In his seven years at the helm of Furman University’s athletics program, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Jason Donnelly has delivered bold new energy, innovation, and vision to Paladin Athletics, with an emphasis on a first-class student-athlete experience, academic achievement, record-breaking philanthropic support, significant capital projects, and enhanced alumni and external engagement.
In recognition of his leadership and accomplishments, Donnelly was named the 2023–24 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Athletics Director of the Year. He joined Furman as Director of Athletics in August 2019 and was promoted to Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics in 2022, guiding the department through a period of historic growth, transformation, and competitive success.
Donnelly provides strategic leadership for all aspects of Furman’s NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics program, creating high-performance environments that elevate competitive excellence and enrich the student-athlete experience while remaining closely aligned with the University’s mission. His leadership encompasses strategic planning, revenue generation and fundraising, external partnerships, facilities development, and operational excellence—all grounded in a steadfast commitment to academic integrity, NCAA compliance, and sound financial stewardship.
Competitive Excellence and National Recognition
Under Donnelly’s leadership, Furman Athletics has emerged as one of the nation’s most successful NCAA Division I mid-major athletic departments by prioritizing academic and competitive excellence while positioning its programs for sustainable success. Over the past seven years, Paladin teams have captured 35 conference championships and earned 47 NCAA postseason appearances while producing numerous NCAA All-Americans, conference Players of the Year, and Coaches of the Year.
Furman has consistently ranked as the Southern Conference’s top-performing institution in the Learfield Directors’ Cup and among the nation’s Top 100 Division I athletic departments. In 2025–26, Furman achieved another historic milestone by winning both the Southern Conference Commissioner’s Cup and Germann Cup for the first time in University history, recognizing the league’s top overall men’s and women’s athletics programs.
Championship success has extended across the department. Men’s and women’s cross country have captured 13 consecutive Southern Conference championships, one of the longest active championship streaks in Division I. Football won its first outright SoCon championship in 30 years in 2023 and advanced to the FCS playoff quarterfinals.
Men’s Basketball captured Southern Conference Tournament championships in 2023 and 2026. The 2023 title earned Furman its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than four decades, highlighted by a historic first-round victory over Virginia. Men’s Soccer followed with a historic 2025 season, winning the SoCon regular-season and tournament championships, earning the program’s first NCAA national seed and advancing to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in school history.
Academic Excellence and Student-Athlete Success
Furman’s competitive achievements are matched by a long-standing commitment to academic excellence and student development. Paladin student-athletes consistently earn conference academic honors, maintain cumulative grade-point averages above 3.0, and achieve strong Graduation Success Rate and Academic Progress Rate results.
During the 2025–26 academic year, Furman student-athletes posted a combined 3.34 GPA, while 295 were named to conference academic honor rolls and 27 earned perfect 4.0 GPAs. Furman recorded a 98 percent Graduation Success Rate and a 995 Academic Progress Rate, with nine programs earning perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000. In 2023, Inside Higher Education recognized Furman as its Academic Achievement Champion among NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament participants.
Philanthropy, Revenue Generation and Facilities
A defining component of Donnelly’s tenure has been building a sustainable culture of philanthropy and revenue generation around Furman Athletics. The launch of the Furman Athletics Fund in 2021 created a donor-centric advancement model that empowers alumni, families, friends, and supporters to invest in annual operations, scholarships and endowments, student-athlete opportunities, and capital projects.
That strategy has produced sustained historic growth. Furman Athletics has surpassed $10 million in commitments in five of the past six fiscal years and generated $75.8 million over that six-year period. In 2025–26, Athletics generated a record $13.09 million without a major capital project driving the year while engaging a record 3,909 donors, including more than 1,000 first-time supporters.
That sustained support followed three consecutive record-breaking fundraising years, including more than $19 million in commitments in 2023 and 33 six- and seven-figure gifts. Among them was the largest gift in Furman Athletics history—a $10 million commitment from Ravenel Curry ’63 toward the $40 million transformation of Timmons Arena.
The reimagined Timmons Arena opened in fall 2025 as the signature athletics capital project of the Clearly Furman campaign, providing a state-of-the-art home for Paladin basketball and dramatically enhancing the student-athlete and fan experience. The transformation also created an important platform for long-term revenue growth through expanded premium seating, ticketing, sponsorship, hospitality, partnerships, and special event opportunities.
Donnelly has also advanced a comprehensive facilities strategy benefiting programs throughout the department, including the donor-funded Davis & Faxon Training Facility for men’s and women’s golf and investments in Paladin Stadium, soccer, lacrosse, softball, tennis, volleyball, cross country and track & field, and student-athlete performance spaces.
Engagement, Partnerships and Institutional Impact
Under Donnelly’s leadership, Furman Athletics has significantly expanded its visibility, partnerships, and connection to the University and greater Greenville community. A comprehensive approach to revenue generation has expanded corporate sponsorships, multimedia rights, ticketing, premium experiences, NCAA championship hosting, and strategic partnerships, helping diversify revenue while strengthening the Paladin brand and supporting long-term financial sustainability.
Those efforts have been complemented by record attendance, increased fan engagement, and significant growth in digital visibility, creating new opportunities to generate revenue and deliver value for corporate and community partners. Donnelly has also played a central role in bringing major NCAA championship events to Greenville, including NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship competition at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, strengthening Furman’s national visibility while producing significant economic impact for the Upstate.
Donnelly successfully guided Furman Athletics through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently led the development of Inspiring Greatness: Furman Athletics Strategic Plan 2022–26. The plan established priorities around student-athlete well-being and performance, academic success and leadership development, financial sustainability, competitive excellence, philanthropy and revenue generation, engagement, and best-in-class facilities.
People, Culture and Leadership
Central to Donnelly’s leadership philosophy is a belief that sustained success begins with people and culture. He has built strong relationships with student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, donors, University leaders, and community partners while creating an environment defined by trust, accountability, collaboration, and shared purpose.
His commitment to recruiting, developing, and retaining talented coaches and administrators has helped establish the “Furman Family” culture across the department. That emphasis on people, process, and performance has supported championship success while creating an environment in which student-athletes and staff are challenged to pursue excellence, lead with integrity, and contribute meaningfully to the University and community.
That culture has been particularly impactful at Furman, one of the nation’s smallest NCAA Division I institutions, where comprehensive success requires collaboration, creativity, strong stewardship, and the ability to maximize resources while maintaining ambitious standards for academic and competitive excellence.
NCAA, Conference and Community Leadership
Donnelly’s leadership extends beyond Furman through service within NCAA and conference governance. He currently serves on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and previously served as chair of both the NCAA Men’s Basketball Competition Committee and Southern Conference Athletics Directors Committee, as well as on the FCS Football Regional Advisory Committee.
A graduate of Furman’s Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative, Donnelly’s leadership reflects a consistent commitment to developing people, building sustainable programs, strengthening institutional partnerships, and pursuing academic and competitive excellence with integrity.
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Prior to arriving at Furman, Donnelly spent 14 years at Villanova University, serving as senior associate athletics director and executive director of athletics development. Prior to that role, he served as director of athletics development and oversaw the Villanova Athletics Fund, managing fundraising and external support for all 24 varsity sports. Over his final four years at Villanova, he helped raise more than $120 million for Wildcat Athletics, including three consecutive record-breaking fundraising years representing a 330% increase in dollars raised, and led the fundraising effort for the $65 million Finneran Pavilion renovation, the university’s largest 100% donor funded capital program, and the creation of the “Nova Points” donor support system.
Before moving to administration, Donnelly served the Villanova men’s basketball program in a number of capacities, including as an assistant men’s basketball coach, director of basketball operations, and special assistant to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright, the AP men’s college basketball coach of the decade. During his decade on the Wildcats’ bench, Villanova Basketball made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including runs to the 2006 Elite Eight and 2009 Final Four, also winning national championships in 2016 and 2018 as men’s basketball sport administrator.
Prior to Villanova, Donnelly was a teacher and basketball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, as well as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Muhlenberg College, his alma mater. He also served as a long-time camp commissioner and coach for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Morgan Wootten from DeMatha High School and was the director of basketball operations for USA Basketball at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.
A native of Colonia, New Jersey, Donnelly graduated from Muhlenberg in 1999, where he played and coached varsity basketball, was Vice President of the Student Body, orientation committee leader, and was the Class of 1999 student commencement speaker. He also earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Villanova in 2019.
Donnelly and his wife, Rachel, a native of Bakersville, North Carolina, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Villanova, have three children — Aidan, Raeyln, and Allister.
