DeShon Foxx Returns As Shenandoah University’s Director Of Athletics

DeShon Foxx, Ph.D., is returning to lead Shenandoah University’s Athletics Department, President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., announced Thursday, Nov. 12.

Dr. Foxx, who previously spent five years at SU, including two years as Shenandoah’s athletics director before departing for an NCAA Division I opportunity in August, will assume the role of vice president and director of athletics at Shenandoah University by Dec. 14. He takes over for Bill Stewart, who has served as the Hornets’ interim AD since Foxx’s departure.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to return to Shenandoah University as vice president and director of athletics. Throughout my career at Shenandoah, I’ve been fortunate to build some amazing relationships and work alongside many incredible coaches, staff and student-athletes. Shenandoah is truly a family, and I couldn’t be more excited to come home and continue building on the momentum of Shenandoah Athletics.”

DeShon Foxx, Ph.D.

“I’m thrilled to welcome DeShon back to Shenandoah University,” said Dr. Fitzsimmons. “DeShon proved to be an exceptionally talented leader, mentor and fundraiser during his years at Shenandoah, and helped guide the remarkable success of our student-athletes and our entire Athletics Department on and off the playing fields and courts. DeShon truly loves this university and knows what it takes to help Shenandoah, and in particular SU Athletics, rise to the next level.

“I also want to express my deepest gratitude to Bill Stewart for his tireless efforts and commitment as interim athletic director, and I commend him for stepping up to fill such a vital role for us in our time of need. Bill and Dr. Yolanda Barbier Gibson, our vice president for student affairs, worked together these last months to keep SU Athletics moving forward, and we are all grateful to them,” Fitzsimmons said. “Bill remains a dear friend of the university and will continue his close ties with Shenandoah Athletics, and Yolanda will continue in her critical role as VP for student affairs.”

Foxx, who also served as Shenandoah’s assistant vice president for student affairs at the time of his departure, had spent five years at Shenandoah in various administrative roles. 

In 2021, Foxx was hired as the Shenandoah’s first-ever assistant athletic director for student success and compliance director. He transitioned to the university’s Office of Advancement in 2022, serving as assistant vice president for advancement while overseeing major gifts, before rejoining Shenandoah Athletics as the AD in 2024. Foxx also previously served as an adjunct professor of sport law in Shenandoah’s School of Business.

In his first two years as AD, Foxx oversaw the addition of men’s volleyball as Shenandoah’s 23rd sport and founded the university’s 1875 Club, the official fundraising and sponsorship arm of Shenandoah Athletics. In April, he helped the university announce a significant financial gift from Jimmy and Roni Wilkins, Richie and Cara Wilkins, and the James R. Wilkins Charitable Trust to fund an expansion of the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics & Events Center.

In the two years prior to the Fall 2026 season, Shenandoah’s student-athletes combined to earn 116 All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honors. Between Fall 2024 and Spring 2026, Shenandoah’s student-athletes and coaches won a total of 14 major conference awards and two ODAC championships, and made four NCAA tournament appearances. In the classroom, Shenandoah’s Athletics Department posted a collective 3.35 GPA during the 2025-26 academic year, with 269 student-athletes earning a GPA of 3.50 or higher, including 71 with a 4.0 GPA.

It’s been an honor to serve Shenandoah University as its interim athletics director, and I’m very appreciative of President Fitzsimmons and Dr. Gibson for giving me this opportunity. It’s been a pleasure working with the coaches, staff and student-athletes who make this university such a remarkable place, and I look forward to continuing to support DeShon and the rest of Shenandoah Athletics in any way that I can.”

Bill Stewart