CHICAGO (July 26, 2024) – Michael Lipitz, the director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) since 2019, has been chosen as associate vice president and director of athletics at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., it was announced Friday. His final day at UIC will be Thursday, Aug. 15.

"On behalf of the UIC community, I want to extend my gratitude to Michael for his dedication and many contributions to our Athletics programs," said UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda. "Under his leadership, UIC made a historic move to the Missouri Valley Conference which will leave an indelible mark on our teams for years to come. He has also been a staunch advocate for the academic excellence of our student-athletes, resulting in outstanding academic performance and personal growth. We wish him all the best in his new position."

"It has been an honor to serve the UIC community as director of intercollegiate athletics for the past five years," Lipitz said. "Together, we helped our scholar-athletes achieve the best academic results in school history, generated record levels of financial support to benefit our scholar-athletes and teams, elevated our competitive profile by securing membership in the Missouri Valley Conference, and made a meaningful impact on our campus and Chicagoland communities. My family and I are grateful for the friends and colleagues that have made this chapter of our lives in Chicago so special. We will be forever Flames."
 
During his five years at UIC, Lipitz led the Flames to exceptional achievements in the classroom, competition and in the community. He also spearheaded UIC's move to the Missouri Valley Conference beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.

The Flames have posted the best academic results in school history in recent years, recording a department-wide 3.4 grade-point average (GPA) and a program-record 93-percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) during the 2023-24 academic year. In addition, half of the Flames' 300 scholar-athletes earned Dean's List honors last year.
 
The 2023-24 season was noteworthy for UIC on the fields of competition. The Flames produced 43 all-conference honorees (including three Players of the Year), seven all-region selections and an All-American (third-team baseball standout Kendall Ewell), as well as a remarkable 43 Academic All-District scholar-athletes, as chosen by College Sports Communicators.
 
In addition, UIC enjoyed tremendous team success under Lipitz. After capturing their first-ever Horizon League Women's All-Sport Trophy in 2021, the Flames have shown great promise in their first two seasons in the MVC. Last year alone, six UIC programs (women's soccer, men's soccer, volleyball, baseball, women's golf and women's tennis) finished in the top four in the conference in either the regular season standings or at their respective Valley championships.
 
Lipitz also hired Ashleen Bracey as the Flames' women's basketball coach in 2022, ushering in one of the best two-year runs in program history. Since Bracey's arrival, UIC has recorded 37 wins, made consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in school history (2023 WBI, 2024 WNIT) and produced a 215-percent rise in attendance, highlighted by a school-record average of 1,276 fans per game in 2023-24.
 
Athletics set numerous fundraising records since Lipitz arrived in Chicago. The Flames secured the largest-ever gift for women's athletics for its softball program in 2023, set records during Giving Tuesday for donor participation (2021) and raised dollars raised (2020) and recorded its third-largest endowed scholarship gift in program history (2020). UIC Athletics also relaunched its annual giving program, the Flames Athletics Fund, to incentivize annual giving and better reward current and future donors, and created Sparky's Kids Club for its youngest Flames.

During his tenure, Lipitz oversaw numerous improvements to UIC's athletic facilities footprint. The Flames Athletic Center basketball practice facility and men's and women's basketball locker rooms were renovated, while enhanced branding was installed throughout UIC's athletics facilities following the department's comprehensive refresh of its athletics brand. UIC also opened Chicago's premier collegiate soccer venue (Flames Field) in the fall of 2022 following a $5 million renovation project that has allowed the facility to host countless international powerhouse clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona and AC Milan, along with national teams from the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Bolivia. Most recently, Lipitz played an integral role in the construction of the new Sandra M. Wichelecki and Suzanne M. Dukes UIC Flames Softball Clubhouse in the spring of 2024.
 
A veteran college athletics administrator with extensive senior leadership experience, Lipitz came to UIC in October 2019 following nine years at North Carolina State University and 11 years at his alma mater, the University of Maryland. He also previously served as Chief Operating Officer of the Orange Bowl Committee.
 
Lipitz holds a law degree from Villanova University and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Maryland, where he captained the men's tennis team. He and his wife, Kerry, who met and were married in Washington, D.C., are the proud parents of two sons, Henry (12) and Charlie (9), and a dog, River.
 
For more information on UIC athletics, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UICFlames) and Instagram (@uicflames).