UMass Lowell continued to strengthen its staff as part its transition to Division I and the America East Conference.  Kristi Stake, a resident of Nashua, N.H., and Tracy Ellis-Ward, a native of Dayton, Ohio, were named to the UMass Lowell Department of Athletics Senior Staff, Director of Athletics Dana Skinner announced Tuesday.

Stake, who will begin her third year at the University, was named the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Athlete Services while Ellis-Ward, late of Gonzaga University, was named the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations at UMass Lowell.

Stake came to UMass Lowell in 2011, following three years as Assistant AD for Compliance at Merrimack; one year as Assistant Director of Compliance at Northeastern and seven years in similar positions at Division I Louisiana-Lafayette.

"Ensuring NCAA Compliance and providing effective academic services are two important components of any successful athletic program," said Skinner. "Kristi's excellent work during the transition period, her previous experience at NCAA Division I institutions in the areas of compliance and academic services, and the vision she presented to the committee made her the clear choice of the group."

Ellis-Ward comes to the University with a wealth of experience, most recently the last four years as the Director of the Multicultural Education Center at Gonzaga University; as well as leadership positions at Sports Leadership Ministries, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the WNBA and Michigan State.

"This position attracted a large number of highly-qualified candidates, and we are pleased and honored to have Tracy on board," Skinner noted. "Her breadth of experience and leadership qualities will be invaluable to the student-athletes and staff as we move forward in Division I."

In her first two years at UMass Lowell, Stake has overseen all areas of Division I and II compliance for the NCAA, Hockey East and the Northeast-10 Conference. She began the University's transition from Division II to Division I and the Northeast-10 Conference to America East.

She also created the Department's first Academic Assistance Program which included the hires of academic tutors, a mentoring program and academic guidance; and has also fostered excellent rapport with UMass Lowell's 390 student-athletes.

"The opportunity to help elevate the UMass Lowell Athletic Department to Division I has been a thrilling proposition for me since the first mention of it," said Stake. "Having worked in Division I Academics and Compliance for six years, I am excited to return to that world.

"We have a rare occasion here to design and implement an entire Division I compliance, academic and student development program from the ground up that can really impact our student-athletes' lives in a dramatic way," she added.

In addition to her compliance responsibilities at Merrimack, Stake spearheaded the research into adding varsity track and field, which it began in 2010. Additionally, she revised scholarship packaging to increase athletic money and oversight and created the Department's academic assistance program.

Her brief stay at Northeastern in 2008 followed seven years at Louisiana-Lafayette, where she served the last two years as the Assistant AD for Compliance. Among her responsibilities was successfully navigating a two-year NCAA investigation and coordinating all compliance efforts during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

She served as the liaison between the President's Office and the departments of Admissions and Financial Aid. She also coordinated the Champs/Life Skills course and the Young Ragin' Cajun club for area youths.

Prior to working in compliance, Stake was the academic counselor and eligibility coordinator for student-athletes at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Stake received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Louisiana College in 1999 and went on to earn her master's degree in communications from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2003.

A native of Arcadia, La., Stake and her husband, Joel, an associate professor of biology at Rivier University, are the parents of two children and live in Nashua, N.H.
 
Over the last five years at Gonzaga University, Ellis-Ward was responsible for the strategic direction of the Unity Multicultural Education Center (UMEC). Her leadership role on campus included developing, implementing, and assessing equity and inclusion initiatives. She administered several higher education best practices including pre-orientation for multicultural and first generation students, mentoring, an honor society.

Additionally, Ellis-Ward introduced innovations such as an urban immersion spring break in Chicago, a leadership curriculum for urban scholars, and staff and student professional development training. Moreover, she served on various campus-wide committees including chair of Gonzaga's Act Six Leadership and Scholarship Initiative and Co-chair of the President's Committee on Diversity. 

"I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to be part of the UMass Lowell leadership team," Ellis-Ward said. "I believe the breadth of my leadership experiences will be an asset that will be beneficial throughout the transition to Division I. I look forward to serving in an integral capacity and working with other dedicated staff, coaches and student-athletes, and energized by the visionary endeavors that have already transpired. I can only anticipate more great things to come."

Previously, Ellis-Ward was the vice president of Sports Leadership Ministries in Spokane, Wash., where she was responsible for development and donor cultivation, programming and execution of the SLM mission.

Simultaneously, she also served as the Director of Women's Basketball at Northwest Basketball Camps (NBC) in Spokane, which included hiring staff, marketing and overseeing day-to-day operations. She was integral in cultivating new business and implementing expansion in Mississippi.

Prior to her time in the Pacific Northwest, Ellis-Ward was the New York City-area director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 2005-07, where she was responsible for the development and expansion of the national sports ministry.

From 2000-05, Ellis-Ward was the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for the WNBA, where, among many responsibilities, she oversaw league scheduling, officiating, rules of play and athlete conduct. Additionally, she managed logistical planning of WNBA events, such as veteran and pre-draft camps, the WNBA Draft and All-Star Weekend, as well as officiating seminars and postseason tours.

Ellis Ward spent 1993-2000 at Michigan State serving as the Assistant Athletic Director. As the assistant AD, her role expanded to overseeing event management for all 26 Spartan sports, including football, men's ice hockey and men's basketball. She also managed summer camps, departmental internships, and served as sport supervisor for 11 teams.

From 1993-96, she was the Sport Operations Assistant at Michigan State, in which she prepared bid proposals and served as Championship Manager for multiple Big Ten and NCAA Championships. She also coordinated departmental-led events such as the MSU/Goff Volleyball Classic and Great Eight Men's Basketball Event.

Prior to Michigan State, Ellis-Ward spent one year as an admissions representative at the University of Missouri and a year at Ohio University as a compliance assistant.

Ellis-Ward is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga. She received her master's degree in Sport Administration from Ohio University in 1992.

An All-American basketball player at Missouri, Ellis-Ward served as the team captain as a senior and earned her undergraduate degree in Art in 1989. She helped lead the Tigers to the Big Eight Tournament Championship and the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 1986 and a share of the Big Eight regular season title in 1987.

Ellis-Ward is the mother of two children and was married to the late Michael J. Ward.