Louisiana Tech Strategic Communications
RUSTON — Louisiana Tech Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Eric A. Wood has accepted the position of Senior Deputy AD/External Relations and Business Development at the University of Mississippi, departing Ruston after three-plus years of service.
Wood, who came to LA Tech in October 2020, will serve as the AD through the end of January when he will depart for his new job in Oxford, Mississippi.
“I’ll be forever indebted to Dr. Guice and the Tech Family for the honor of serving as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Louisiana Tech and I can’t wait to see the growth under Dr. Henderson’s leadership,” said Wood. “The Tech Family is as real as it gets and my family and I are grateful for our time in Ruston. We hope we made an everlasting impact on our 350 student-athletes, coaches, staff, and alumni. Our goal was to treat your Alma Mater like it was our own. We will always cheer on the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters.”
Newly-appointed University president Dr. Jim Henderson will now spearhead a national search for the University’s next director of athletics.
“Eric’s contributions to Louisiana Tech Athletics will be felt for years to come,” said Henderson. “From walking the department through post-tornado recovery and reconstruction, to celebrating the consistent improvement in academic performance of our student-athletes, to unveiling the tremendous Sarah and A.L. Williams Champions Plaza, his leadership was steady.
“In the coming weeks, we will develop a process to select the next athletics director, one worthy of the Bulldogs, the Lady Techsters, and the fan base that bleeds Tech Blue. Our best days are ahead of us.”
Wood brought with him to Ruston three pillars – Culture, Class, and Competitive Excellence. And used these pillars as the foundation for supporting LA Tech student-athletes, coaches, support staff, and the Bulldog and Lady Techster fan base.
Through the trying times of the global pandemic as well as the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, Wood’s leadership helped LA Tech gain momentum both on and off the playing surface.
Athletically, the momentum was seen in championships as Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, and Women’s Basketball garnered Conference USA titles. Other team highlights included three-straight NCAA Regional appearances by the Bowling program, individual NCAA postseason qualifiers in Track and Field and Golf, and a record-setting national ranking for the Tennis program.
Champions were aplenty in the classroom as well with numerous academic records broken during Wood’s time as AD including the highest-ever single-year (987) and multi-year APR average (981), most CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (230), and Academic Medalists (75) in an academic year, while the 16 LA Tech Athletic programs combined to reach at least a 3.00 GPA in nine consecutive terms.
Other impressive academic accomplishments over the last three years included 39 conference All-Academic Team honorees, 34 Academic All-District selections (record-high 22 in 2022-23), and six Academic All-America selections.
On the fundraising front, Wood led the charge in launching the Aillet Society, the first-ever major giving society, that now has 75+ shareholders from across seven states.
Henderson named Associate Vice President & Deputy AD Mary Kay Hungate as the interim AD while a search is conducted for Wood’s replacement.