La Salle University Appoints William Bradshaw as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - March 28, 2017) - Colleen M. Hanycz, Ph.D., President of La Salle University, announced today that William "Bill" Bradshaw has signed a multiyear agreement as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation. Mr. Bradshaw has served in an interim capacity in the same role since March 9, 2016.

Mr. Bradshaw has over 36 years' experience as an Intercollegiate Division I athletic director, first at La Salle (1978-1986), then at DePaul (1986-2002) and most recently at Temple (2002-2013). During his prior tenure at La Salle, the Explorers won 28 conference championships and three Commissioner's Cups, made NCAA tournament appearances three times in Men's Basketball and twice in Women's Basketball, and averaged an impressive 90% student-athlete graduation rate.

While at Temple, he made significant hires including Men's Basketball coach Fran Dunphy (2006-Current) and Men's Football coaches Al Golden (2006-2010 and now with the Detroit Lions), Steve Addazio (2010-2012 and now at Boston College), and Matt Rhule (2012-2016 and now at Baylor University). In each of his prior athletic director roles, Mr. Bradshaw created more favorable conference affiliations for the universities, facilitated unprecedented academic performance from student athletes, and spearheaded facilities upgrades and record revenues.

Since returning to La Salle, Mr. Bradshaw led the successful hosting of the Division I Men's NCAA regional basketball tournament at the Wells Fargo Center in March 2016 and, more recently, under his leadership the combined performance of La Salle's Men's and Women's Basketball teams this year was the most improved in the NCAA Division I nationally, with the second most combined wins between the two programs at La Salle since 1993. Athletics fundraising, corporate sponsorships and ticket revenues are also up significantly since his return, and student-athlete grade point average (GPA) is an impressive 3.10.

"We are thrilled to have Bill back at La Salle. Over the last year, he has built strong relationships with our coaches and student athletes, and worked with key stakeholders to take the fan experience for students to new levels," said Colleen M. Hanycz. "We've seen progress in the performance of a number of our varsity teams in the past year under his leadership, and are confident that will continue. Bill is also focused on increasing the participation of all La Salle students in athletics past the varsity level in recreational and intramural sports, and as spectators and fans."

Said Mr. Bradshaw, a 1969 graduate of La Salle, "The past year has been rewarding, and it's exciting -- both as a former student-athlete and athletic director at La Salle -- to return during this promising time of the University's renaissance and growth under Dr. Hanycz's leadership. The future is very bright for La Salle and Explorer athletics." He also noted the importance of continuing the long tradition of creating and maximizing opportunities for students through varsity, club and intramural sports because they promote leadership and team working skills, in addition to supporting physical health and wellbeing.

For more information regarding La Salle Athletics, including schedule information, please visit www.GoExplorers.com.

About La Salle University
La Salle University was established in 1863 through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Brothers of the Christian Schools teaching order, which St. La Salle founded in 1680. La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values, and has consistently been recognized for providing exceptional value to students, most recently by Money magazine (5^th on the 2016 list of "50 Colleges That Add the Most Value"), Forbes ("America's Best Value College" list), and The Economist ("Top 100 Schools in the U.S. for Value"). Globally, the Lasallian educational network includes nearly 1,000 schools and centers of education, including 61 colleges and universities, serving 960,000 students in 77 countries.

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