Eastern Kentucky reaches into its past to find athletics director of future

Eastern Kentucky University has turned to a familiar face to fill its athletics director position.

The Colonels announced the hiring Tuesday of Matt Roan, who has served the past three-plus years as director of athletics at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.

Prior to his stint at Nicholls State, Roan was a deputy director of athletics at EKU in 2015 and 2016, after serving as a special assistant to the president and working with the counsel’s office for two years.

Roan replaces Steve Lochmueller, who stepped down in October after four years as the Colonels’ AD. Former EKU athletics director Mark Sandy was charged with running athletics in the interim between Lochmueller’s resignation and Roan’s arrival.

“Eastern Kentucky University and the region it serves are special places for my family and me, and we are honored to be returning,” Roan said in a news release. “We look forward to embracing EKU’s tradition and leading EKU Athletics to new heights, where we display excellence academically, in athletics, and in the community.”

Roan earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky School of Law after a standout football career at Southern Utah University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a political science degree.

“Matt has lived the life of a student athlete and has had great academic success, which is something we found compelling in looking at many candidates,” said Heather Howell, an alumnus and former EKU volleyball player. “His previous experience in the OVC and most recent experience as a director of athletics in the Southland Conference were also major factors in bringing Matt back to EKU.”

EKU interim president David McFaddin also cited Roan’s varied background as a positive for the Colonels.

“His unique experience with multiple facets of the university and the student experience will be an asset to EKU.”

Roan, who was chosen from more than 70 candidates, will assume the duties from Sandy in early February.

Roan is originally from southwest Virginia and, along with his sister, was the first from his family to attend college.

“Kentucky and Appalachia are home to my family and me, and as a first-generation college student myself, EKU is the type of institution — a school of opportunity — I find most fulfilling and rewarding,” Roan said.

Athletes at Nicholls State set school records for grade-point average the past three academic years. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the football and softball teams either won conference championships or reached the postseason under Roan’s leadership.

Roan will be introduced at a welcome reception open to the public at the EKU Center for the Arts at 10 a.m. on Jan. 15.