Craig Pintens has served as Director of Athletics at Loyola Marymount University since June 2018, guiding the department through one of the most successful and transformative periods in its history. Under his leadership, LMU Athletics has achieved record-level competitive results, academic excellence, and philanthropic growth, all while building the infrastructure and culture to sustain long-term success. Pintens has hired the majority of the department’s current head coaches, restructured the senior leadership team, modernized facilities, and driven unprecedented fundraising results.
Competitive Excellence
The results speak for themselves: LMU Athletics achieved its best-ever finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup, placing 7thin Division I-AAA and 94th overall, the highest ranking in program history and a top-100 finish nationally across all of Division I. Since 2018, Lion teams have earned 19 NCAA postseason berths across nine sports, captured 18 regular-season or conference championships, and, in 2022-23, claimed the WCC Male All-Sports Award for the first time. The department’s success has been broad-based, highlighted by sustained national excellence in beach volleyball, including an NCAA championship appearance, and a historic NCAA quarterfinal run by men’s soccer.
Academic Achievement
Academic excellence has remained a hallmark of LMU Athletics. The department maintains a cumulative GPA of nearly 3.4, with every team posting at least a 3.00 GPA. Student-athletes consistently outperform the general student body, and the department’s Graduation Success Rate has ranged from 93–96 percent during Pintens’ tenure, well above the national average.
Philanthropy and Revenue Growth
Fundraising has reached unprecedented levels during Pintens’ tenure, with four of the five highest fundraising years in program history occurring under his leadership, including a peak of $5.82M. The increase in philanthropy has helped grow the department’s overall budget by more than 40 percent during his tenure. LMU Athletics has annually ranked among the university’s leaders in the Day of Giving, consistently placing among the top units in both participation and fundraising impact, with significant percentage increases in both gifts and dollars raised each year. Pintens has more than doubled the department’s corporate sponsorship revenue by strategically bringing multimedia rights in-house, retaining full commercial control during the revenue-sharing transition period.
Innovation in NIL and Department Leadership
LMU has emerged as a national leader among Division I-AAA institutions in navigating the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape. Pintens positioned LMU ahead of the curve at every stage: the university was the first in the country to establish an NIL collective, and Pintens personally created LMU’s institutional NIL agreement with student-athletes from scratch, negotiating directly with student-athlete agents. He appointed a dedicated General Manager for NIL and, following the House Settlement, launched Roar LMU to align donor resources and the revenue-sharing strategy further.
Coaching Excellence
Pintens has hired and retained the majority of LMU’s current head coaches, building a staff that reflects the department’s commitment to both competitive excellence and student-athlete development. Sixteen times, head coaches have earned conference Coach of the Year honors, a testament to the quality of leadership Pintens has assembled across the program.
Facilities
Pintens’ tenure has included a transformative investment in LMU’s athletic infrastructure, highlighted by a comprehensive renovation of Gersten Pavilion and significant upgrades across nearly every competition and training venue on campus. His leadership also brought to life the university’s first new competition venue in nearly two decades, a dedicated beach volleyball facility that reflects the department’s commitment to providing student-athletes with a best-in-class environment.
University Leadership
Pintens serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet, contributing to the university’s highest-level strategic planning and institutional decision-making. He is also an integral member of the University Budget Committee, overseeing matters including tuition, housing, and campus-wide budgeting, and of the University Facility Planning Committee, contributing to capital campaign policy and the prioritization of major building projects across campus.
Conference Leadership
Within the West Coast Conference, Pintens has served as Chair of the WCC Executive Council, the lead governance body of the conference’s athletic directors, and has advised the Finance, Audit, and Realignment Committees, serving as a key advisor to the Commissioner on matters of league finances, membership, and strategic direction. At the national level, he currently serves on the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee, contributing to policy and championship oversight at the highest levels of collegiate athletics.
Experience and Background
Before joining LMU, Pintens spent seven years as Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Oregon, where he contributed to a period that produced 17 national championships. He previously held leadership roles at Louisiana State University, Marquette University, and the University of Texas–Pan American, building a national reputation for excellence in marketing, revenue generation, fan engagement, and strategic communications.
A sought-after speaker, Pintens has presented at conferences nationwide and received more than 40 national awards for excellence in collegiate marketing and revenue initiatives. He hosts the Margins of Victory podcast, produced by CollegeTown, featuring leaders in sports and business discussing innovation and growth in collegiate athletics. Pintens earned his Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School, where his coursework spanned media and television agreements, antitrust, athlete representation, licensing, Title IX, and governance. As a member of the Wisconsin Bar, he has drawn on that legal foundation as a distinct asset throughout his career, and it is increasingly valuable as employment models, athlete rights, and regulatory frameworks continue to evolve.
He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.
Personal
Pintens and his wife, Jill, have four children: Kaitlin (LMU ‘26, North Carolina ‘28), Jackson (Creighton ‘28), Tate (Indiana ‘30), and Avery.
