NASHVILLE – Mark Elliott, Trevecca Nazarene University Director of Athletics, will retire after the 2026-27 academic year, concluding a 16-year tenure marked by guiding Trevecca Athletics into NCAA Division II, founding the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and leading the recent move to the Gulf South Conference.
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His 16-year tenure has been defined by Trevecca's move into NCAA Division II, the founding of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the transition to the Gulf South Conference, sustained national academic recognition, and the first NCAA regional and national championship appearances in Trojan history.
Trevecca President Dan Boone introduced Elliott as the University's 13th director of athletics on July 12, 2011, one day after Trevecca announced the NCAA had accepted its application to begin the Division II membership process. Elliott officially assumed his responsibilities on July 18, 2011.
"Sixteen years ago, we sat in my office and talked about the role of Trevecca's athletic director," Boone said. "His clear focus on the priorities of Christian-Scholar-Athlete was as aspirational then as they are visible now. Mark Elliott has served the University as a man of faith, a mentor to coaches, and an example to athletes. I could not be more grateful for his partnership in this important work of forming the next generation."
Elliott said his retirement announcement will not change his approach to leading the department through his final year.
"There is no sunset here. I intend to sprint through the finish line," Elliott said. "But it's just time. Time for a new vision, new eyes, and new leadership to move the department forward in line with the changing times.
"As Roy Williams, the former North Carolina head basketball coach, famously said, 'I am simply no longer the best person to lead this program.' I will leave with gratitude for Trevecca, Dr. Boone, and the faculty and staff. But mostly, I will forever love and value the relationships with coaches and the athletes who have aspired to fulfill our motto of Christian-Scholar-Athlete."
Elliott arrived as Trevecca entered one of the most consequential periods in athletic department history, helping build the administrative, compliance, and competitive structure required for NCAA Division II membership.
Trevecca completed the three-year membership process and became a full and active NCAA Division II member in July 2014, making every Trojan team eligible for NCAA postseason competition beginning in 2014-15.
Finding a conference home was among Elliott's first priorities. Within months, Trevecca became a charter member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the first new NCAA Division II conference created in more than two decades. Trevecca helped write its constitution, shape its governance, and hire its first commissioner. Elliott served as chair of the Great Midwest Athletic Administrators Council during the league's formative years.
The Trojans won nine regular-season and postseason championships during the Great Midwest's inaugural 2012-13 season and captured the conference's first Presidents Cup. Trevecca added seven championships and a runner-up Presidents Cup finish the following year.
The Great Midwest recognized Elliott and Boone in 2022 as two of the six inaugural recipients of its Distinguished Founders Award.
Elliott later led Trevecca through its second major conference transition. The Gulf South Conference unanimously approved the Trojans for membership effective July 1, 2024, placing Trevecca in a more regional NCAA Division II footprint.
Elliott also established the department's Christian. Scholar. Athlete. philosophy, placing spiritual formation first, academic achievement at the center, and athletic excellence as the third part of the student-athlete experience.
Trevecca's Academic Success Rate provided measurable evidence of that philosophy. In the NCAA's 2025 report, the Trojans recorded a 94 percent ASR and ranked No. 12 among 311 NCAA Division II institutions. Trevecca earned the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence for the seventh consecutive year and eighth time overall.
The Trojans' highest national finish came with a 97 percent ASR and a No. 5 ranking. In the most recent report, four teams recorded a 100 percent ASR, and all 11 eligible programs achieved at least 90 percent.
Competitive breakthroughs followed Trevecca's move into NCAA Division II.
Jayme Crowley's volleyball program won the Great Midwest championship and became the first team from the conference to advance to an NCAA Division II Regional in 2015.
Caroline Hampton became the first Trevecca student-athlete to compete in an NCAA Division II National Championship when she qualified for the cross-country championship. Logan Rodgers became the first Trojan to qualify for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Alexa Rippy became the first Trevecca golfer and first Great Midwest women's golfer to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2017. Under David Head, the men's program later reached the final five at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Softball won four consecutive Great Midwest regular-season championships and four consecutive conference tournament titles, reached multiple NCAA regionals, and became the first Trevecca program to host NCAA postseason competition on campus. The Trojans won the 2024 NCAA Midwest Regional and advanced to the NCAA Division II Super Regional.
Baseball won the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional under Chase Sain and advanced to the NCAA Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C., finishing among the final eight teams nationally. The Trojans later added two more NCAA regional appearances, including the program's first NCAA at-large selection.
Women's basketball won back-to-back Great Midwest regular-season championships and went 35-5 in league play during the conference's first three seasons under Gary Van Atta. Elliott later hired Karen Booker, who led Trevecca to NCAA regional appearances in each of her first two seasons.
Elliott hired Kevin Carroll in 2023 to rebuild a men's basketball program coming off a two-win season. Carroll won 16 games in his first year, returned Trevecca to postseason play, and later became the head coach at NCAA Division I Lipscomb. Nathan Moran succeeded him and went 18-10 in his first season.
The department added men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field during Trevecca's NCAA transition. Trevecca added STUNT as a varsity sport in 2022, becoming the second university in Tennessee to sponsor the emerging sport. Elliott selected Kelly Quigley to build the program, and the Trojans advanced to the College STUNT National Championships in each of their first three seasons.
By 2024-25, Trevecca's student-athlete population approached 400, nearly doubling its 2018-19 total, while the department had grown to 17 NCAA programs and competitive cheerleading.
Elliott supported that growth by expanding staffing, compliance, sports medicine, event management, business operations, external relations, sports information, broadcasting, and digital media. An agreement with Elite Sports Medicine + Orthopedics added another full-time athletic trainer.
Facility development occurred throughout Elliott's tenure. Jackson Field added a $318,000 lighting project, an indoor practice facility, new dugouts, bullpens, a pavilion, scoreboard, and broadcast space. The softball facility received new sod, drainage, upgraded bullpens, and new workout, media, and concession areas.
The Trevecca Soccer Complex added lighting, seating, dugouts, a pavilion, a broadcast tower, new sod, and irrigation. Trojan Fieldhouse received a new court, chairback seating, lighting upgrades, an LED screen, scorer's tables, and broadcast areas. Trevecca also expanded athletic training and strength spaces and developed a turf practice area and on-campus golf facility.
Elliott expanded the department's reach through a 10-year agreement with Nashville Sports Radio, WNSR, returning Trevecca to local radio and creating the decade-long "University Showcase" program with Greg Pogue. In preparation for the Gulf South transition, he led a comprehensive athletic rebrand and secured a department-wide agreement with BSN Sports and Nike.
Elliott also established the annual TROJY Awards and the Michael Pretorious Courage Award, recognizing athletic excellence, perseverance, and character.
When Elliott completes the 2026-27 academic year, his 16 seasons will represent the longest tenure by a director of athletics in Trevecca history.
His time leading the Trojans will be measured through Trevecca's successful transition into NCAA Division II, its two major conference moves, national academic rankings, NCAA postseason breakthroughs, expanded athletic opportunities, facility development, and a department that grew to serve nearly 400 student-athletes without moving away from its stated purpose of developing Christian scholars and athletes.
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