HAMILTON – Veteran Division I Athletics administrator and Colgate alumnus Yariv Amir '01 has been appointed as Colgate's next Vice President and Director of Athletics, announced Thursday by President Brian W Casey. 

"Yariv has served Colgate extraordinarily well during his tenure on this campus, and even more so when he stepped into the role of interim Vice President and Director of Athletics earlier this year. His commitment to our student athletes is unwavering, and he has proven to be a remarkably effective and caring leader for his alma mater," said Casey. "I truly look forward to working with Yariv as we continue to strengthen our Division I athletic programs, and as we implement Colgate's Third-Century Plan."

Amir, who has served as interim vice president and director of athletics since January 2023, will lead the University's 25 NCAA Division I varsity sports. He will be introduced as the University's 11th director of athletics at a news conference Friday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. inside Class of 1965 Arena. 

"It is such an honor to have the opportunity to continue serving Colgate University, our students, coaches, faculty and staff members, our passionate fanbase and the Colgate community at large," said Amir. "I am excited to join President Casey's leadership team as we strive toward the ambitious goals that will lead us into the third-century. We will work together to provide an unmatched experience for our student-athletes as we aspire for success in every field and every arena. My family and I are so grateful for this opportunity, and we can't wait to take on this next chapter for this University that is so rich in tradition and history."

Amir has held extensive leadership roles in college athletics, including the last eight years at Colgate University. Prior to his stint as interim vice president and director of athletics, Amir served as the deputy athletics director and worked as the senior associate athletics director for finance and operations as well as senior associate athletics director for external operations. 

Amir's appointment comes after historic athletics success that garnered national recognition in 2022-23. The Raiders captured five Patriot League championships, including men's basketball's third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and women's hockey rising into the top-five national rankings. 

As one of the leading liberal arts institutions in the country, Colgate student-athletes continue to boast record-breaking numbers in graduation success rate, academic progress rates, and conference academic honor roll selections. Colgate placed 350 student-athletes on the 2022-23 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive year. 

During his short time as interim vice president and director of athletics, Amir successfully led national searches for the head coaches for golf, women's rowing, and men's hockey. In his role as the athletics' CFO, Amir oversaw business operations, facilities and event operations, capital projects, equipment services, and the department's external operations including communications, multimedia, and marketing. He has served as the sport administrator for nine athletics programs during his tenure at Colgate. 

Nationally, Amir serves on the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee and the ECAC Hockey Administrators Committee. He previously served on the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Committee and the Men's Hockey National Recruiting Committee. On the Colgate campus, he serves on the Academic Affairs Board, Cabinet, Dean's Advisory Council, Committee on Athletics, University Property Committee, and on the OAK Initiative. He previously served on the University's Faculty Affairs Board, and Committee on Information Technology, and he was the athletics representative on Colgate's Middle States Accreditation Self Study Steering Committee.

Before returning to his alma mater in the summer of 2015, Amir served for 13 years in the department of athletics at Princeton University. There he served in various roles, including as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing. While at Princeton, he served on the Ivy League Digital Strategies Committee and was an NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee member. Before working at Princeton, Amir spent one year working at USA Hockey as the Brian Fishman Intern in the organization's public relations office.
 
Amir graduated from Colgate in 2001 with degrees in economics and international relations. He was also a captain of the men's rowing team. He earned his master of business administration from the Rutgers University Business School in 2010, specializing in marketing.

Amir resides in Hamilton with his wife, Elizabeth Wood Amir '00, and their two children, Morgan and Alie.