University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Operations
- Email:
Connolly, who comes to Cedar Falls after four years at Arizona State University, will oversee game management for selective sports and special events, work with student scheduling for internal and external events and manage multiple outside event rentals.
In his four years in Tempe, Arizona, Connolly worked as an Event Coordinator and later Senior Event Coordinator for the Sun Devils Athletic Department, primarily responsible for event management for ASU men’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse, with additional event management of football and golf facilities. He notably worked multiple high profile events in Arizona, including the 2024 and 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Final Fours respectively, the 2023 NCAA Golf Championships and multiple Pac-12 Conference championship events.
Prior to Arizona State, Connolly spent two years as an athletics facilities intern at the University of Iowa while pursuing a master’s degree. His time in Iowa City included assisting in facility and event operations for the Hawkeye football, women’s soccer, women’s gymnastics, women’s rowing and women’s tennis programs. Connolly also worked multiple NCAA Tournament events at Iowa, including first and second round NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
A Winnebago, Illinois native, Connolly graduated from Loras College in Dubuque with a bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2020 after a football playing career as an offensive lineman. He earned his master’s in sport and recreation management from Iowa in 2021.
