ISU names Athletic Director finalists

Five finalists for Idaho State University Athletic Director will meet with students, coaches, faculty, staff, boosters, and alumni over a two week period.

The five candidates are:

Brian Hutchinson is the current Director of Athletics at Morehead State, a position he assumed in 2004. Hutchinson has been active with the NCAA and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics throughout his career. He served on the NCAA Division I Council, sitting on both the Competition Oversight Committee and Football Oversight Committee. He represented the Pioneer Football League as a member of the Division I Football Committee and the FCS Central Regional Advisory Committee and served as chair of the championship committee during the 2016-17 season. Hutchinson has also served on the Football Issues Committee, the Recruiting and Personnel Issues Committee, and the FCS Governance Committee. Hutchinson was president of NACDA’s FCS Athletic Directors Association in 2013-14. Hutchinson holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in sports administration and recreation.

Steven Schofield worked 12 years at the University of Northern Iowa where he most recently held the position of Deputy Director of Athletics. His broad experience at UNI included time as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance, and Associate Director of Athletics in the areas of student services, internal, and external operations. Schofield directed the marketing, communications, ticketing, licensing, and branding units. Prior to UNI, Schofield served in a compliance capacity as an Assistant Director of Athletics at Florida State University and the University of Maryland. Schofield earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in higher and postsecondary education from Arizona State University.

Pauline Semons Thiros has held a variety of positions at Idaho State University during her 23-year-career. In August 2018, Thiros was named the Interim Athletic Director at ISU. Prior to that, Thiros was the Associate Vice President of Development. She has also been the Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving, Director of Alumni Relations, Executive Director of Development, and Capital Campaign Director. Thiros began her career at ISU as an Assistant Volleyball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator in 1995. Thiros played volleyball at ISU and was named All Big Sky Conference Academic Athlete of the Year in 1994. She was inducted to the ISU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. Thiros has a Bachelor of Science degree in health care administration and a Master of Education degree in athletic administration.

Ronald Prettyman was the managing director for the NCAA National Championship Division, a position he held from 2016-18. In that position, Prettyman had global oversight of 17 NCAA national championships, including the College World Series, Division I football, women’s volleyball, and men’s ice hockey. Prior to working at the NCAA, Prettyman served as Athletic Director at Indiana State University for 11 years. He was also Athletic Director at California State University-Dominguez Hills and Vanguard University. Prettyman holds a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from Vanguard University and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction from California State University at Stanislaus.

Darryl Sims Director of Athletics. Sims joined UW-Oshkosh in 1998 as a part-time assistant football coach and served as assistant director of athletics from 2007-10. Prior to joining UW-Oshkosh, Sims was a football coach for the Oakland Raiders and three NFL Europe teams. Sims’ coaching resume also includes NFL preseason internships with the Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Washington Redskins. Sims was a two-time All-Big Ten selection for the University of Wisconsin in 1981-82, and he was picked 20th overall in the 1985 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and master’s degree in educational leadership from UW-Oshkosh.

Open forums for each of the candidates are scheduled as follows:

Brian Hutchinson
Monday, February 25
1:30 p.m.
Quad Lounge, Pond Student Union Building
Idaho Falls CHE 311, Meridian 509, and Twin Falls 134

Steven Schofield
Tuesday, February 26
1:30 p.m.
Quad Lounge, Pond Student Union Building
Idaho Falls TAB 279 Conference Room, Meridian 845, and Twin Falls 134

Pauline Semons Thiros
Wednesday, February 27
2:30 p.m.
Suite B and C, Rendezvous Building
Idaho Falls CHE 311, Meridian 686, and Twin Falls 131

Ronald Prettyman
Monday, March 4
1:30 p.m.
Quad Lounge, Pond Student Union Building
Idaho Falls CHE 311, Meridian 509, and Twin Falls 134

Darryl Sims
Wednesday, March 6
2:30 p.m.
Quad Lounge, Pond Student Union Building
Idaho Falls CHE 311, Meridian 827, and Twin Falls 134