Dr. Dawn Turner was named deputy director of athletics at Lander University in September 2022.
As deputy athletics director, Turner provides leadership for the department's internal operations, overseeing NCAA compliance, budget and business operations, departmental policy development and the administration of assigned sport programs. She works closely with the athletic director on strategic planning, Title IX initiatives and student-athlete welfare while serving as a member of the department's senior leadership team.
Turner brought more than 38 years of collegiate athletics experience to Lander, including leadership positions at the NCAA, the Big South Conference and multiple NCAA Division I institutions. Throughout her career, she has managed more than 150 conference and NCAA championship events while developing extensive expertise in NCAA compliance, governance, student-athlete welfare and athletic administration.
Before joining Lander, Turner served as senior associate athletics director for compliance and student-athlete welfare at East Tennessee State University. She previously held compliance leadership positions at Gardner-Webb University, The Citadel, UNC Asheville and NC State University. Turner also spent 12 years with the Big South Conference as associate commissioner and senior woman administrator, where she oversaw conference championships, coordinated compliance services, developed student-athlete leadership programming and administered numerous conference initiatives. Earlier in her career, she served as assistant director of membership services at the NCAA national office, assisting member institutions with legislative interpretation, compliance reviews and governance matters.
A respected leader on the national level, Turner has served on numerous NCAA committees throughout her career. She currently serves on the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Committee, the NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity, and Impact, the NCAA Division II Think Tank and the NCAA MOAA Award for Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee. She previously served on the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Regional Advisory Committee, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Committee and the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee. Turner also serves as chair of the Peach Belt Conference Council of Senior Woman Administrators.
In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Turner serves as an adjunct professor in Lander University's College of Business and Technology, teaching sport management.
Turner earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Writing from Francis Marion University in 1990 before completing a Professional Master of Sports Administration at Ohio University in 2017. She earned her Doctor of Education in Global Sport Leadership from East Tennessee State University in 2020.
