UW-Platteville names new athletic director

Kristina Navarro

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is pleased to announce Dr. Kristina Navarro as the new director of athletics and assistant chancellor for sports administration. She will begin her position on June 1 overseeing the 16 athletic teams. Navarro most recently served as the senior associate athletic director for leadership development and strategic partnerships at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. She also was an assistant professor of practice at Rutgers.

“Dr. Navarro brings extraordinary experience in athletics, having been a student-athlete herself and having advanced degrees in sports administration and educational leadership. She brings experience with her to Platteville from three Division I settings and two programs specifically in the University of Wisconsin System. That’s a remarkable combination,” said UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis J. Shields. “She has also had tremendous success in developing leadership programs and positions. I’m excited to bring her energy and expertise in designing academic programs that focus on athletic leadership. Those programs can help attract students to UW-Platteville as well as enhance our Health and Human Performance program.”

“I am extremely excited and humbled to join the Pioneer family and Chancellor Shields’ leadership team,” said Navarro. “I am eager to begin forward momentum on the charge to build a collaborative transformational student-athlete experience, enhance philanthropic and corporate support campus wide, and develop a culture of competitive excellence. I look forward to supporting, inspiring, leading and learning from and with our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campus partners as we write the next great chapter for Pioneer athletics.”

Navarro comes to UW-Platteville with nearly 15 years of sport management experience. She has worked in the athletic departments at UW-Madison, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Oklahoma and UW-Whitewater.

Navarro calls the WIAC one of the best NCAA Division III conferences. “As a former student-athlete and administrator at the Division I and III level, the ability to develop cross campus synergy and high impact experiences championed by athletics at the Division III level aligns with my passion and purpose,” she said. “As a product of the WIAC and Wisconsin System, the ability to return to my home state to work with higher education leaders who are committed to a growth mindset is a blessing.”

Navarro earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management, business administration from UW-La Crosse. She received her master’s degree in sport administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from UW-Madison.