also served as a graduate assistant in the external relations unit and primarily worked with the Ole Miss football and men’s basketball programs.
Mitchell and his wife, April, are parents to daughter, Harper Wynne (14), and son, Carson (9).
