BATON ROUGE – After nearly eleven months without an athletics director, the Athletics Committee of the Southern University Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Dr. William Broussard as Southern’s future director of athletics during a special session Thursday on the Baton Rouge campus.
Before Broussard’s appointment becomes official, a final vote of the board is pending and will be conducted at a March 30 meeting in Shreveport, La. The former Northwestern State student-athlete was presented to the athletics committee at the recommendation of SUBR Chancellor Dr. James Llorens.
“I’m thrilled about the opportunity (to serve as Athletics Director at Southern),” said Broussard.
“I am incredibly encouraged by the (Board of Supervisors) support today. Obviously, to be approved by the committee unanimously is a tremendous show of support. I am really excited about the opportunity to come down to Baton Rouge and Southern University and to get to work.”
Highly regarded as a visionary with superb fundraising capabilities, Dr. William Broussard delivers a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new post as Southern University’s Director of Athletics.
Broussard’s versatility is derived from a variety of administrative, athletic, and academic experiences garnered throughout his career and will be instrumental in his supervision of five men’s and eight women’s Division I programs at Southern.
“Similar to a new athletic director coming in, even if (a school) has been without an athletic director for a month, I am a new person,” said Broussard.
“I am going to need to cultivate relationships, learn about the student-athletes who are here, the coaches who are here and their concerns, spend some time reviewing policies and procedure and ensuring that those are properly lined up so that the program performs adequately and excellently.”
Broussard, 33, recently served as athletics director at Centenary College in Shreveport and cited NCAA rules compliance, academic performance and “institutional advancement” as areas he deemed vital to the success of the athletics department during his tenure.
But Broussard acknowledged that his accessibility will be a critical component as well.
“(The alumni base) needs to get to know me as well,” said Broussard. “It’s going to be a lot of time spent relationship building, making myself accessible. Probably will be a lot of time on the road visiting people but that’s one of the best parts.”
According to Broussard’s bio, he is a 2000 graduate of the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University and earned a master’s and doctorate in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of the English Language in 2007 from the University of Arizona. While in graduate school, he served as an undergraduate instructor, research supervisor, and held positions in athletics and student life. He also gained academic experienced as a faculty member at Pima community College in Tuscon.
Originally from Crowley, Broussard returned to his home state and alma mater to serve as Associate Athletic Director for External Relations as well as the Executive Director of the NSU Athletic Association.
In these roles, he oversaw all areas of athletic fundraising and external relations, breaking university records for attainment, annual fund, and corporate sponsorships. He garnered the largest gifts in the history of the department as well as the university as a whole. In addition, he worked closely with several sports, managing football game operations and coordinating schedules and contracts. He also served as the department’s ambassador at campus events and on a wide variety of committees and working groups.
Concurrently with his work in the athletic department, Broussard worked closely with students on an academic level. He served as an assistant professor first in the journalism department and later in the language and communication department, teaching several traditional and online courses. In this role, he volunteered as a faculty advisory for the National Association of Black Journalists as well as NSU’s Student Alumni Association.
Broussard has also been an active leader in the community. He has served on the Executive Board of the Boys and Girls Club and is a past president of the Natchitoches Lions Club. He also represented the NSU Athletic Department at regional and national conferences and the Southland Conference at the National Association of Athletic Development Directors conference.
As an undergraduate, Broussard was a varsity letter winner for NSU’s Division I football team from 1997-2000. A two-time All-American center, Broussard was a member of the All-Conference, All-Louisiana, All-District teams and received several notable awards for his success both in the classroom and on the playing field.
