Jeff Hamilton has moved into a new position with Shawnee State University. Hamilton has worked in many different roles for the university, including basketball coach, tennis coach and athletic director. Now he has moved to the student affairs department as the interim dean of students.
“I came here in the fall of 2001; I was the assistant basketball coach,” Hamilton remembered. “I coached tennis for a while, ran intramurals, a little bit of everything while I have been here. I was an assistant coach one year, then was head basketball coach for a while. The athletic director left, and I got an opportunity to step in.”
Before his professional career at Shawnee State, Hamilton studied at the College of Wooster. He played basketball at the school under then-head coach Steve Moore, who had played under Hamilton’s father. Wooster’s men’s basketball team is a leading NCAA Division III program and was during Hamilton’s time as well. As a student-athlete, Hamilton was part of three conference championship teams. He graduated with a history major and math minor, and he went on to work at Illinois College.
“I went to Illinois College, which is a little school in Jacksonville, Illinois, as an assistant coach,” Hamilton explained. “I taught at a charter school there, too. I coached basketball, women’s soccer and ran intramurals. Whatever they wanted me to do, I jumped in.”
After spending a few years in Illinois, he wanted to pursue his coaching career more seriously. Hamilton went on to Ohio University to earn his master’s degree in health and physical education/fitness.
“I went to OU and was on staff coaching basketball while I got my master’s degree,” Hamilton said. “Great experience. I learned a lot of professionalism and the education landscape of basketball.”
While working at OU, he built strong relationships with his fellow coaching staff, including assistant coach Geno Ford. Ford later left OU to become the head coach at SSU in the spring of 2001, and Hamilton joined his staff in the fall.
All of this led Hamilton to Shawnee State where he has been settled for the past 23 years. While at Shawnee, Hamilton has mainly worked on the athletic side of the university and was able to bring that viewpoint to all areas. As the athletic director, Hamilton developed the athletic department so that the programs are built for elite athletes.
“I really got to reshape the athletic department, hired more full-time coaches,” Hamilton said. “We grew the athletic department, we had 13 varsity sports, and we are about 23 now.”
Hamilton truly believed that the best way to build the athletic department was to work with every department of the university. As athletic director, he worked with the academic side of the university in order to build the most beneficial system for his athletes, which included working with the people who previously held his new position.
“One of the things about athletics is its tie into the culture, from recruiting and admissions side to the academic side, to facilities and housing, you name it,” Hamilton explained. “There is not a component of the campus culture that athletics doesn’t need to survive, thrive and be successful. So, I have always worked closely with the person in this role from the athletic side.”
Moving to the student affairs department is a change for him. However, because of the relationships he has built in his previous positions, he believes that he has the ability to improve the experience for all students.
“As the athletic director, I thought it was important to go to the board of trustees meetings and have conversations with those folks and all in between,” Hamilton said. “I built a lot of relationships with a lot of people. That is the skill I have built most, and what I find to be most beneficial.”
The main goal for Hamilton is to build an environment where students look back on their experiences at Shawnee fondly. He wants students to gain skills and abilities while at SSU that will help them thrive post-graduation.
“My goal is to provide leadership so that we can create a vibrant campus that is full of energy,” Hamilton said. “I want our students to think when they graduate that they had a great experience. They think that they grew in the classrooms. They make connections with fellow students, faculty and staff that propel them to success in what they do post-college.”
Hamilton’s love for the university has strengthened throughout his 23 years here. He hopes that each student who comes to Shawnee feels the same.
