WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary Athletics has hired Larry Pulley '74, former longtime dean of W&M's Raymond A. Mason School of Business, to serve as Interim General Manager for the next year.
Many athletics programs across the country are adding the GM position to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of college sports, says Brian D. Mann, director of athletics. In addition to numerous other duties, the Tribe's new interim GM will be tasked with helping develop the position description for the future GM so that it best fits the culture and mission of W&M Athletics.
"In this new era of intercollegiate athletics, general managers are handling the critical areas of roster management, the transfer portal, NIL, potential player revenue sharing and strategic planning," he continues. "Larry has the superb skills and experience to help W&M deal most productively with how we conform to the new NCAA regulations and potential revenue streams, while reflecting W&M's vision and values," he adds.
"My experience in budgets, strategic planning, personnel and financial issues will be of great benefit as we explore how we can best support our coaches and student-athletes," says Pulley. "I'm eager to meet with the coaches and hear their aspirations."
Building and strengthening relationships will also be a critical part of the position. As GM, Pulley will be embedded within the department, working closely with staff to design and implement the infrastructure that will position W&M Athletics for long-term success. A central part of his work will be building new partnerships across campus, including with the School of Computing, Data Science and Physics, to leverage William & Mary's academic strengths in support of innovation and growth, says Mann.
"Larry, for years, has been a strong supporter of Tribe Athletics, and his business acumen coupled with his knowledge of business analytics will greatly help us in this new world of college sports," says Mann. "As he starts his GM duties, he will be spending much of his time during the next 3-4 months with our basketball programs to help them build off last year's successful seasons, but each of our teams will have the opportunity to work with Larry and benefit from his great experience and insight. "
During his time at the Mason School, Pulley witnessed the importance of engaged alumni and student- athletes who were fully immersed in the W&M experience, and he will continue to build those relationships as GM. "We had alumni in our building every day and the school's business programs continue to be very attractive for students from across campus and in the transfer portal at both the undergraduate and graduate levels," he says.
Pulley has worked at W&M since joining the faculty of the business school in 1985. He served as dean from 1998-2022. During his tenure, he brought undergraduate and graduate business programs together for the first time in the new Alan B. Miller Hall and the school started five new online degree programs. He increased the school's outreach to veterans, creating a new Center for Military Transition. He also started the Executive Partners network to match students with a volunteer group of more than 100 senior business executives from more than 30 industries.
W&M Athletics fields 23 sports that compete in the Coastal Athletic Association, the Patriot League (football), the Gymnastics East Conference (women's gymnastics) and the Eastern College Athletic Association (men's gymnastics). The department most recently opted into the House vs. NCAA Settlement and has more than 500 student-athletes across its 23 programs.
