UMW Names New Athletic Director

The University of Mary Washington announced today that Ken Tyler will be the new athletic director, succeeding Edward Hegmann, who retires in June after 36 years.

Since 2008, Tyler had been the athletic director at West Virginia Wesleyan College, an NCAA Division II school in Buckhannon, WV.

“I am delighted that Ken Tyler has accepted our offer to become our next director of athletics,” said UMW President Richard V. Hurley in a prepared statement. “I am impressed by his experience, his enthusiasm and his ideas on how to advance our athletic program.”

Tyler helped build a successful program at WVWC, sweeping the President’s and Commissioner’s Cups for overall athletic excellence in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference each year of his tenure.

“I am grateful and honored to be named director of athletics at the University of Mary Washington,” Tyler said. "Mary Washington's outstanding academic reputation, combined with its strong and broad-based athletic program, makes this one of the best small-college positions in the country.” 

Tyler said Hegmann will leave him a solid foundation on which to build and he's excited to join the Eagle family.

While at WVWC, Tyler added women's lacrosse and the director of compliance and academic services position, made several improvements to athletic facilities and instituted mandatory university drug testing for athletes. Under his leadership, WVWC won 22 WVIAC championships.

Tyler also has been an assistant men's basketball coach at three schools, including James Madison University with the iconic coach Lefty Driesell.

Tyler has a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master’s degree in Education from The College of William and Mary, where he played  guard on the basketball team.

The Fredericksburg area is a perfect home for Tyler, his wife, Dawn and their two children (ages 14 and 10) because he has a strong interest in Civil War history and he's an avid reader.