Staff Directory
Chun, Patrick
Patrick Chun
- Title:
- Director of Athletics
- Email:
Updated July 17, 2025
Patrick Chun, one of the foremost leaders in intercollegiate athletics, was named the 17th Director of Athletics at the University of Washington on March 26, 2024. Chun also has the distinction of being the first Asian-American Power Four athletic director.
The 2024-25 academic year was historic for Washington as the Huskies competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference for the first time. Sixteen of UW’s 22 varsity teams advanced to postseason competition, with men’s rowing winning the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship for the second straight year, and for the 21st time in program history, and women’s rowing claiming UW’s first Big Ten team championship. The UW enjoyed its most outstanding season in the history of women’s track & field, with both the indoor and outdoor teams finishing fourth nationally (both the highest in program history) and the combined cross country and track & field programs ranking second nationally. UW student-athletes earned four individual NCAA championships and nine Big Ten titles, with 80 student-athletes honored as All-Big Ten Conference selections and 32 as All-Americans. Five student-athletes were named Big Ten Athlete or Freshman of the Year.
In the classroom, UW student-athletes recorded a school-record 3.48 GPA in 2024-25, with all 22 programs exceeding the 3.0 benchmark. The university celebrated 304 Academic All-Big Ten honors, more than half of its student-athlete population.
On the external front, Washington experienced a record year in fundraising, bringing in over $70 million. UW Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) also agreed to a landmark multimedia rights and sponsorship agreement with Learfield, tripling the previous contract's value and placing UW among Learfield’s top five national partnerships.
The summer of 2024 coincided with the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, where the UW was well-represented, with 27 athletes and four coaches representing seven countries, earning 15 medals. If the UW were a country, it would have ranked 16th globally in the Games’ medal table.
Nationally, 2024-25 brought monumental change to all of college sports with the approval of the House Settlement in June 2025. In preparation for settlement approval, Chun was selected as one of just 10 athletic directors nationwide to serve on the NCAA’s House Implementation Committee. This distinguished group was tasked with developing a new operational model for college athletics in anticipation of the settlement, ultimately launching the creation of the College Sports Commission (CSC), the NIL Go platform, College Athlete Payment System (CAPS), as well as new governance, enforcement, and rules.
Chun has participated in numerous other leadership roles in college athletics throughout the years, including:
Prior to his appointment at Washington, Chun served in the same role at Washington State University for six years. There, he oversaw historic successes both athletically and academically, and in 2018, he was named Under Armor Athletic Director of the Year, followed by a 2022 induction into the Asian Hall of Fame.
Among the accomplishments at Washington State, Chun oversaw a dramatic shift in athletic fundraising. Before his arrival, WSU Athletics averaged $11 million in yearly fundraising. Over Chun’s final five years, the department increased to an average of nearly $30 million annually, an improvement of almost threefold. Included in those figures are the completion of funding for a $10 million baseball operations center, a $27 million indoor practice facility, and a $9 million academic support center. Chun also secured WSU’s largest gift in school history to endow the Director of Athletics position.
The 2023-24 WSU men’s basketball program earned its first bid into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 16 seasons, while the women’s program claimed the school’s first-ever Pac-12 Championship in 2022-23. In 2018, the football team recorded the most victories in school history with an 11-2 record. Overall, 10 different WSU teams made postseason appearances during Chun’s tenure, and the school won six Pac-12 championships.
Prior to his time at WSU, Chun led the Florida Atlantic University athletics program for five and a half years as the Director of Athletics, beginning in 2012. During his time in Boca Raton, Fla., Chun oversaw multiple individual and team championships and numerous national and conference award winners; the department-wide student-athlete GPA reached an all-time high, and WSU set a record for fundraising, including the largest gift in school history at $16 million. In 2014, Chun led the creation of the Boca Raton Bowl through a partnership with ESPN Events.
Chun’s athletics administration career began at Ohio State University, his alma mater, where he held numerous roles from 1996 to 2012, starting as a student employee and ultimately serving as Executive Associate Athletics Director. Working under the legendary athletic directors Gene Smith and Andy Geiger, Chun spent the majority of his tenure in development and revenue generation.
Chun is a native of Strongsville, Ohio, and earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State and a master's degree from Duquesne University. His wife, Natalie, is also an Ohio State alumnus, and they have three daughters – Vanna, Kennedy and Gretta.
Pat Chun Committee Work
• House Implementation Committee (2024 to present)
• NCAA Division I Council (2020 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I Strategic Planning and Vision Committee (2020 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I NIL Working Group (2023 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I Transformation Committee (2022)
o Chair, Subcommittee on Governance and Decision Making
• NCAA Constitution Committee (2021)
• NCAA Division I Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (2020 to 2022)
• LEAD1 Association, Board of Directors (2023 to 2024)
• President, NACDA (2023-24)
• Member, Executive Committee, NACDA (2016 to 2020)
• NACDA John McClendon Minority Scholarship Foundation Steering Committee (2013 to 2016)
• National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) Executive Committee (2009 to 2012)
• NCAA Division I Baseball Rules Committee (2017 to 2018)
• Vice Chair, NCAA Division I Baseball Committee (2013 to 2016)
• Mentor, NCAA Pathway Program (2016 to Present)
LINKS:
Patrick Chun, one of the foremost leaders in intercollegiate athletics, was named the 17th Director of Athletics at the University of Washington on March 26, 2024. Chun also has the distinction of being the first Asian-American Power Four athletic director.
The 2024-25 academic year was historic for Washington as the Huskies competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference for the first time. Sixteen of UW’s 22 varsity teams advanced to postseason competition, with men’s rowing winning the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship for the second straight year, and for the 21st time in program history, and women’s rowing claiming UW’s first Big Ten team championship. The UW enjoyed its most outstanding season in the history of women’s track & field, with both the indoor and outdoor teams finishing fourth nationally (both the highest in program history) and the combined cross country and track & field programs ranking second nationally. UW student-athletes earned four individual NCAA championships and nine Big Ten titles, with 80 student-athletes honored as All-Big Ten Conference selections and 32 as All-Americans. Five student-athletes were named Big Ten Athlete or Freshman of the Year.
In the classroom, UW student-athletes recorded a school-record 3.48 GPA in 2024-25, with all 22 programs exceeding the 3.0 benchmark. The university celebrated 304 Academic All-Big Ten honors, more than half of its student-athlete population.
On the external front, Washington experienced a record year in fundraising, bringing in over $70 million. UW Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) also agreed to a landmark multimedia rights and sponsorship agreement with Learfield, tripling the previous contract's value and placing UW among Learfield’s top five national partnerships.
The summer of 2024 coincided with the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, where the UW was well-represented, with 27 athletes and four coaches representing seven countries, earning 15 medals. If the UW were a country, it would have ranked 16th globally in the Games’ medal table.
Nationally, 2024-25 brought monumental change to all of college sports with the approval of the House Settlement in June 2025. In preparation for settlement approval, Chun was selected as one of just 10 athletic directors nationwide to serve on the NCAA’s House Implementation Committee. This distinguished group was tasked with developing a new operational model for college athletics in anticipation of the settlement, ultimately launching the creation of the College Sports Commission (CSC), the NIL Go platform, College Athlete Payment System (CAPS), as well as new governance, enforcement, and rules.
Chun has participated in numerous other leadership roles in college athletics throughout the years, including:
- President of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2023-24
- 2022 NCAA Transformation Committee
- 2021 NCAA Constitution Committee
- 2020-24 NCAA Division 1 Council
Prior to his appointment at Washington, Chun served in the same role at Washington State University for six years. There, he oversaw historic successes both athletically and academically, and in 2018, he was named Under Armor Athletic Director of the Year, followed by a 2022 induction into the Asian Hall of Fame.
Among the accomplishments at Washington State, Chun oversaw a dramatic shift in athletic fundraising. Before his arrival, WSU Athletics averaged $11 million in yearly fundraising. Over Chun’s final five years, the department increased to an average of nearly $30 million annually, an improvement of almost threefold. Included in those figures are the completion of funding for a $10 million baseball operations center, a $27 million indoor practice facility, and a $9 million academic support center. Chun also secured WSU’s largest gift in school history to endow the Director of Athletics position.
The 2023-24 WSU men’s basketball program earned its first bid into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 16 seasons, while the women’s program claimed the school’s first-ever Pac-12 Championship in 2022-23. In 2018, the football team recorded the most victories in school history with an 11-2 record. Overall, 10 different WSU teams made postseason appearances during Chun’s tenure, and the school won six Pac-12 championships.
Prior to his time at WSU, Chun led the Florida Atlantic University athletics program for five and a half years as the Director of Athletics, beginning in 2012. During his time in Boca Raton, Fla., Chun oversaw multiple individual and team championships and numerous national and conference award winners; the department-wide student-athlete GPA reached an all-time high, and WSU set a record for fundraising, including the largest gift in school history at $16 million. In 2014, Chun led the creation of the Boca Raton Bowl through a partnership with ESPN Events.
Chun’s athletics administration career began at Ohio State University, his alma mater, where he held numerous roles from 1996 to 2012, starting as a student employee and ultimately serving as Executive Associate Athletics Director. Working under the legendary athletic directors Gene Smith and Andy Geiger, Chun spent the majority of his tenure in development and revenue generation.
Chun is a native of Strongsville, Ohio, and earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State and a master's degree from Duquesne University. His wife, Natalie, is also an Ohio State alumnus, and they have three daughters – Vanna, Kennedy and Gretta.
Pat Chun Committee Work
• House Implementation Committee (2024 to present)
• NCAA Division I Council (2020 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I Strategic Planning and Vision Committee (2020 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I NIL Working Group (2023 to 2024)
• NCAA Division I Transformation Committee (2022)
o Chair, Subcommittee on Governance and Decision Making
• NCAA Constitution Committee (2021)
• NCAA Division I Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (2020 to 2022)
• LEAD1 Association, Board of Directors (2023 to 2024)
• President, NACDA (2023-24)
• Member, Executive Committee, NACDA (2016 to 2020)
• NACDA John McClendon Minority Scholarship Foundation Steering Committee (2013 to 2016)
• National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) Executive Committee (2009 to 2012)
• NCAA Division I Baseball Rules Committee (2017 to 2018)
• Vice Chair, NCAA Division I Baseball Committee (2013 to 2016)
• Mentor, NCAA Pathway Program (2016 to Present)
LINKS:
- Asian Hall of Fame Class (Video)
- Transformation Committee (Final Report)
- Constitution Committee Work (Resources)
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