Andy Rowdon joined William & Mary Athletics as the executive associate athletics director for external operations in the summer of 2024.
As head of external operations, Rowdon oversees brand management, marketing, media relations, broadcasts and streaming, donor and fan experience, creative services, and ticketing and sales. He is responsible for developing revenue generation initiatives, including strategic partnerships and external contracts such as multimedia rights, licensing, and merchandising.
Rowdon came to Williamsburg with 18 years of experience in external operation, most recently spending seven years at Eastern Michigan University. He started his career in Ypsilanti as the senior associate athletic director for external affairs before being promoted to the department's deputy athletic director for external operations in 2022.
Over his career, Rowdon has served in marketing, revenue generation, promotions and fan engagement capacities with stops at Texas Tech, Arizona State, Old Dominion, LSU, and Georgetown. He has been recognized numerous times by the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) as a "Best Of" award winner for his efforts.
During his tenure at Eastern Michigan, Rowdon served as a member of the executive leadership team and oversaw all the Eagles external units, including marketing, communications, ticket sales and ticket operations, licensing and sponsorship sales. He was the sport administrator for baseball, women's soccer and women's rowing. He also oversaw capital projects and facility improvements, including being responsible for over $17.5 million in athletic facility renovations since the 2020-21 academic year. His efforts culminated in the development of the EMU Rowing Course on Ford Lake, a unique partnership bringing together the university with public and private partners to the benefit of the entire Ypsilanti community.
Rowdon negotiated EMU's multimedia rights deal with Learfield, and the department accomplished the three highest sponsorship revenue years in school department history since 2019. He also led record-break ticket sales efforts with the Eagles, including the program's all-time basketball season ticket sales record in 2022, all-time football season ticket sales record in 2018, and total football revenue in 2023.
A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Rowdon has connections to two schools within the Commonwealth. He spent a year as the assistant athletic director for marketing at Old Dominion in 2011-12 and earned his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in history with a minor in political science in 2002. Rowdon earned his master's degree in sports management from California State University at Long Beach in 2005.
