Rider University Athletic Director Don Harnum has announced the hiring of Robert Woodcock as Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance & Internal Operations. In this position, Woodcock oversees compliance and academic support, while also serving as the departmental liaison to several critical areas, including Financial Aid, the Registrar, Residence Life, and the Office of Community Standards. He also serves as the sport administrator for Rider's men's and women's soccer, cross country/track and field and baseball programs.

"I am grateful to Athletic Director Don Harnum for this tremendous opportunity," said Woodcock. "Rider is a university with an excellent athletic and academic reputation, and my family and I are thrilled to be part of such a great community. I am excited put our coaches and student-athletes first, and to immediately help our athletic programs work to their highest level of competency."

Woodcock arrives in Lawrenceville following three years at Tarleton State as Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, serving as chief certification officer for academics and certifying 450+ student-athletes term-by-term. He created and presented a comprehensive rules education program to coaches and affiliated staff members monthly and served as sport supervisor for the Texans' men's and women's cross country and track & field programs. Woodcock was recruited to Tarleton State to oversee day-to-day compliance and internal operations during the program's transition to Division I.

"We are excited to add Robb to our senior athletic staff," said Harnum. "He brings a lot of positive experience in the areas of student-athlete academic support, compliance, and overall sport administration. I'm confident that our coaches and student-athletes will benefit from his overall knowledge and service-oriented approach."

Woodcock came to Tarleton after previous stops at UCLA, Montana State, and Grand Canyon University. He served as an academic mentor at UCLA in 2017-18, working with the men's and women's basketball programs. He spent the 2018-19 academic year as an academic coordinator and tutor coordinator at Montana State. In that role, he oversaw initial eligibility and continuing eligibility for 10 teams while also overseeing the tutoring program for over 350 student-athletes. At Grand Canyon, Robert oversaw academics and eligibility for at-risk student-athletes as well as the track & field program.

A 2016 graduate of Purdue, Woodcock played baseball while majoring in Communications. He moved on to the University of San Francisco for his master's degree, graduating magna cum laude, and served as a graduate commencement speaker. Woodcock is currently pursuing a doctorate in organizational leadership and higher education leadership from Grand Canyon.