Dec. 12, 2003

Columbia, S.C. –
Shawn Eichorst, an attorney who has served as the Athletics Director for the highly successful University of Wisconsin-Whitewater program for the past four years, has been named Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of South Carolina. The announcement was made Thursday by the Gamecock Athletics Department. Eichorst will assume many of the administrative and facility management duties previously held by John Moore, who retired from Carolina after 28 years with the department.

Since assuming the athletics director position at UW-Whitewater in June, 1999, Eichorst has developed one of the top all-around sports programs at the NCAA Division III level, of which there are 427 programs nationally. Under his leadership, UW-Whitewater posted four top 10% NACDA Directors’ Cup finishes, won one NCAA team championship, had two NCAA team runner-up finishes, and crowned five NCAA individual champions. Eichorst’s program also featured an NCAA Student-Athlete of the Year honoree, had 74 All-America selections and seven NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship award winners.

Eichorst, 36, is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin. He is on the Board of Directors of the Marquette University Law School National Sports Law Institute, where he also serves on the faculty as an adjunct professor of law, teaching classes in Sports Law.

A former football team captain at UW-Whitewater, Eichorst graduated magna cum laude in business in 1990. He earned his law degree from Marquette in 1995. Prior to assuming the athletics director post at UW-Whitewater, Eichorst worked as an attorney in Milwaukee. He is also a graduate of the Sports Management Institute.

“Shawn Eichorst is one of the bright, young administrators in all of college athletics,” said Mike McGee, USC Director of Athletics. “I have known Shawn for several years through the Sports Management Institute where he was considered one of the outstanding graduates in the 12-year history of that institute. His background and experience in law, combined with the success he has had at the collegiate director’s level, provide him with an excellent set of credentials that will serve the Carolina program well. Under his leadership, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater achieved a high level of national success in a number of areas: athletically, academically, and in development of facilities. We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber join our program.”

“The University of South Carolina is one of the premier institutions in the nation and I am extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to work with one of the best athletic administrators in the business – Dr. Mike McGee,” said Eichorst. “Dr. McGee has put together a tremendous group of coaches, administrators and support staff at Carolina. I look forward to the challenge of assisting the University with building upon its rich tradition of excellence. Moreover, I am excited to be a part of an environment that provides student-athletes with the opportunity to reach their full academic and athletic potential.”

A native of Lone Rock, Wis., Eichorst and his wife, Kristin, have three sons: Jack (4), Joseph (16 months), and Bennett (five months).