Northern Michigan University 1992 alumnus Rob Peterson was hired as the senior associate athletic director and chief financial officer at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. He brings more than 20 years of collegiate athletic administration experience at five different higher education institutions to the role, and most recently served as a consultant with CarrSports Consulting.
“We are excited to hire Rob as our senior associate athletics director/chief financial officer,” Western Kentucky Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said in a news release. “His past experiences will serve him very well in overseeing a vital component of our athletics department. We are fortunate to have him, and I know he will make a positive impact on WKU athletics.”
“I am very grateful to Todd and his senior staff for this incredible opportunity to become part of a team with so many exciting things happening,” Peterson said in a news release. “Paula and I can't wait to get settled and become official Hilltoppers.”
Peterson holds a bachelor's degree in physical education from NMY and a master's in sports administration from Central Michigan. He served as the deputy athletic director for internal operations/CFO at Central Michigan from 2018-22. Prior to CMU, he was the associate athletic director for finance and administration/CFO at UMass for one year and also served a five-month stint as the interim CFO this past spring.
During his career, he also has stops at South Dakota State (senior associate athletic director for internal operations, 2000-14), Fresno State (coordinator of events, facilities and projects, 1997-2000) and Northern Michigan (assistant director of recreation – facilities, 1995-97).
“Rob is a very talented individual,” former Central Michigan Director of Athletics and current Florida State Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford said in a news release. “He is outstanding in understanding and developing strategies in all matters related to collegiate budgeting, but his knowledge also encompasses areas beyond the finance world. He has a tremendous work ethic and is a true problem solver. This is an excellent hire by Western Kentucky.”
“Rob has been a truly valued colleague of the CarrSports team,” CarrSports Vice President/Management Consulting Gerald O'Dell said in a news release. “His exceptional skill set in fiscal management has assisted numerous athletic departments in strategic planning, feasibility studies, operations reviews, and adopting industry best practices. Importantly, he has brought his breadth of on-campus experience and collaborative style to every project. He is the consummate chief financial officer.”
Throughout his career, Peterson has gained experience in several areas of internal operations, including business, capital projects, equipment, facilities/events, human resources, sports medicine, sport performance and sport supervision.