Florida Deputy Athletic Director Lynda Tealer was hired as the NCAA Senior Vice President of Championships, as announced by the NCAA Tuesday afternoon.
Tealer served as Florida’s deputy AD and a member of the University Athletic Association since August 2003.
According to the NCAA’s press release, Tealer will oversee 84 NCAA championships, including functions in event operations, media coordination and statistics, playing rules, ticket operations and marketing, merchandise and licensing, and social and digital media.
She will begin her role May 6 but will remain in Gainesville until July 1, per an article from FloridaGators.com.
"I am excited about the opportunity to lead NCAA championships through a period of growth and positive change," Tealer said. "It's an exciting time to join the team in Indianapolis as we work together to make championship participation the pinnacle of a young person's college experience and a highlight for families, fans and all who take part in our events."
With Florida, Tealer oversaw the university’s women’s and men’s basketball programs. She also served as a board member with the UAA and the athletic department’s deputy Title IX coordinator.
She isn’t unfamiliar with the role of leadership.
In addition to her positions with UF, Tealer is currently the chair of the Division I Council and a member of the Division I Board of Directors and NCAA Board of Governors. She has served on the council's Competition Oversight Committee, NIL Working Group and Council Coordination Committee. Tealer also held roles on the Division I Transformation Committee and the Southeastern Conference/ESPN Content Board.
"Lynda's background working with student-athletes, coaches and administrators, not to mention her time competing as a student-athlete, make her an ideal candidate to shape the future of our championships," NCAA President Charlie Baker said. "She's intimately familiar with the Association's governance structure and brings decades of leadership experience."
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said the UAA is forming a search committee to find its next deputy athletic director.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
