Staff Directory
- Title:
- Director of Athletics
Damon Evans began his tenure as SMU's Director of Athletics on March 31, 2025. Before coming to the Hilltop, Evans served as the top athletics administrator at two Power Four programs, Maryland and Georgia. Evans is one of two current Power Four Athletic Directors to have led a department in three of the four Power Four leagues (ACC, Big Ten, SEC).
Evans’ first full year leading the Mustangs was highlighted by a series of revenue-driving successes across philanthropy, commercial partnerships, NIL, and brand, alongside notable student-athlete achievements on the field and in the classroom.
Evans’ first full year saw the launch of Mustang Partners, a new integrated revenue-generation division designed to aggressively pursue opportunities in the rapidly changing collegiate athletics landscape. His first year also saw the introduction of the Boulevard Society, a major philanthropic giving organization launched in February 2026 to support SMU student-athletes and fund name, image and likeness (NIL) revenue sharing, bolstered by a transformational $50 million commitment from Liz and Bill Armstrong, Carolyn and David Miller, Katy and Kyle Miller, and Mary and Rich Templeton.
During the 2025-26 year, SMU Athletics received a record $98.6 million in philanthropic giving. Additional revenue-driving successes included a commercial partnership with Krida to launch the Mustang Coin digital currency; the launch of Mustang Partners’ B2B platform in partnership with NOCAP Sports and Ramp, and an expanded partnership with REVELxp.
On the field, the 2025-26 season featured a series of milestone moments:
- Men’s Soccer won SMU’s first-ever ACC Championship.
- Football defeated No. 10 Miami for its first home win over a Top-10 opponent since 1974 and defeated No. 17 Arizona in the Holiday Bowl for its first bowl victory since 2012.
- Volleyball advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
- Men’s Basketball returned to March Madness for the first time since 2017.
- Diving’s Luke Sitz won an NCAA individual championship.
- Women’s Golf won an NCAA Regional and finished 12th nationally.
- Men’s Tennis’ Trevor Svajda advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship match and earned the No. 1 ITA singles ranking.
- Track & Field’s Nea Sanders captured the ACC title in the 100-meter hurdles.
Across the department, 10 SMU teams ranked among the nation’s top 30 during the 2025-26 academic year, while Mustang student-athletes earned 21 All-America honors across multiple sports.
In the classroom, SMU student-athletes posted a department-wide GPA of 3.306, the highest mark in the past six years, while 301 student-athletes finished the academic year with cumulative GPAs of 3.0 or higher. The department celebrated 114 student-athlete graduates during the 2025-26 academic year, with 259 student-athletes named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Prior to his time at SMU, Evans was named the Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics at the University of Maryland in June 2018. Under his leadership, the Terrapins won 49 Big Ten championships and tournament titles. The program earned seven national championships while he was in College Park. There, he oversaw a department with 20 varsity sports, 500 student-athletes, a full-time staff of over 200 and an annual budget exceeding $120 million.
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Before Maryland, Evans held several management roles in the private sector, including as managing partner at Evolution Sports Partners in New Jersey, vice president of fundraising at IMG College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina – where he was tasked with developing the company's fundraising arm – and vice president of business development at the Markley Group in Boston, Massachusetts.
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As the University of Georgia's athletics director from 2004 to 2010, Evans oversaw a program with 600 student-athletes, a staff of 250, and an $85 million budget. During his tenure, the Bulldogs won 13 national championships and 19 SEC titles. Under his leadership, Georgia consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Learfield Director's Cup and grew its athletic department reserve fund by more than $56 million, reaching $65 million in just six years. In 2009, Evans was named the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year for the Division I Southeast Region. He earned the Sports Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" award in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
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Evans was a four-year starter on Georgia's football team, playing in three bowl games under the legendary Coach Vince Dooley. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in sport management, both from Georgia. He and his wife, Kerri, have two children, Cameron and Kennedy.
Updated August 20, 2026
