Dr. Cliff Harrell - Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Dr. Cliff Harrell

Title:
Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services
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Dr. Cliff Harrell, a highly skilled student services professional with 15+ years of experience, joined University of Houston Athletics as its Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services in September 2023.

Harrell joins Houston from UCLA where he served as the Bruins’ Associate Athletics Director of Academic Excellence and was a vital member of the committee which provided direction for the transition from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten Conference.

At UCLA, Harrell served, implemented, and pioneered academic support and development for 21 varsity sports including nearly 700 student-athletes while managing and leading long-range planning, directing and evaluation of academic support services for student-athletes.

Prior to joining UCLA, Harrell spent four-plus years at TCU as its Assistant Athletics Director of Academic Services where he planned, implemented and oversaw services for all aspects of athletic academic advising staff in addition to leading athletic academic advisor and assistant academic advisor national searches and onboarding programs.

Harrell oversaw TCU’s weekly meetings with athletic academic advisors’ staff, including compliance checks and conducting weekly individual meetings. He also led the facilitation of student success initiatives through innovation while using data to inform best practices.

During 2021-22, TCU posted a departmental cumulative GPA of 3.14 with 15 of its 17 varsity sports programs posting GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Harrell also co-chaired the inaugural Race and Reconciliation Initiative – an academically based, historically focused initiative designed to investigate and document TCU's relationship with slavery, racism, and the Confederacy.

Harrell’s prior stints including his role as Assistant Director of Academics at Georgia State (2017-18), Athletic Academic Advisor role at Florida A&M (2016-17) and Assistant Director of Academic Support Services at North Florida (2011-13) and Graduate Assistant at Florida A&M (2008-09).

From 2012-16, he served as Director of Student Support Services at Tiger Academy YMCA Charter School (K – 5 grades) and from 2009-11 worked as Facility Director, Director of Wellness, Director of Sports, & Group Exercise Director at Flagler YMCA & Arlington Family YMCA.

Harrell possesses a wealth of teaching and university experience including most recently as an adjunct facility member, teaching HNRS 20613 (Race and Sports) during three semesters (fall 2021; spring 2022; fall 2022), exploring the interplay of racial and social binaries within the context of sports. He also taught IDEA 10523 (Planning for College Success) during summer 2022 which emphasized the development of skills to foster success in the transition to college, focusing on self-awareness, academic skills, and awareness of diversity issues along with UNLF 10211 (Intro to University Life) in fall 2021 and 2022.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Development and Technology from Clemson in 2005 and his Master of Education in Physical Education with an emphasis in Sport Management from Florida A&M in 2010 before earning his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Cognate in Higher Education from North Florida in 2020.

Harrell and his wife Ginette have three sons: Trey, Carson and Carter.