Alex Gary was named Western Michigan Vice President and Director of Athletics on Oct. 1, 2026.
Gary comes to Western Michigan from Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he has served as deputy athletic director for external relations since 2025. He has led philanthropic strategy and helped establish Mustang Partners, an initiative that brings together athletics fundraising, corporate partnerships and other revenue opportunities. During his first year overseeing SMU's development operation, his team secured $98.6 million in gifts and commitments, including $50 million in commitments from four principal donors to anchor a new major-giving society.
Before joining SMU, Gary spent five years as director of athletics at Western Carolina University, where he led a department serving nearly 400 student-athletes with a focus on competitive excellence and student-athlete success. He advanced major facility projects and helped lead athletics' efforts in the university's Fill the Western Sky campaign. During the campaign's three active years, athletics secured 37 commitments of $100,000 or more, compared with seven in its prior history. Gary also secured the two largest sponsorship agreements in department history and increased game-day revenue by 50%, producing three consecutive record years.
Under his leadership, student-athletes maintained a cumulative GPA above 3.0 and averaged nearly 5,000 hours of community service annually. Gary also established Western Carolina's first full-time student-athlete development position and launched WHEE CLIMB (Creating Leaders in Mountains and Beyond), a program focused on personal growth, leadership development and career readiness. His head coaching hires in men's basketball, baseball and football helped revitalize the programs and position them as Southern Conference contenders.
Gary's career also included development leadership roles Oregon State University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan. At Oregon State, he led 16-person development team that raised nearly $26 million in 2019, then a department record and helped develop the department's five-year strategic plan with a focus on financial sustainability. At Maryland, he helped grow the Terrapin Club's annual giving from $8.3 million in 2014 to $11.4 million in 2016. At Michigan, he secured $12.8 million in athletics capital and endowment priorities. He began his career at UNC Charlotte where he supported fundraising efforts for the launch of UNC Charlotte's football program.
Gary has served on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee and the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master's degree in business administration from UNC Charlotte. Gary and his family have ties to southwest Michigan: his wife is from St. Joseph, and they have family in Kalamazoo.