SMU Athletics

Lisa Rawlins was promoted to Associate A.D./Student-Athlete Success in 2023 after serving in previous roles in both academic support and football as Director of Player Development and Life After Ball.
 
Rawlins arrived on the Hilltop in the Fall of 2010 after stops at UCF and Oklahoma. She has had an extensive career at SMU over the years, serving as both the Director of the Center for the Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) and Football Academic Advisor for a decade. During this time, Rawlins built the academic support unit for the sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball, starting up the Academic Counseling, Learning Specialist, and Tutor programs within the unit. In her time, all three sports hit GPA records numerous years in a row, while consistently increasing their GPAs over time.
 
After years in academics and football, Rawlins established the Department of Student-Athlete Success which houses the Life After Ball program, Cultural Intelligence efforts, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and affinity groups, NIL Education, and student-athlete events such as the annual Pony Awards and Welcome Back celebrations as well as Student-Athlete Orientation and Graduations.
 
Rawlins started the Life After Ball program in Football several years ago. The program now serves all sports and conducts round the year programming for student-athletes to network, build professional skillsets, be placed in an internship, and ultimately easily land employment upon graduation. The program’s network has grown to over 300 alumni and community members involved and over 100 companies in the DFW area that have partnered in supporting the events, providing internships and/or hiring our student-athletes.
 
Rawlins graduated from Fresno State with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her M.Ed. in Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma. Rawlins was a former basketball and equestrian collegiate athlete. She is married to Reggie Rawlins and is an avid runner and fitness enthusiast, having completed several marathons, including Boston. Lisa and Reggie have a daughter, Teal.