July 11, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
Matt Lyons will return to Illinois State Athletics as the Assistant Athletics Director for Development, according to ISU Director of Athletics Gary Friedman.
"We are thrilled to bring Matt back home to Illinois State," Friedman said. "His passion, energy and enthusiasm really stood out and we are looking forward to Matt being a part of our leadership team."
Lyons, who has spent the past year as the director of the Panther Scholarship Club (PSC) at Northern Iowa, will start at Illinois State on July 18.
At UNI, Lyons was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the PSC, including coordinating fund raising and membership benefits, special events and increasing club membership.
"Illinois State is obviously a place that is close to my heart, and I'd like to thank Gary for giving me the opportunity to return and become a part of his team." Lyons said. "The Weisbecker Scholarship Fund is a key component to the success of Redbird student-athletes and I'm looking forward to working with our donors, staff and volunteers to help us reach new heights."
Prior to leaving for Northern Iowa, Lyons worked two years as the development associate for the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund (WSF), as a graduate assistant at Illinois State. At ISU, Lyons assisted in the day-to-day operations of the WSF. He coordinated 2009-10 Redbird football and men's basketball membership benefits, including parking allocation, parking redistribution and hospitality room services. He also co-created the Young `Birds program, a donor level group for young alumni from conception.
Prior to his work at Illinois State, Lyons worked a year and a half as an assistant director of development for the Tiger Scholarship Fund at Missouri. Lyons was responsible for oversight of all annual fund donor development, cultivation and solicitation south of Interstate 70 and major gift prospects at the $25,000 level and higher. He also had oversight of three donor clubs in Columbia, Mo., St. Louis, Mo., and Kansas City, Mo.
Lyons earned his bachelor's degree from Illinois in recreation, sport and tourism with an emphasis in sports management in 2008. He garnered his master's degree in kinesiology and recreation at Illinois State in 2010. Lyons was a marketing/events assistant at Illinois during his undergraduate work.
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