After five years as Austin Peay State University Vice President and Director of Athletics, Gerald Harrison has skillfully transformed the inherent strengths of Austin Peay — an enduring foundation and Tennessee's best-kept secret — into a brilliant spotlight, unveiling what so many of Governors fans have long recognized.
Recognizing Harrison’s leadership and the success it has brought, Austin Peay President Dr. Mike Licari announced a new five-year contract in January 2024. It was confirmation of a decision made by then-president Dr. Alisa White who brought Harrison to Clarksville as the University’s 14th Director of Athletics in July 2018.
Harrison has Austin Peay athletics perched upon a monumental move forward. Entering 2023-24, the Governors’ football team ventured into the United Athletic Conference, and the men’s and women’s basketball teams opened F&M Bank Arena. Additionally, Harrison is propelling a myriad of substantial and subtle initiatives aimed at enhancing the experience for Austin Peay's coaches and student-athletes.
Student-athlete welfare also has been one of Harrison’s focal points during his first five years. For instance, the ‘Total Gov Concept,’ an embodiment of Austin Peay's dedication to student-athlete welfare, places emphasis on the growing APSU’s student-athlete wellness division by adding the department's first nutritionist and sports psychologists, establishing a dedicated student-athlete lounge, and cultivating the LeadHer program to support women's athletics.
The athletic department’s commitment to the “Total Gov Concept” has seen its teams win 12 conference championships during Harrison’s tenure, including three football conference titles in the past five seasons. In addition, Austin Peay’s student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, recording a 3.0 GPA for a department-record 13 consecutive semesters.
Harrison also has brought top-notch coaching talent to Clarksville to lead Austin Peay’s student-athletes. Since his arrival, Austin Peay coaches have won Coach of the Year recognition several times at the conference level or through their respective coach’s associations.
And as innovation and forward-thinking go, a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Nashville Predators and Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment is a pioneering endeavor. The remarkable F&M Bank Arena, a gleaming new sports and entertainment facility in downtown Clarksville, stands as the crowning achievement resulting from the collaboration between Austin Peay, the Montgomery County Government, and the Predators. Other notable additions under Harrison's tenure include the Downey Baseball Operations Center and Clubhouse, the Jenkins Family Fieldhouse, the nutrition room, and the ongoing enhancements at Fortera Stadium.
Through his visionary leadership and strategic partnerships, Harrison has led the athletic department to achieve fundraising milestones that were once just ambitious goals — from surpassing yearly Govs Give records to the impactful "What If" Campaign and the game-changing $15 million contribution from the Maynard family — it isn't easy to find a time when support for Austin Peay athletics has been higher.
Not content to rest on his record, Harrison has unveiled a strategic plan for Austin Peay Athletics’ next five years. Providing a road map for the future, it lays out Harrison's vision in five key areas ranging from financial sustainability and revenue generation to student-athlete experience and retention.
Harrison arrived at Austin Peay after 10 years at Duke University, serving in various capacities. He arrived as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Football Development, which coincided with head coach David Cutcliffe’s arrival at Duke and the Blue Devils ascent from perennial ACC doormat to perennial bowl participant. After not earning a bowl bid since 1994, the Blue Devils broke through with five appearances in six seasons, including a 10-win campaign in 2013 that resulted in Cutcliffe earning the second of back-to-back ACC Coach of the Year honors and myriad National Coach of the Year awards.
By then, Harrison had advanced to the role of Associate Director of Athletics for Human Resources, although he maintained direct sport oversight for football while adding fencing and myriad inner-department staffs, including sports medicine, equipment, and strength and conditioning. During this time, he spearheaded a major reorganization of staff contracts, including a two-way binding clause for multi-year deals, and was part of the Executive Budget Committee.
In addition to budgetary work, Harrison fostered an inclusive environment at Duke, increasing the number of women and minorities in the University’s athletics administration by nearly 20 percent during this time. That earned him Duke’s Diversion Equity and Inclusion Award in the Fall of 2012. He also served as a member of the ACC’s Conference Committee on Equity.
From 2013 until his departure for Austin Peay, Harrison served as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Affairs at Duke. In that role, he served as a member of the Director of Athletics’ Executive Leadership team responsible for the oversight of human resources, professional development, equipment, maintaining oversight of football and fencing, and the Integrative Performance Excellence Initiative, encompassing a wide array of departments from sports performance to athlete mental health to better serve Duke athletes.
During this stretch, Harrison helped seek and secure funding, planning, design and construction for a multi-year, $100-million renovation project to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, which completed its latest phase to the fan amenities area in 2017. He also created the Director of Football Marketing position to increase revenue associated with Duke football and continued his work in the diversity realm by introducing the Open Door Initiative in 2013, giving minority college students a chance to intern at Duke for eight weeks during the summer.
As Duke’s long-time liaison for fencing during his tenure, Harrison served as a member and Chair of the NCAA Fencing Committee and was Chairman of the ACC Fencing Committee upon his departure. On campus, he also served as a member of the Duke Employees' Retirement Plan Board, managing the pension plan of all Duke employees.
Prior to Duke, Harrison was an integral member of the Tennessee football program during the latter days of College Football Hall of Famer Phillip Fulmer’s tenure as head coach. From 2001-04, he served as Director of Community Relations for the Vols, enhancing the student-athletes presence in the community through service projects and educational programs; his Go V.O.L.S. (Volunteering Outstanding Leadership and Service) program resulted in over 1,200 hours of community service in 2003 and 2004.
From 2005-07, Harrison was Director of High School Relations for the Vols, managing an annual budget of $1 million to provide support to each member of the football coaching staff pertaining to their recruiting efforts. In this role, he implemented cutting-edge recruiting practices involving city, campus and athletic leaders, yielding top-15 recruiting classes each year and increasing participants and revenue to the Phillip Fulmer Football Camps by 15 percent yearly.
Professionally, Harrison is a member of the NCAA’s Competition Oversight Committee and the NCAA Football Championship Committee. In addition, he holds memberships with the National Association of College Directors of Athletics, 1A Athletics Director Institute, and the American Football Coaches Association.
Harrison is married to the former Lisa Addison, a former Austin Peay track and field standout, and they have two daughters, Torri and Lorri.
