Jerry Wollmering named Chief Financial Officer for UNI Athletics
8/20/2024 10:00:00 AM | General
Longtime Division II Director of Athletics joins Panthers to oversee budgetary and account management.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI Athletics Department on Tuesday announced that longtime Truman State Director of Athletics Jerry Wollmering will serve as its new Senior Associate Athletics Director - Chief Financial Officer.
Wollmering, who has led Truman State Athletics for the past 25 years, will assume his role on Aug. 22 and be responsible for budgetary and account management for UNI's 17 varsity sports teams and athletic facility and equipment operations. He will also serve as a primary advisor to the Director of Athletics with respect to financial operations and strategic planning.
"Jerry Wollmering has served the athletics industry for 26 years gaining a national reputation thanks to his business acumen and creative strategic vision," said UNI Director of Athletics Megan Franklin. "It is our gain at UNI Athletics that he will lend his expertise in serving as the Chief Financial Officer. As we embark on this Legacy Era, Jerry's insights and experiences will provide the acuity to plan and navigate the opportunities and challenges predicated on a sound business plan. Needless to say we are excited for his purple attire to now don the Panther mark!"
A Fort Madison, Iowa native, Wollmering was tied as the longest serving Director of Athletics in Truman State history with a quarter century of service, a tenure that saw him shape TSU into one of the top athletics departments at the NCAA Division II level. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs excelled at a high level both athletically and academically while maintaining budget restraints during tough economic times, including during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm humbled by the opportunity to join Director of Athletics Megan Franklin and her leadership team in this new era of Panther Athletics and energized by the chance to work with a talented group of staff and coaches at an outstanding institution," Wollmering said.
Wollmering helped transform the athletics facilities at Truman State during the past decade by leading the students to approve the Student Athletic Fee. All of TSU's facilities have experienced major upgrades under the fee with highlights including new turf and lights at Stokes Stadium, and resurfacing projects at tennis, soccer, baseball and softball venues. A new timing system and bulk head in the Natatorium, as well as new chair seating and bleachers in Pershing Arena and a new Athletics Weight Room Facility were added under his leadership.
The Bulldogs have finished in the top ten in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors' Cup standings six times during Wollmering's Truman State tenure. In 2003-04, he led the athletics program to a third-place finish in that national standings, the highest ever for an active member of the MIAA at that time.
Academically, TSU regularly ranked among the top schools in Division II in graduation rates and produced several CoSIDA/College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans. Truman State also earned the Presidential Distinction award for having over a 90% Academic Success Rate for the past five years. Â
Notably, Wollmering also helped guide the Bulldogs from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) to the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in the 2012-13 academic year. He also served on the MIAA's Finance Committee and on the NCAA National Swimming & Diving Committee.
Prior to his time at Truman State, Wollmering served as Associate Athletics Director of Finance and Administration at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He was also the Assistant Athletics Director for Financial Affairs for two years at BGSU, prior to his becoming an Associate AD. Wolmering also spent 18 months as an Assistant Athletics Director at Southeast Missouri State.
Wollmering earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting from Drake University in Des Moines in 1987, where he was a varsity letterman on the Bulldogs' cross country and track team. He later earned a master's degree in physical education and athletic administration from Kent State University in 1993, where he served as an athletics graduate assistant. Wollmering is also a certified public accountant with experience as an auditor.
Wollmering is married to his wife, Alicia, with three daughters: Leah, Erica and Kate.
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