Lesley Irvine began her tenure as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Colorado College on June 1, 2019. In her role, Irvine serves on Colorado Colleges President’s cabinet and oversees the multidivisional Division III (Division I Hockey and Women’s Soccer) department of Athletics and Recreation sponsoring over 400 student-athletes across 17 sports. Since Irvine’s arrival Colorado College Athletics has experienced unprecedented success in championships, academic performance, attendance, revenue and fundraising while focusing on developing holistic student support including mental wellness and antiracism. A proud former student-athlete and coach Irvine has established herself as a leader in hiring practices and supporting coaches as a sport administrator.
Prior to joining Colorado College, Irvine was Director of Athletics and Recreation and Chair of Physical Education at Pomona and Pitzer Colleges. At Pomona-Pitzer, Irvine managed 21 intercollegiate athletics teams, the Pomona physical education curriculum, faculty/staff fitness and wellness programs, and club, intramural, and recreation programs.
Irvine’s active service is also extensive and includes being an elected member of the Board of Directors for Women Leaders in Sports, Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, the Olympic City USA Task Force and the Colorado Springs Sports Authority. Irvine was also a founding board member of the WeCoach organization and regularly attends the NCAA Coaches academy as a faculty member.
Before Pomona-Pitzer, Irvine was the senior associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at Bowling Green State University from 2010-15.
From 2001-2010, she was the field hockey head coach at Stanford University, leading the Cardinal to three consecutive Northern Pacific Conference championships. She is a two-time conference Coach of the Year recipient, and led her team to program highs in national ranking, wins, goals, assists, and points in 2009.
As a student athlete in field hockey, Irvine led the University of Iowa to the Big Ten regular season title and an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1999.
An England native, Irvine was a three-time national champion in outdoor field hockey and two-time national champion for indoor field hockey while attending Loughborough University. Irvine also played for the England Under 18 and Under 21 National team.
Irvine earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education, sports science, and sport management at Loughborough University in 1998, and a master’s degree in health, leisure, and sports studies with an emphasis in athletic administration from the University of Iowa in 2001.
