ROLLA, Mo. – Mark Mullin, who has served for nearly three decades as the director of athletics at Missouri S&T, has announced that he will be retiring from the position following the 2019-20 athletic season.

Mullin, who became the university's athletic director in the spring of 1992, has been at Missouri S&T since 1985 when he was named as the head coach for the swimming and diving program and spent six years in a dual role before becoming the athletic director on a full-time basis in 1998.  He will officially step away from the position on Sept. 1, 2020.

"I am announcing my upcoming retirement about a year in advance, to leave the campus in a good position to plan, recruit and hire the next leader of Miner Athletics," Mullin said. "I believe it is critical to have a new leader in place by the time I depart and I hope that will be the case. We presently have a great team of coaches, staff and student-athletes in place, and the department is poised to continue to excel academically and athletically and in its important role of recruiting and retaining exceptional student-athletes.

"This fall, I am entering my 35th year of being a part of this campus and my 40th year working in NCAA Division II athletics," Mullin said. "I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to lead our department and be an active participant in supporting our incredible campus and its community.  I am proud of our accomplishments and excited about the future of the program and the campus."

During his tenure, the Miner program has enjoyed a great deal of success both on and off the field.  Missouri S&T teams have captured 14 conference championships, 10 additional regular season or divisional titles and have had teams reach NCAA Division II championship competition on 71 occasions over the past 28 years.  Since 2010, 11 of Missouri S&T programs have competed at the NCAA Division II Championships.

In the last 28 seasons, Missouri S&T has had 193 individuals earn All-America honors as well as 97 relay teams in the sports of swimming and track & field.  A total of 330 student-athletes have earned all-conference laurels from the Great Lakes Valley Conference since S&T became a member in 2005.

Academically, the Miner program has consistently had one of the highest number of student-athletes earn GLVC all-academic awards, including a school record 188 following the 2018-19 season and 11 teams that landed the conference's team academic award in the past year.  Missouri S&T's athletic program also boasts 101 Google Cloud Academic All-America awards, the fifth-most of any institution currently competing in NCAA Division II.

Under Mullin's direction, S&T has served as the host institution for the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships as well as the NCAA South Central men's regional basketball tournament, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association men's basketball finals, the GLVC women's basketball and men's soccer tournaments, the MIAA cross country championships and GLVC cross country and track & field championships. He led the process that allowed S&T to move its conference affiliation to the GLVC beginning in the fall of 2005.

Mullin has led a number of significant facility projects, one of the most recent being the renovations of Gibson Arena in the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.  Over the last year, the facility has had a new playing floor installed as well as a new sound system and the basketball locker rooms are currently being upgraded.  Previously, the arena upgrades included new chair back and bleacher seating, upgraded scoreboards and a new lighting system.

Other facility projects that have taken place under his direction include the installation of artificial turf at Allgood-Bailey Stadium; a new artificial turf intramural field complex; new scoreboards for all of the university's athletic facilities; varsity weight and fitness rooms and the S&T Fitness Center; a new indoor practice facility and new sports medicine center.

Prior to that, other facility upgrades or additions have included the construction of the Student Recreation Center; renovation of Allgood-Bailey Stadium to include a new all-weather track, lights, concession and restroom facility as well as upgraded seating areas, the building of a new soccer complex and seating upgrades at the university's baseball and softball facilities.

Mullin served as swimming and diving coach for 12 years and led the Miners to a 96-27 dual meet record and seven regional championships. His final team finished third at the 1998 NCAA Division II Championships, the highest finish ever for a Miner athletic team at an NCAA championship event at the time.
 
He served two terms as the chair of the NCAA Division II men's and women's swimming and diving committee and has also served multiple terms on the men's basketball and football regional advisory committees for the region. He served a two-year term as the president of the MIAA after spending the two prior years as the conference's vice president before to S&T's move to the GLVC. He has served on various GLVC committees, including the GLVC Executive Committee and is currently serving on the GLVC's Budget and Finance Committee.

"I love being a part of Miner athletics and Missouri S&T, but it does create somewhat of an obstruction to many of the things Joanie and I would like to do and have not had the opportunity to do," Mullin said. "Most importantly, we have 13 grandchildren that mean the world to us. We want to be an active part of their lives.

"I am so thankful all to those who have supported Miner athletics and continue to do so," Mullin said. "I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities to personally thank all of these individuals during the coming year and I look forward to doing so. The relationships that I have enjoyed during my tenure have been priceless and hope they will continue.  I have been a Miner for 35 years and I will continue to be a 'Miner for Life'. I look forward to working hard with campus leadership, our exceptional staff and our supporters in my final year to continue to strive for excellence in all that we do."