On Aug. 7, 2023 Prairie View A&M University President Tomikia P. LeGrande selected Anton Goff to serve as the Director of Athletics.
A Pittsburgh native and former football student-athlete at Bowling Green State University, Goff earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1991 and 1994, respectively. He has over 25 years of experience in athletic administration. Prior to his role at NIU, he served as Director of Athletics at St. John’s University (New York), the University of Hartford (Connecticut), and Bowie State University (Maryland). Throughout his career, Goff has been responsible for increasing athletic fundraising efforts, and athletic competitiveness, and enhancing student athletes’ academic performance and graduation rates.
Prior to joining the Panthers Administration Goff was a former athletic director at three NCAA institutions whose career was built in the academic support services area and joined the NIU staff as Senior Associate Athletic Director/Director of Student-Athlete Academic Support Services on March 2, 2020.
Goff, who most recently served as director of athletics at St. John’s University, led NIU’s Student-Athlete Academic Support Services unit, serving as a member of NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean Frazier’s senior staff, and he worked closely with the academic departments and counselors throughout campus to put all NIU student-athletes on a path to graduation and to student career success. He served as sport administrator for the NIU women's cross country/track and field and volleyball programs, and added oversight of NIU Recreation - including its personnel, facilities, intramural leagues, club sports, fitness programming, and Outdoor Adventures - after that department became a part of Intercollegiate Athletics in July of 2020.
Goff was the director of athletics at St. John’s University from November 2016 through June 2018, leading the 17-sport Big East program with a focus on fundraising as well as external relationships. As the athletic director at the University of Hartford from 2014-16, he helped the Hawks make significant strides in the areas of fundraising and student-athlete academic success while directing the 18-sport program. He oversaw several enhancements to Hartford’s branding including the creation of new athletic logos, added a women’s lacrosse program, and negotiated the first all-sports apparel deal in school history.
He arrived at Hartford after three-and-a-half years as director of athletics at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. Under his supervision, the Bulldogs captured a pair of conference championships, and he increased the academic success rate of the department across the board. He created the first athletics support fundraising organization in school history and served on multiple conference-wide committees, including the CIAA Football Competition Committee, the CIAA Basketball Tournament Committee, and the CIAA Management Council.
In the last of his two stints at the University of Maryland, from 2004-10, Goff served as associate athletic director with direct responsibility for the academic support and student services for over 700 student-athletes on 27 varsity teams. In that role, he developed and coordinated a tutorial program for all student-athletes, planned and implemented a comprehensive career development program, and managed the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills efforts. He also served as sports administrator for six teams and developed initiatives for scholarship fundraising while serving on the department’s senior staff.
Before going to Maryland in that role, Goff was the associate director of student-athlete support services and served as the academic coordinator for the football program at Michigan State from 2001-04, overseeing all aspects of academic support as well as career development for MSU football student-athletes. He went to Michigan State after his first stint at Maryland, when he was assistant director of academic support and career development for multiple teams, including men’s basketball.
A football student-athlete at Bowling Green State University from 1986-89, Goff also began his career in college athletics in the Mid-American Conference, as an academic counselor and CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator at Kent State University for three years.
Goff is married to Wendy Wilson Goff and they have two daughters Alexa and Gianna. AD Goff is also a member of the prestigious Fraternity of Kappa Alpha PSI, Inc.
