WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ - Monmouth University President Dr. Patrick Leahy has announced that Jennifer Sansevero will be elevated to Acting Director of Athletics, effective July 1, 2023.
 
Sansevero, a New Jersey native with over 15 years in Division I athletics experience, has spent the last two seasons in West Long Branch serving as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Development and Senior Women's Administrator.
 
"I am incredibly honored for the opportunity to lead the Monmouth Athletic Department during this transition, and I want to thank Dr. Leahy for entrusting me with the responsibility to serve as Acting Director of Athletics," said Sansevero. "I have truly enjoyed the past two years as a Senior Associate Athletic Director, and I will continue to support our dedicated student-athletes, coaches, and staff here at Monmouth while fostering our relationships with campus partners and our community. The athletic department will advance the tradition of excellence in the classroom, and on and off the field. And we will do this with energy, authenticity, and relentless competitiveness!"
 
Sansevero steps in for Jeff Stapleton, who is retiring effective June 30^th after 33 years at the University.
 
"Jen is an experienced athletics administrator, deeply committed to student success—both on the field of play and in the classroom," said Leahy. "Jen's impressive experience, her background in law and compliance, and her enduring commitment to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus will position her nicely for success in this new role. Please join me in congratulating Jen on her new role at the University."
 
In two short years Sansevero has made an immediate impact at Monmouth and its 600+ student-athletes. Academically, she was integral in creating the position of learning specialist as Hawk athletes had the recorded the highest department grade point average in history while earning Monmouth national recognition from the NCAA for APR scores. Sansevero is a member of the University's Enrollment Planning Committee, the President's Advisory Council on Diversity & Inclusion and helped organize MU's National Girls and Women in Sports Day event as well as the department's inaugural Black History Month celebration.
 
Passionate about providing a holistic student-athlete experience, she took on the challenge of student-athlete mental health head on, creating the Behavior Health and Wellness department for athletics, including the new position of Sports Behavioral Health Specialist.
 
Last season, Monmouth's first season in the Colonial Athletic Association, Sansevero supervised both women's soccer and women's basketball, which won CAA regular season and tournament titles, respectively.
 
The Hazlet, NJ Native, is a former softball standout at Mount St. Mary's College, where she later worked from 2008-12, in the role of Assistant Athletic Director for NCAA Compliance/Senior Woman Administrator. Sansevero also had Division I stops at Wagner College and UNC-Greensboro. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from The Mount in 2004, where she was a Cum Laude student with a major in Political Science and a Minor in History. In 2008, she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Widener University School of Law.
 
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