For more than a decade, Michelle Meadows has been a behind-the-scenes driver of the growth and development of Longwood University athletics. Now entering her 14th year in the department, the 2001 Virginia Tech graduate and first-ballot Hokie Hall-of-Famer will continue that push on the front lines as Longwood’s newest athletics director (AD), a press release cited Monday.

Officials noted in the release that Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV announced Monday that Meadows was named director of the institution’s 14-sport athletics department, earning that appointment after an eight-month stint as interim athletics director and a 13-year tenure in multiple high-level roles within the administration.

“Michelle Meadows profoundly understands the mission of Longwood athletics and the university’s vision for our program,” Reveley said in the release. “She has experience that prepares her for every facet of the job, and she is a deeply valued, admired and respected member of our broader university community who knows this place well.

“But perhaps most important is the extraordinary commitment and care she shows every day for the well-being and success of our student-athletes, making use of her own experience to transform lives and shape citizen-leaders. She has demonstrated beyond all doubt she is ready to be the next leader of Longwood athletics.”

A former softball standout at Virginia Tech who currently serves on the NCAA Softball Selection Committee, Meadows becomes one of only 40 female athletics directors at the Division I level and one of three in the Commonwealth of Virginia, along with Carla Williams at the University of Virginia and Samantha K. Huge at the College of William & Mary, the release stated.

Meadows’ eight-month stint as interim athletics director began in October 2018 following the departure for Duke University of 12-year athletics director and I-AAA Builder’s Award winner Troy Austin, officials said in the release. They added that in that eight-month period, Meadows has already guided the department to historic success. In 2018-19, she has presided over a Longwood athletics program that is coming off arguably its best season in its 15-year Division I history, bolstered by the softball program’s fifth Big South Championship, a breakthrough campaign from the men’s basketball team that featured a berth in the College Basketball Invitational, a second-place Big South finish by Longwood lacrosse and top-three conference finishes by the Longwood women’s soccer and field hockey programs.

“I came to Longwood in 2005 inspired by the vision to continue the rich legacy of Longwood athletics at the Division I level and to do so with a commitment to excellence and integrity,” Meadows said in the release. “My experience as a Division I student-athlete and what it instilled in me, along with my unwavering belief in the value of the college athletic experience, fuels a passion in me to pay it forward for our student-athletes and community.

“These past fourteen years have been marked by incredible strides, and we have a strong foundation to continuing building upon that thanks to Troy Austin’s vision and leadership. I cannot begin to thank Troy enough for all that he has done for Longwood athletics and me personally that has equipped me to continue this pursuit.”