Charles Guthrie, an experienced athletic director with a record of success everywhere he's been, was named the director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation in November of 2024.
“In every program he’s led, Charles has created an impressive record of caring for the student-athletes, coaches, and athletic staff, promoting a culture of athletic and academic achievement, while building excitement from donors,” said Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham. “We look forward to seeing him nurture confidence and talent in our Rams, and raise the University’s profile in our conferences and the NCAA. We’re delighted to welcome Charles and his family to the Fordham family.”
Guthrie oversaw Akron winning numerous MAC championships, with two men’s basketball NCAA Tournament appearances. He began his tenure as director of athletics at Akron in July 2021, managing the department’s 18 NCAA Division I programs with a steadfast commitment to the safety and continued positive experience of the University’s student-athletes. To ensure the health and well-being of all 500 Zips, as Akron’s student-athletes are known, Guthrie spearheaded a 10-year partnership with Akron Children’s Hospital, currently Akron Athletics’ sole health care provider.
“Returning to New York and joining an institution as prestigious as Fordham is a full-circle moment in my life,” Guthrie said. “I am committed to working steadfastly on behalf of our students, coaches, and the Fordham community to build on the University’s tradition of excellence both on and off the field.”
“I am deeply honored to be named the new director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation at Fordham University,” he went on to say. “My heartfelt thanks to President Tetlow, Chief of Staff Michael Trerotola, Search Committee Chair Roger Milici, and everyone involved in the search for their confidence in me.”
During Guthrie’s tenure as AD, Akron won 11 MAC championships, including two men’s basketball titles that led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2024. In 2022, Guthrie helped secure affiliate membership for Akron men’s soccer in the Big East Conference. This season, the team captured the program’s first-ever Big East regular season title.
Under Guthrie’s leadership, Akron student-athletes achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 for three straight academic years, and more than 424 student-athletes have earned Academic All-MAC honors. Competitively, more than 183 student-athletes received All-MAC honors while more than 11 earned All-America status. He built one of the most diverse senior leadership staffs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Guthrie also hired the first woman director of track and field, and the first woman of color to coach women’s lacrosse in program history.
Additionally, Guthrie’s fundraising efforts secured the two largest individual cash gifts to Akron Athletics in the university’s history. He created the department’s inaugural major giving society—the Summit Circle. He also prioritized transformational enhancements to Akron’s athletics facilities with the opening of the Wentz Financial Group Basketball Player Development Center, the installation of new artificial turf and a new state-of-the-art video board at InfoCision Stadium, and an overhaul of the Lee R. Jackson Track and Field Complex, among other improvements.
Guthrie joined Akron from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he had served as director of athletics since late 2017. At UW-Green Bay, Guthrie led a department of coaches, staff, and more than 240 student-athletes competing in 14 NCAA Division I athletic programs as a member of the Horizon League Conference.
His responsibilities at UW-Green Bay included strategic, operational, and financial planning; extensive external relations and fundraising programs (in coordination with the university’s advancement division); compliance and academic achievement; staff and coach development; and relationship building with campus and community constituents.
During Guthrie’s tenure, Green Bay student-athletes achieved the highest department-wide GPA in program history multiple times, with the highest-ever GPA at 3.57 in spring 2020. Twelve teams posted higher than a 3.5 GPA, and 68 student-athletes posted a 4.0 GPA.
Athletic teams at UW-Green Bay also experienced competitive excellence under Guthrie’s leadership. In 2019–20, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, and volleyball all advanced to the Horizon League championship game, with volleyball winning the Horizon League tournament championship to secure an automatic NCAA bid for the first time since 2003.
Prior to his role at UW-Green Bay, Guthrie served as the director of athletics at San Francisco State University, where his accomplishments included securing the largest one-time gift to athletics and more than doubling the amount of athletics scholarship dollars; a record number of student-athletes achieving a 3.2 GPA or greater during the fall 2016 semester; the men’s basketball team reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 23 years, and the women’s track program winning the NCAA National Championship in the outdoor 4x400m, with 11 student-athletes earning All-America honors.
Earlier in his career, Guthrie served as the director of athletics at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash.; associate director of athletics at California State University, Los Angeles; director of alumni and parent relations at California State University, San Marcos; and associate director of athletics at the University of California, San Diego.
The Albany, N.Y., native earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in education administration and policy studies from the University at Albany. Guthrie is married with two children.
