Lake Superior State University's Interim President Lynn G. Gillette officially introduced Tory Lindley as the school's new athletic director at a press conference Friday afternoon inside the Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
"This is an exciting day for Lake Superior State and Laker athletics," Gillette started off.
The search for a new athletic director started on Aug. 8 after Dave Diles resigned. Out of 49 candidates Lindley was overwhelmingly the top choice.
"He brings 16 years of leadership experience in Division 1 athletics and 30 years of overall leadership experience," continued Gillette.
Lindley is the current deputy AD at Youngstown State University. He will start his new position Nov. 1.
Lindley served three years as the president of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, managing responsibilities of the association’s $10.5 million operations budget. In 2023, he was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame.
Lindley also served in a variety of different administrative roles during his time at Northwestern University from 2002-2020 including as the Senior Associate Athletic Director, the Associate Athletic Director, and as Assistant Athletic Director. Lindley has a wide variety of publications related to athletic training and has given over 150 professional presentations on risk management and sports medicine related topics.
In the news conference Lindley talked passionately about what he will bring to LSSU and the community.
"The first order of business is to evaluate everything from the fan experience and understand where we need to grow and deliver on a world-class fan experience," Lindley said.
>He answered several questions from those attending including one regarding bringing stability to the athletic program that has seen several athletic directors come and go. Lindley said that he believes shared values and goal settings are a fundamental sign of stability.
"That gives people a sense of direction. When they have direction, then they are more apt to dig their feet in. Dig their roots and be a part of Lake Superior State athletics for a long time," Lindley said.
"Stability is part of the environment that we will build upon. We will need to reinvest in our staff, reinvest in our coaches and understand where professional development plays into their choices," he said.
