Joe Hull is in his sixth year as College of Charleston's Director of Athletics. Hull, who spent the previous 23 years in athletic administration in the Atlantic Coast Conference, was named Director of Athletics on Nov. 20, 2007.

During his tenure at the College of Charleston, Hull has focused on helping each of the teams and administrative units improve their performance and their opportunity for success. These improvements have touched every student-athlete, coach and staff member. The most obvious improvement involved the completion of phases I and II of the TD Arena project. These facilities include a 5,100-seat arena, a practice gym, administrative and coaches' offices, team locker rooms, and new homes, complete with current technology and equipment, for the academic support, sports medicine, athletics communications and sports performance units. Other facility improvements, either completed or underway, include enhanced video capability, a new soccer scoreboard and new locker rooms for the swimming teams.

Hull has also emphasized enhanced scheduling, recruiting and customer service. The number of games scheduled against opponents in the ACC, SEC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, etc., has increased dramatically and many of those opponents are now making the trip to Charleston. This initiative allows CofC teams to compete against some of the finest athletes in the nation, while giving Cougar fans the chance to experience and enjoy some of the best sporting events in the Lowcountry.

"I am so proud of the efforts our coaches are making in scheduling and recruiting," Hull said. "They are working every day to help each team be the best it can be."

Over the past two years, Cougar teams have won 10 conference championships, sand volleyball reached the national semifinals and sailing won the national championship in team racing and received the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy, awarded annually to the best overall collegiate team in the nation. In addition, the average grade-point average for all student-athletes has been above a 3.0 for each of the past four semesters.

Other achievements include winning the German Cup, symbolic of the best overall women's athletic program in the Southern Conference; hiring baseball coach Monte Lee, women's soccer coach Christian Michner, director of sailing Greg Fisher and basketball coaches Natasha Adair and Doug Wojcik; enabling enhanced television and video streaming exposure for a variety of teams; completing the athletics department's first strategic plan, while also encouraging the campus to include the concept of developing the "whole person" as a major emphasis in the College of Charleston strategic plan; managing a budget surplus each year; and partnering with ESPN to create the Charleston Classic, a major college basketball tournament played annually at TD Arena.

Hull, previously Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of Maryland, served in a senior management role with the Terrapins for 10 years. Hull also worked at his alma mater North Carolina State University in various athletic fundraising, ticketing and marketing capacities from 1985-97.

At Maryland, Hull oversaw all fundraising efforts for the Terrapins' athletic program. During his tenure, athletic fundraising increased by 500 percent. Under his leadership, over $140 million in fundraising and sponsorship revenue were generated in support of Maryland Athletics.

Hull, 56, served as the project manager for the Comcast Center, the University of Maryland's extraordinary arena that opened in October of 2002. His duties relevant to the arena process included designing and managing a capital campaign to help fund arena construction, and working with the architects, construction manager and Maryland Stadium Authority, to design and build the arena. Hull was the lead person during the identification, cultivation, solicitation and closing of the $25 million arena naming sponsorship. He also led the effort to secure a $20 million naming sponsor for Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

The Comcast Center includes a 17,950-seat arena, a 1,500-seat competition site for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics, practice facilities and locker rooms for eight sports. The facility also has offices for all administrative staff, coaches' offices for 21 sports, an academic support unit, a sports medicine area, a weight training facility, an equipment area, a ticket office and a team store.

Hull also supervised the compliance, media relations and marketing units at Maryland. Prior to his arrival in College Park, he was Associate Director of the N.C. State Student Aid Association (Wolfpack Club), which raises funds for athletic scholarships and capital improvements. The Wolfpack Club also was responsible for raising more than $50 million for the construction of the 20,000-seat RBC Center through a campaign designed by Hull.

Hull earned his bachelor's degree in business management from North Carolina State in 1978 and played four years of golf for the Wolfpack while earning ACC Honor Roll status. He also earned a law degree from Campbell University in 1981 and a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1985.

His wife, JoAnn, formerly served as an assistant attorney general for the state of North Carolina. They have two children, a daughter, Josie (22) and a son, Josh (19).