JULIE CROMER
Believing in Bobcats First
BY LAYNE REY PHOTOS BY PROVIDED
As the daughter of a former professional athlete and coach, Julie Cromer has experienced her fair share of the sports arena outside of herself. Cromer grew up in a small town in central Missouri where she would later attend Missouri State University and discover her passion through her job in their athletics department: sports administration.
In 2019, she became Ohio University’s first female director of athletics. Since then, Ohio U’s athletic success has grown tremendously.
Under her short but impressive tenure, her decision-making and leadership have helped the 2022 football team earn the title of MAC East Champions with its first 10-win season since 2011, the 2021-22 men’s basketball team win the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time in nine years, and the 2023 soccer team make its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
In fact, over the summer, Women Leaders in College Sports recognized Cromer as the NCAA Division I FBS Nike Executive of the Year for such achievements.
With that, Cromer’s commitment to the value of higher education and the specific benefits she has noticed at Ohio U deepen her role as director of athletics. When recruiting students for their inherently athletic talent, Cromer recognizes that they have primarily been identified by the world as athletes. Her role allows her to shift this identity to one of a student-athlete where they too will receive a highly personalized education, as is embedded in the culture of Ohio U.
“So to come to a place like Ohio University where you can find your whole self, if you will, and curate an experience around that—it’s just a really extraordinary opportunity and a special place to be,” Cromer said.
This doesn’t go unnoticed. Under Cromer’s tenure, the NCAA recognized five Ohio U teams in 2020 for their outstanding academic achievements: women’s basketball, field hockey, women’s golf, soccer, and swimming and diving.
Through this role and other external experiences—like her position as co-chair of the NCAA Transformation Committee, in which she is able to have a direct impact on the future of collegiate athletics—Cromer has found the benefit of being resilient. She believes that winning, within the context of sports or not, is a process.
“It requires a lot more than showing up on the day of the contest and thinking that you’re going to win,” Cromer said. “So, the discipline and commitment to that process and understanding that when you have a setback, what is most important is that you get up and take a step forward…sports teaches us that on a daily basis.”
It is clear that Cromer is a passionate, dedicated individual who is also able to seamlessly integrate her job with her home life. When not moving through each demanding day of administrative meetings, external engagement with donors or sponsors, and touching points with student-athletes, Cromer is found in the stands or on the sidelines because “Anything the Bobcats are playing right now is my favorite sport to watch,” she said.
