Van Roekel Promoted to Assistant AD for Academic Success

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Director of Athletics Matt Roan announced Thursday the promotion of Jake Van Roekel to the administrative team position of Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Success with direct leadership of the Student-Athlete Services unit.

"We are excited to elevate Jake to this new leadership position in our student-athlete services unit," Roan said. "Jake has been a huge asset to our department and especially to Jenn Phillips in her role overseeing our internal student-athlete areas. Academic excellence has been a pillar of the student-athlete experience at James Madison University, and I anticipate that only increasing further with Jake's leadership."

"I want to thank Matt Roan and Jenn Phillips for this opportunity and the ability to grow and develop professionally here at JMU," Van Roekel said. "I am lucky to be part of an amazing student-athlete services department that strives to help our student-athletes achieve their academic, personal and athletic goals. The department has a tremendous record of helping JMU surpass its academic benchmarks and goals, and I am excited to help continue and build upon that success. I look forward to working with the advising staff and continuing to make positive impacts in the lives of our student-athletes."

With the new role, Van Roekel will oversee the academic success of all student-athletes from all 18 sport programs at JMU, with the supervision of a full-time staff of seven individuals. He and designated staff monitor and track the academic progress of all student-athletes to ensure NCAA eligibility. In addition to unit oversight, Van Roekel also has direct responsibility of assigned teams.

Van Roekel arrived at JMU in 2017 as an academic advisor. Prior to JMU, he began his career as a high school biology teacher in Salem, Va. He also held a number of swimming coaching positions at the high school and club levels near both Salem and Pittsburgh.

Van Roekel is a member of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A). He works closely with the association to attend regular professional development sessions to best assist the student-athletes he works with.

A previous student-athlete in swimming and diving at Pittsburgh, Van Roekel was a team captain for the Panthers as a senior and earned Scholar All-America honors in 2011. He holds a B.S. in biological sciences and an M.A.T. in secondary science education, both from the University of Pittsburgh.

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