David Benedict became the Director of Athletics at the University of Connecticut in March of 2016 and has had a dynamic impact on Husky athletics, fueling incredible growth and tremendous success.
During the past three years, Benedict has overseen a dramatic improvement in the athletic facilities at UConn with the opening of new state-of-the-art homes for baseball, softball and men’s and women’s ice hockey -- the Elliot Ballpark, Burrill Family Field at Connecticut Softball Complex and the Toscano Family Ice Forum -- all on-campus in Storrs.
In addition, the men’s and women’s soccer programs and women’s lacrosse team call Joseph J. Morrone Stadium at Rizza Performance Center home after the newly renovated facility came online in 2021. In the fall of 2022, UConn athletics received its largest gift ever as alum Dr. Trisha M. Bailey made a significant lead commitment toward the construction of a state-of-the-art student-athlete performance and academic support facility on the Storrs campus, the Bailey Student Athlete Success Center. The project involves an 80,000-square foot renovation and expansion of the former recreation center and areas within the existing Hugh S. Greer Field House.
The new facilities coincided with the continued success on the playing fields that UConn enjoyed under Benedict’s leadership in 2022-23, with a NCAA Championship for men’s basketball, the program’s fifth, women’s basketball’s 22nd BIG EAST regular season title, a second-straight season of BIG EAST indoor and outdoor men’s and women’s track and field titles, BIG EAST regular season championships for the baseball and softball programs and a continued rise in the national polls by both men’s and women’s ice hockey.
Benedict helped orchestrate one of the most important decisions in UConn athletic history in 2020, finalizing UConn’s move to the BIG EAST Conference, which has been nationally heralded as a change that will provide a dramatic boost to UConn athletics. The details of the move included Benedict’s bold decision to have the UConn football team play as an FBS independent.
That decision has clearly been justified in the 2022 football season with a remarkable turnaround that took a 1-11 program in 2021 back to the postseason and the Myrtle Beach Bowl Game a year later.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to sports in the early spring of the 2019-20 academic year, UConn had also enjoyed a solid year under Benedict’s stewardship, led by a resurgence by the men’s basketball team, which enjoyed its first winning season in four years and was on a five-game winning streak heading into the conference tournament when the season ended. Women’s basketball was likewise on a roll, compiling 29 wins and its seventh straight American Athletic Conference championship.
The 2020-21 season was unprecedented, and hopefully one-of-a-kind, but that did not deter the Huskies from achieving a high level of competitive success. The Huskies captured six BIG EAST Championships and six squads appeared in NCAA Tournament competition.  Â
Benedict’s steadfast emphasis on the classroom has remained evident, as UConn student-athletes posted an overall Graduation Success Rate of 93 percent in 2022, with six teams posting perfect Graduation Success Rates (GSR) and a total of 17 squads performing at 90 percent or higher. When it came to the Academic Progress Rate, five teams posted a perfect 1000 multi-year Academic Progress Rate, while 10 teams sported perfect 1000 APR scores for the 2021-22 academic year, as announced by the NCAA. Additionally, 288 student-athletes earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team while 33 members of the men's and women's ice hockey programs were named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team and 34 women’s rowers earned CAA All-Academic honors.  Team and individual academic success in 2022-23 remained a bright spot with 52 student-athletes achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA. For the entire student-athlete population, 67% had a 3.0 GPA or better and the cumulative GPA was 3.25.
Benedict has overseen corporate contract extensions which represent significant revenue streams and will continue to positively impact the 600+ student-athletes who wear the Husky uniform.
UConn extended its exclusive sponsorship agreement with Nike through the 2028-29 academic year. The total value of the Nike extensions, including cash and product consideration, executed in 2017 and 2023 under Benedict’s direction exceed $61 million. Benedict also helped UConn navigate a 15-year, $93 million extension for IMG (now Learfield) to continue as its multimedia partner through 2033.
With the ongoing evolution of college athletics nationally and associated modernization actions at the forefront, Benedict has kept a laser-focus on activities which benefit UConn’s student-athletes. This includes name, image and likeness (NIL) initiatives through the formation of collectives which allow student-athletes to be compensated for community service programs. UConn will continue to monitor the athletics landscape and industry trends in order to provide its student-athletes with an exceptional overall experience.
Prior to UConn, Benedict served as the Chief Operating Officer for the athletics department at Auburn University for two years. Benedict is a highly-experienced athletic administrator who served as the Deputy Athletic Director at Minnesota (2012-14) and in leadership positions at Virginia Commonwealth (2010-12), Long Beach State (2007-10) and Arizona State (1996-2006).
Benedict directed all the day-to-day operations of the Auburn athletic department, with particular emphasis on operational planning, resource allocation, budget development and strong financial management. He led the department in developing strategic long-range plans for a $120-plus million budget, facilities, staffing and accomplishing strategic goals.
He coordinated a five-year strategic plan for Auburn athletics, which featured initiatives for strategic priorities and goals. Benedict directed a team of staff members and coaches in creating a facility master plan and the initiation of a game-day master plan.
Benedict led a feasibility study to make renovations to Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium that initiated a $150-$180 million project. He negotiated a unique nine-year extension with an athletic footwear and equipment provider that included both product, cash and $10 million worth of stock.
Benedict provided ongoing support for the administration of the Auburn football program and was the men's basketball sport administrator.
At Minnesota, Benedict held a similar position as he identified areas to increase external support and provided stewardship for sponsors and major donors. He worked with the University of Minnesota Foundation to create the largest athletics campaign in school history. Benedict directed a number of contracts and relationships that helped increase the Gophers' revenue intake.
Benedict was the Executive Associate Athletic Director at VCU during his time there and also served as Interim Athletic Director for several months. At VCU, he increased annual giving, tickets sales and sponsorship revenues each year. While serving as Interim AD, Benedict led the school's transition from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Atlantic 10.
In his role at Long Beach, he administrated all external areas of the department and restructured the entire fundraising process. Benedict was also the baseball sports administrator. He was the Associate Athletic Director for Development at Arizona State and streamlined all areas of external relations.
A native of Tempe, Ariz., Benedict is a 1995 graduate of Southern Utah, where he was a linebacker on the football team. He earned a master's degree from New Mexico Highlands in 1996, where he served as a graduate assistant football coach.
Benedict and his wife, the former Lisa Zeis, have twin boys -- Jake and Sam. Lisa was a four-time gymnastics All-American and two-time NCAA champion at Arizona State.
