Some might call Laurel Hosmer “the accidental” athletic director, but Valparaiso University President José Padilla left little doubt she was the right choice.
VU named Hosmer as its first woman athletic director last week and she met the media with Padilla in a Monday media introduction inside the Athletics-Recreation Center. Students, athletes, coaches, supporters and Hosmer’s family joined the audience for the event broadcast on ESPN+.
Hosmer joined the university on Jan. 3 as deputy athletic director for revenue generation and senior woman administrator. In March, athletic director Charles Small announced his surprise resignation and Padilla elevated Hosmer into the interim athletic director role. Small had served since 2022.
“Laurel and I have worked together closely during her five months in the interim role, and it became incredibly clear that she was the right choice to lead our athletics department,” Padilla said.
He said she didn’t shrink from difficult decisions in the interim role. “We’re a family and there will be tough decisions she has to make; she doesn’t shy away… she knows how to advocate for this family.”
Hosmer, 36, has worked for both faith-based and public institutions.
She arrived at Valpo from Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia where she was director of athletic development. She led fundraising efforts toward a $55 million capital campaign to renovate the athletics complex.
Padilla said Hosmer’s expertise in generating revenue played an important role in her selection.
Hosmer said it’s important to sustain continued support from alumni. She said she’s also reaching out to Valparaiso-area businesses and community members for support.
She pledged to be a transparent leader with a goal to bring stability to VU’s program.
Hosmer established a partnership with vivenu, a ticketing company dedicated to simplifying the purchasing process for fans and she’s shifting ValpoAthletics.com to a new website provider that’s user-friendly.
Soon after Hosmer became interim athletic director, VU softball coach Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, resigned after she was charged with theft, possession of marijuana and a controlled substance in a March 28 incident at Walmart in Valparaiso.
Hosmer led a national search resulting in the hiring of Mike Armitage as the new head softball coach.
A Winchester, Massachusetts, native, Hosmer also served as assistant athletic director for development at the University of Delaware, raising more than $4.9 million in a campaign and played a role in fundraising $35 million for renovations at Delaware Stadium and construction of the Whitney Athletic Center.
She also worked in athletic administration at Eastern Washington University and the University of Georgia.
She’s a 2009 graduate of the State University of New York Institute of Technology where she played soccer for four years. She received a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts in 2013.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
