On June 26, 2025, Luther College announced to the public that the nationwide search for a new college Athletic Director finished with the hiring of Megan Wilson. Formerly the Associate Athletic Director, Wilson returns to Decorah after time spent at the University of Dubuque, and winning a Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship with the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What inspired or motivated you to submit your name to the national search for a new athletic director?
A: Obviously my time here had a big part in it, just being able to develop those relationships with the campus community and athletics staff. I knew from my short time here how special of a place Luther was. I think that, coupled with President Chamberlain’s hire, which had gotten a lot of excitement, in a trying time of higher education and college athletics, Luther College was showing that athletics mattered. And I just loved the Decorah community.
Q: Between your time here previously, and your position now, you worked for the University of Dubuque. What did you learn from that position that you are bringing into your new position here?
A: My role [at the University of Dubuque] was associate dean of student engagement and intercollegiate athletics. The athletics part of my role, I learned about in my 20 years [from] the D3 athletics side, the student engagement side of things was really an experience that I had never had anywhere else. And I think that broader perspective of general students on campus and student life really helped prepare me more for this chair. I’m grateful for my time at the University of Dubuque. I think every place I’ve been I’ve had great takeaways of things that have worked really well and things that didn’t work so well. I’m taking those ideas of how we can elevate Luther College athletics, and the campus and community feel, here in Decorah.
Q: What are some important values or things you’re keeping in mind as you take steps forward and make decisions?
A: My number one priority in all decision making is going to be the student athlete experience, and we want to elevate that here at Luther College, so they’re getting an experience that is unlike any other college where they could go. Culture is going to be really important to me. It’s very important for the student athletes to see me visible and present at practices, on competition days, involved in student athlete leadership council, and just that I’m really intentional about spending time with them. Competitiveness, I want us to win. I’m a competitive person, and I want us to win, but I want our student athletes to have a good competitive experience. They should be competing for something meaningful in their time here, meaning a conference tournament, or an opportunity in the NCAA tournament. Recruitment and retention is really important, facilities is really important, staffing and development is really important, and then revenue generation. I think those are my seven key areas, with the student athlete experience being first and foremost.
Q: You’ve already been traveling with some of the teams, what sort of insight has that given you into the culture so far and how has it helped you plan what’s next?
A: I think it gives me an opportunity to build relationships on a different level. It’s one thing for a student athlete to see me in a meeting or classroom space, or come into my office, and [it’s] another thing to be traveling in a 12 passenger van talking about music. They get to see me and know that I care about them. It’s been really enjoyable, it gives me a glimpse of student life because I was a student athlete a long time ago and things are different. There’s more pressure on our students than there was 25 years ago, so what does that look like? I hope that they know and see me caring about them, and wanting the best experience for them.
Q: You mentioned some ideas for the culture here at Luther, do you have an idea or vision for what that feels like?
A: I was lucky enough to win a national championship and while that was probably the paramount moment of my collegiate career, I think the things that I remember the most are the relationships that I built with my teammates and my coaches and the experience I had at [University of Wisconsin]-Stevens Point. So I think it’s very holistic, it’s why I love Division III: it’s about the student athlete and their experience. I want them to experience things that they wouldn’t if they weren’t a student athlete, whether that be trips or travel at some point during their four years, and yes I want us to win. I don’t think any of us, any of our coaching staff, any of our student athletes are competing in college athletics to just be okay, right? I think they’re competitive to a point, and it’s about creating opportunities for us to have success. And I will say that the thing I love most about Luther College is the pride that’s felt for Luther is just different than anywhere else I’ve been and I think that’s what makes this place really special.
Q: Coming into this position, you had a lot of things on your plate right away: construction of the new Gerdin Fieldhouse, President Chamberlain’s inauguration and new cabinet members, women’s wrestling has an inaugural season this year and we are moving athletic conferences next year. So how have you responded to these changes? What are your next steps forward to keep things moving forward efficiently and effectively for student athletes?
A: The most important thing is that all this change is really exciting, but it takes a village. So I think that’s one of the best things about stepping into this role is there are a lot of good coaches, athletic administrators and Brad and his team that are helping me handle these changes and preparing for the future. I’ve felt really supported stepping into this role. I think one of the toughest parts is going to be how we carry all this exciting momentum forward. And that’s why it’s been really important for me in these first few months to be really intentional about getting out there and being visible and getting people excited. I think that some of the work that Amanda Bailey [Assistant Athletic Director for Student Wellness and Community Engagement] and Alison Shearer [Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach/Athletics Internal Operations Director] are doing in terms of fan engagement and student engagement, trying out new events, promoting our events and getting more of our campus community involved has been excellent. It’s been so rewarding to walk around campus and have people say Alison and Amanda are doing a great job. So that just shows that other people have bought into the kind of excitement and creating this buzz about Luther College athletics and it’s not just me because I definitely won’t be able to do it alone.
Q: What are some longer term goals for Luther College Athletics?
A: I think we are setting the bar high in terms of facilities, so we’ve got to be able to continue to elevate them and we want to stand apart. We don’t want to be comparing ourselves to our competitors, we want them to be trying to emulate Luther College and be us. Long term goals, I want us to win conference championships, I want another national championship, I don’t want cross country to be our only national championship. I want our student athletes to get individual accolades such as All-American honors, postgraduate NCAA scholarships. We’d be remiss to not talk about the academic success of our Luther College student athletes. We’ve made a lot of progress since I was here the last time in terms of academic support and how we support our student athletes who may have a little bit more difficulty balancing their schedule and some of the expectations that come from being a student athlete. So just continuing to support them in the classroom and in things like experiential learning, continuing to graduate Luther College student athletes and prepare them for the future.
Q: Some of the athletic teams here have, undoubtedly, faced some adversity and struggling records in recent history, and I think sometimes this can adversely affect the student body perspective which affects attendance at events and confidence.. From your perspective, what’s the way out?
A: Part of it is identifying what the obstacles are standing in these programs’ way, right? Like what is keeping some of these programs from having success? Is it financial resources? Is it time? I truly believe that a coaching staff needs at least five years to try to build a program, until they get their first full recruiting class in and through their program, setting expectations. And then it’s about me trying to find the resources to help them out, I think some of these things will sort themselves out. The other thing that’s really difficult in the athletics world is everybody is really competitive and everybody wants to win and we want to win right now, and that’s how I am honestly, but it’s important to understand that it’s going to take time. So, you know, having some patience and extending some grace because everybody wants what’s best, everybody wants to win.
Q: You have a lot of school spirit, and you mentioned Luther’s pride before, how has that translated into your leadership style and the decisions you’re making?
A: I’ve already had to make some tough decisions and that’s what I try to tell my coaches. I hope they see how excited I am and how much I care and how much I want the best for our programs and our student athletes. But there’s going to be times when the answer is no and there’s going to be times where I have to make some tough calls. And I hope that them getting to know me and who I am genuinely will soften the blow on some of those things. So I hope they know that if they see me excited about change, they can get excited about it too. I’m definitely a lead by example type of person, what you see is what you get.
Q: What can current students expect from athletics in the short-term?
A: We’re really trying to elevate the game day experience, not just for our student athletes, but for the general student body. We want to get the music department more involved by singing or performing the national anthem. We’re putting on halftime performances and we have students here that are so talented in so many different ways. So how can we collaborate and partner together with our student organizations so it’s not just about athletics, but it’s about Luther College. We host 300 athletic events this year, with probably a third of those here on our campus. How are we making those events not just about athletics but about Luther College? I hope that’s what people see about us in the short term, that we want to collaborate, that we want to work together, we want to highlight all of the talents that we have on our campus.
