On July 15, Loyola’s Athletic Director Brett Simpson appointed Courtnie Prather as the assistant athletic director.

“We are excited to welcome Courtnie Prather to Loyola. As a former student athlete and head coach, she understands the importance of developing students to lead lives with and for others. The enthusiasm and energy that she brings to her work will be a tremendous asset to our department as she leads the day to day operations of Wolf Pack Athletics and the University Sports Complex,” said Simpson.

Prior to accepting the job here at Loyola, Prather enjoyed a four year stint at Southern University where she was the head soccer coach; leading the Jaguars to their first ever first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in 2013 according to Wolf Pack athletics.

Prather said that the most important thing that she looked for in a college was it’s value system and Loyola’s stood out among the rest.

“This is an incredible opportunity and I am privileged to join the Wolf Pack family. I look forward to making the city of New Orleans my home, and would like to thank Wolf Pack Athletic Director, Brett Simpson, support staff, coaches, and university administrators for trusting me as the next Assistant Athletic Director of The Pack,” said Prather.

Prather said that she came to Loyola two days before her interview. On her first day she posed as a student, and the next day she posed as a parent with a prospective student to get a feel for Loyola.

“I talked to faculty, staff, students, everybody from professors down to the cleaning crew, and I wanted to know what their feelings were about working for Loyola and their experience, and everything seemed to match up with the system that Loyola presents itself on,” Prather said.

Prather wants to experience the growth of Loyola’s athletic department firsthand.

“There has definitely been more investment into student athletes and all of our particular programs, and I wanted to be apart of that coming in on the ground floor,” Prather said.

Prather has many goals for her time at Loyola, but, she said, her main goal is to be a great asset and resource for everyone that she works with. With this in mind, Prather said she really just wants to make Loyola a better place.

“If I can do anything here, I hope that whenever my time is done here, I can look back and say I left it in a better position than when I first got here,” Prather said.

During her time at Loyola so far, Prather has already made some changes to the athletic program. Starting with their work study recruitment efforts, Prather said she wants students to expand their futures here at Loyola.

Prather also implemented a “culture of the complex,” as she believes that the sports complex was in need of a brand. After surveying the complex for a few months now, Prather said that her “culture of the complex” involves customer service, care for the complex and consistency.

“We need an identity to say ‘this is what we are and this is what we do,’” Prather said.

Prather hopes that the Loyola community will notice the changes that are occurring within the sports complex.

“We’re taking on the aspect of running a professional gym as well as a professional intercollegiate athletic program,” Prather said.