Posted by Bob Logan on May 11, 2023
Dave Heeke (pronounced Hee-key) was named Vice President and Director of Athletics at the University Arizona in February of 2017. Heeke’s vision for Arizona Athletics centers around a culture of excellence, a focus on a first-class student-athlete experience, championship-caliber competitive performances in competition and in the classroom; as well as enhancing fan experience and providing a tremendous workplace environment.
 
 
The impact of the Heeke era on Arizona Athletics was immediate with an overhaul of facilities, groundbreaking academic achievements, the elevation of the department’s fundraising to unprecedented heights, and the enhancement of the overall organizational, employee focus and culture.
 
Arizona Athletics posted another banner year of fundraising success in 2021-22, which was punctuated by the department’s official announcement of the new $14.8 million William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center. The new, state-of-the-art home facility for Arizona’s men’s and women’s golf programs will be constructed at Tucson Country Club.
 
Heeke continued his nationally-recognized leadership and service to college athletics with an appointment to the prestigious NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in 2022, becoming just the third athletic director in Arizona history to serve on the committee.

On the academic front, the athletics department continued to thrive in Heeke’s fifth year at Arizona as the 2021-22 year raised the bar for excellence in all facets. Arizona student-athletes continued to reach historic heights in the classroom, posting a 3.157 overall semester GPA in Fall of 2021 that marked the highest Fall semester GPA in department history.
 
An East Lansing, Michigan native, Heeke received a bachelor’s degree from Albion College in 1985 and a master’s degree from Ohio State University in 1987. At Albion, he was a co-captain of the baseball team and a member of the club hockey team.
 
Heeke and his wife, Liz, have three boys, Max, Zach, Ryan, and daughter-in-law, Merissa.
 
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