Drury athletics director to retire

Drury University’s director of athletics plans to retire at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

Mark Fisher, who’s also a vice president at the university, started at Drury in summer 2015 after working as director of athletics for Springfield Public Schools since 2003, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

The 2018-19 academic year will mark Fisher’s fourth as director of athletics for Drury, according to a news release.

With Fisher at the helm, the Drury Panthers have won six Great Lakes Valley Conference championships and played in 16 NCAA Division II national tournaments.

"I am grateful to Mark for giving us ample time to find his successor – a testament to his leadership and professionalism,” Drury President Tim Cloyd said in the release. "At the same time, I am sorry to see Mark leave our Drury family. While he has only been here a short time, he has made a positive and lasting impact on our institution."

Fisher’s successor at Drury will become the sixth person to hold the athletics director role full time since 1965. Drury spokesman Mike Brothers said Cloyd and the school’s board of trustees will jointly craft a search process for the next athletics director.

With Fisher as athletics director, Drury grew its student-athlete population to nearly 450 in the 2017-18 academic year from 290 in his first year. The department also added wrestling and women's bowling as NCAA programs, as well as non-NCAA sports including shooting and Stunt cheerleading, according to the release.

While at SPS, Fisher led efforts to raise $3.5 million via corporate partnerships, according to the release. In 2015, he was inducted into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame.