UNCP Athletics

A 23-year veteran in athletics administration, Dick Christy begins his 11th year in Pembroke after assuming the role as UNCP’s 10th athletics director in May 2013.
 
Prior to his current stint, Christy spent 13 seasons in the athletics administration at NC State, including eight as the Wolfpack’s associate athletics director for external relations.
 
Over the last seven years, the Braves have registered their best performance stretch in the school’s NCAA Division II history, finishing their Peach Belt membership as the only institution to conclude the athletic season in the top-4 of both the PBC President’s Academic Award standings and the Commissioners Cup which is presented annually to the best overall athletics department. The Black & Gold continued to make noise in its return to Conference Carolinas in 2021-22, capturing the Joby Hawn Trophy for men's sports after logging 100 percent of its points available. At the conclusion of the 2022-23 athletic season, the Black & Gold claimed the Joby Hawn Trophy for the men's, women's and overall sports for the first time in program history. Most importantly, UNC Pembroke athletics registered a record department grade point average in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
 
The record performance over the last seven years has been fueled by 31 conference championships, including seven by the men's basketball squad, as well as 22 runner-up showings. The Braves also captured only their second NCAA Regional title in February 2020 when the wrestling team claimed the crown in Pembroke.
 
Christy's tenure has also been marked with record giving and external revenue efforts. Since 2013, department revenues have increased by over 30 percent, including a record annual giving year and 300 percent increase in sponsorship revenues from the 2012-13 fiscal year. The 2017-18 version of the Cash Bash, athletics primary event fundraiser, raised more than $105,000 for the general scholarship fund and became the largest single fundraising event in university history.
 
UNC Pembroke Athletics began the Braves Buddies program, partnering with Pembroke Elementary to assist elementary school students with literacy and fitness, as well as provide a mentoring opportunity every week of the school year. In May 2017, that program was recognized with the Peach Belt Conference's coveted Connecting Communities award which also helped UNCP stand alone as the only institution to earn that award multiple times. During the 2016-17 year, UNCP student-athletes dedicated nearly 2,000 hours to volunteering their time. More than 450 student-athletes have participated since the program began. UNCP's student-athletes and staff played a pivotal role in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Matthew. The department regularly put together voluntary clean-up efforts and relief drives that collected non-perishable food items and bottled water, as well as clothes and toiletries. Student-athletes returned to campus nearly 10 days later, but did so with vehicles, and sometimes even box trucks, filled with much-needed supplies that aided the relief effort in Robeson County.

Christy has also navigated head coaching transitions in eight sports, and has been at the helm as UNCP's teams have logged 58 NCAA postseason appearances to date and 22 coach of the year awards.
 
Facility campaigns have improved four stadiums, including a major aesthetic enhancement at Lumbee River EMC Stadium (soccer) thanks to a $500,000 gift from Lumbee River EMC. A locker room enhancement plan was implemented to improve the experience for more than 300 student-athletes across 10 sports, most recently with the implementation of locker room facilities for the cross country and track & field programs.
 
While at NC State, Christy was integral in not only the external revenue generation for the Wolfpack, but also with marketing, promotions and community involvement. During his tenure, external operations at State accommodated unprecedented demand for most of the Wolfpack's varsity sports.  Gross receipts from all of NC State's athletic events totaled more than $16 million dollars annually since 2004 and provided a solid foundation for an operating budget providing for 23 sports.
 
In addition to his duties with external operations, Christy served as a sport administrator at NC State, working with baseball, men's soccer, women's golf, cheerleading and men's golf. In this role, he was charged with budget and scholarship oversight, evaluation and support for coaching staffs, student-athletes and scheduling. Also in his role as sport supervisor, he was involved in a number of sport-specific fundraising efforts, most recently a $1.5 million dollar effort to complete the clubhouse at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
 
Christy's game management experience has included being named tournament manager for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship 1st and 2nd rounds, as well as tournament director for the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship regional final. He has also served on a handful of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) committees, including the Committee for Marketing & Sponsorships, the Committee for Sportsmanship and Chair of the Men's Golf Committee. He is currently wrapping up a 4-year term on the NCAA Division II Football Selection Committee as well.
 
An NCAA Division II student-athlete himself, Christy was a four-year letterman on the men's golf team at Wingate University. He served as team captain as a senior, while also earning the J. Ralph Hargett Athletic Leadership Award following his final season of eligibility. Christy graduated with his bachelor's degree in sport management from Wingate and went on to earn his master's degree in parks, recreation and tourism management from NC State while working in the Wolfpack athletics department.
 
He is also a graduate of The Sports Management Institute's Executive Program in 2008 – a joint venture between the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California.  Christy has also served terms on Wingate's Sport Management Board of Directors, Bulldog Club Board of Directors and the Raleigh 10-year Sports Planning Committee.
 
A Chichester, Pa., native, Christy married the former Windy Dotson of Rutherfordton, N.C., in 2005. Windy, a graduate of Duke University, is a patient navigation physician assistant for the Gibson Cancer Center and a former certified athletic trainer. The Christy’s reside in Robeson County with their two dogs, Luke and Buddy.