Dr. Ronald D. Reeves is a Detroit native and proud Cass Technical High School graduate who brings a community-centered leadership approach to his role at Oakland University. As Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Leadership & Engagement, he oversees student-athlete leadership development, engagement programming, life-skills education, NIL education and implementation, the Athletics Belonging & Engagement Council (ABEC), Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and community outreach initiatives that support the holistic development of more than 350 Golden Grizzly student-athletes.
Dr. Reeves is no stranger to the Horizon League. As a former track & field student-athlete at the University of Detroit Mercy, a former administrator at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and an intern at Cleveland State University, he brings a deep understanding of the league’s values, campuses, and student-athlete experience.
Prior to joining Oakland in 2025, Dr. Reeves served as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Aquinas College (MI), where he guided the Saints through a period of competitive success, program expansion, and student-athlete achievement. During his tenure:
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Aquinas finished 29th nationally in the NAIA Learfield Directors’ Cup, ranking 2nd among all WHAC institutions.
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The Saints placed 2nd in the WHAC Fred Smith Commissioner’s Cup, reflecting excellence across the department.
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Championships & Postseason Highlights:
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Women’s Soccer: WHAC regular season champions (fifth straight).
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Men’s Cross Country: WHAC champions (second straight).
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Women’s Volleyball: Hosted a first-round NAIA national tournament match.
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Academic Excellence:
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64 All-WHAC honorees
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168 NAIA Scholar-Athletes
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254 total All-Academic student-athletes
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3.297 department-wide GPA
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He launched The Nellys, the department’s annual student-athlete awards celebration.
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He hired new head coaches for women’s lacrosse, women’s hockey, men’s and women’s golf, cheerleading, men’s hockey, and men’s lacrosse.
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He strategically restructured the sport portfolio, adding STUNT, discontinuing women’s and men’s tennis, and launching a new NCAA Division III men’s hockey program.
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He established a modern Sport Performance Department, including creating and hiring the inaugural Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance & Medicine.
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He led significant community and philanthropic collaborations, most notably the Blackout Cancer campaign partnership with University of Michigan Health-West.
Dr. Reeves’ broader career includes leadership and support roles at the University of Colorado, Florida A&M University, Southern Illinois University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, the University of North Carolina, and Alabama A&M University, along with federal and public-service experience within the Internal Revenue Service, City of Denver - Arts & Venues, U.S. Air Force, The Pentagon, and Department of Defense.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Detroit Mercy, a master’s degree in Sports Management from Ithaca College, and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Southern Illinois University.
Outside of his professional work, he enjoys philanthropy, WWE, traveling, and spending time with his dogs, Bailey and Hugo. He has one daughter, Marisah, a senior at Grand Valley State University.Â
