Prairie View promised to fix its subpar Academic Progress Rate (APR) after the football program was banned from the 2020 postseason last month for multiple seasons of not meeting NCAA guidelines.
The school took a major step toward fixing that issue by naming Dr. Donald Reed as the Panthers new athletic director to end an 11-month search. Reed comes to Prairie View after a 13-year stint at the University of Buffalo, where he had served as the senior associate athletic director for athletic & academic performance since 2010.
Reed is viewed as someone who has in-depth knowledge of APR and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) guidelines and best practices, in addition to having experience in strategic planning, budget management, policy making and athletics leadership.
Under Reed’s leadership, Buffalo hit a record 13 consecutive semesters of 97 percent of teams achieving a GPA above 3.0. Reed is also actively involved in the NCAA Legislative review process.
His expertise in the area of academics will be critical to an athletic department that saw APR sanctions placed on both the football and women’s basketball programs last month for failing to meet minimum standards.
“Among a competitive field of candidates, Dr. Reed impressed the search committee with his record of accomplishments, breadth of experience, commitment to student-athletes, and managerial acumen,” Dr. Timothy Sams, Vice President for Student Affairs and search committee leader, said. “These attributes will greatly benefit our athletics program.”
Reed takes over a Prairie View athletic department that has 18 sports and a $17 million operating budget.
Alicia Pete, who has served as the Panthers associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator for years, had served as the interim athletic director since Fred Washington resigned in August. Pete had been a candidate for the permanent job but will return to her official role.
“Pete stepped in as interim athletic director and has ably led the department for the past eleven months,” PVAMU President Ruth Simmons said in a statement. “I am grateful for her willingness to step into the interim director role and her dedication to PVAMU and the athletic program.”
Reed is set to begin officially on July 15.
Follow Terrance Harris on Twitter @terranceharris.
