10/22/2006
Mr. Ron Pavan has been selected to serve as Cumberland University’s new athletic director, CU President Harvill C. Eaton recently announced.
Pavan, who has served as athletic director at NCAA Division II Ohio Valley University (OVU) in Vienna, W.Va. for the past 14 years, brings more than 22 years of coaching and administrative experience to One Cumberland Square. During his tenure at OVU, Pavan added seven varsity programs to the OVU athletic department, moved university athletics from the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) to NCAA Division II and oversaw the development of an indoor baseball/softball complex, a new fitness center and the creation of a booster club.
Pavan is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the NCAA Division II Membership Committee and the NCAA Division II Regional Rating Committee. He also serves as Women’s Basketball Chairman of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC).
“Mr. Pavan has a very impressive record and has taken Ohio Valley from the NAIA to NCAA Division II status. I expect him to make a real difference at Cumberland University as we continue our movement toward excellence on all fronts,” Eaton remarked.
Pavan has a long and successful career in intercollegiate athletics. From 1994 until 2005, he served as head women’s basketball coach at OVU, building a successful Division II program that finished in the WVIAC Elite Eight in 2004. From 1986 until 1993, Pavan was head women’s basketball coach at Northeastern Christina Junior College (NCJC) in Villanova, Pa. and built an overall record of 98-52, claiming NJCAA Region 19 Coach of the Year honors in 1991. While at NCJC, Pavan also built strong programs in softball and men’s soccer.
“I was impressed by the people at Cumberland, and I was impressed by Dr. Eaton’s plan for the University,” Pavan commented. “The coaches really care about Cumberland and about the community … It just felt like home. I look forward to joining Cumberland and becoming an active member of the community.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Pavan holds a Master of Science from West Virginia University’s School of Physical Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas. He will officially begin his new duties at Cumberland in mid-August.