The Ohio athletic department announced Tuesday that after 11 years as the Bobcats athletic director, Jim Schaus has accepted the position of commissioner of the Southern Conference and will step down from his role with Ohio on June 30.
“It has been an amazing 11 years as athletic director at Ohio,“ Schaus said in a release. “We have accomplished much and a lot of fun doing it thanks to a great team of people on and off our campus who are committed to Ohio University.”
Under Schaus’ direction, Ohio has become one of the more household names in the Group of Five schools in the last decade. Facility upgrades with the Walter Field House and Perry and Sandy Sook Academic Center have raised the standards at Ohio.
The in-game results have been historical, too. The football program made six bowl games in seven years, the baseball and softball programs combined for three Mid-American Conference championships and both the men’s and women’s basketball teams made trips to the NCAA Tournament in his tenure.
Schaus is now at the helm of the Southern Conference, headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The conference is comprised of 10 schools that include: The Citadel, East Tennessee State, Furman, Mercer, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Samford, Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina and Wofford.
Deputy Athletic Director Amy Dean will be named interim athletic director effective July 1. A national candidate search will begin in the coming weeks.
