ROCHESTER, Mich. ???C The Oakland University Board of Trustees today approved the appointment of Tracy Huth as its new athletic director. Huth has been serving as interim AD for the past year.

???Tracy has done an outstanding job as interim AD and has the respect of athletes, colleagues and peers, both at Oakland and at institutions throughout our conference,??? said Oakland President Gary D. Russi. ???We???re confident Tracy will be able to take Oakland University athletics to new levels of excellence and success.

???Athletics play a key role in enhancing the overall campus experience for our students, and the success of our teams and athletes in recent years has brought national recognition to Oakland University. We???re looking to Tracy to help us build on that momentum.???

Huth, who graduated from Oakland in 1985, started his career as Oakland???s assistant men???s swimming and diving coach. He established the OU Women???s Swimming and Diving team as the premier Division II program in the country. Under his guidance, Oakland finished in the top three nationally for nine straight seasons, including five consecutive national championships. Huth was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year three times.

???I???m really excited to begin this new phase of my career at Oakland,??? Huth said. ???One of my top priorities will be to maintain our impressive record of exemplary scholar-athlete achievement by emphasizing that excellence is expected in both the classroom and in all athletic venues.???

In 1998, Huth was named assistant athletic director and played a key role in Oakland???s move to Division I athletics.

In 2002, Huth became the only person ever to be enshrined twice in the Oakland University Lepley Hall of Honor. In 1990, he was named to the Hall for his swimming accomplishments as a student-athlete, and in 2002 he was enshrined in recognition of his coaching accomplishments.

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