Former Olympian Funmi Jimoh Joins Owls' Executive Staff
3/1/2024 11:01:00 AM | General, Women's Track & Field
Director of Administration
Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland announced on Friday the addition of former Rice Olympian and All-American Funmi Jimoh to the Rice senior administrative team as Director of Administration.
Jimoh will join Assistant Vice President & Deputy AD Eric George, Deputy AD for External Affairs Tanner Gardner, Executive Senior Associate AD / SWA Stacy Mosely, Senior Associate AD / Development Ryan Hall, Senior Associate AD / Competitive Excellence Davon Robb, Senior Associate AD / CFO Daniel Williams. Senior Associate AD / Recreation Tina Villard, and Executive Assistant to the Vice President & Director of Athletics Debra Gonzales on the Owls executive staff.
She will be responsible for the facilitation of the priorities, goals, and directives of the Rice Athletics executive team and will work with the Director of Athletics daily to ensure that processes and decisions are carried out and communicated in a timely manner. She will also network with campus and community constituents on behalf of the department.
"It's not every day you can add a former Olympian to your staff, but Funmi Jimoh brings a unique set of skills and experiences that will greatly enhance our efforts," McClelland said. "Her career path is a tangible example of what Rice offers every student-athlete, the opportunity to succeed at the highest level of athletic competition and professional advancement. It's essential to the culture of our leadership team to have individuals such as Funmi, who fully understand what it means to be a student-athlete at Rice."
"Rice, an already great university has a vision for the future that will result in us reaching even higher heights," said Jimoh. "I am honored to again be a part of the Rice University staff, community, and family. My goal is to significantly contribute and proudly share in the attainment of that vision. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and can think of no better group of people I want to be associated with than Tommy and the team he has assembled. Rice fight truly never dies."
Jimoh represented the United States in the long jump at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, qualifying for the finals and finishing 12th. She was a three-time member of the US World Track Championship squad as well. She earned All-American honors in 2007 by finishing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship and won the Eva Jean Lee and Fred J. and Florence Stancliff Awards after her senior season in 2007.
She was inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 After retiring from competition, she returned to Rice as an assistant coach under Jim Bevan from 2016-2018 before embarking on a career in administration in the legal profession.
Jimoh will join Assistant Vice President & Deputy AD Eric George, Deputy AD for External Affairs Tanner Gardner, Executive Senior Associate AD / SWA Stacy Mosely, Senior Associate AD / Development Ryan Hall, Senior Associate AD / Competitive Excellence Davon Robb, Senior Associate AD / CFO Daniel Williams. Senior Associate AD / Recreation Tina Villard, and Executive Assistant to the Vice President & Director of Athletics Debra Gonzales on the Owls executive staff.
She will be responsible for the facilitation of the priorities, goals, and directives of the Rice Athletics executive team and will work with the Director of Athletics daily to ensure that processes and decisions are carried out and communicated in a timely manner. She will also network with campus and community constituents on behalf of the department.
"It's not every day you can add a former Olympian to your staff, but Funmi Jimoh brings a unique set of skills and experiences that will greatly enhance our efforts," McClelland said. "Her career path is a tangible example of what Rice offers every student-athlete, the opportunity to succeed at the highest level of athletic competition and professional advancement. It's essential to the culture of our leadership team to have individuals such as Funmi, who fully understand what it means to be a student-athlete at Rice."
"Rice, an already great university has a vision for the future that will result in us reaching even higher heights," said Jimoh. "I am honored to again be a part of the Rice University staff, community, and family. My goal is to significantly contribute and proudly share in the attainment of that vision. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and can think of no better group of people I want to be associated with than Tommy and the team he has assembled. Rice fight truly never dies."
Jimoh represented the United States in the long jump at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, qualifying for the finals and finishing 12th. She was a three-time member of the US World Track Championship squad as well. She earned All-American honors in 2007 by finishing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship and won the Eva Jean Lee and Fred J. and Florence Stancliff Awards after her senior season in 2007.
She was inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 After retiring from competition, she returned to Rice as an assistant coach under Jim Bevan from 2016-2018 before embarking on a career in administration in the legal profession.
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