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The Cleveland State Athletic Department announced the hiring of Erik Mathis as the program's new Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance, made official by CSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Garrett on Tuesday, June 14.

In his new role, Mathis is responsible for the direction, coordination and maintenance of a comprehensive compliance program and managing in accordance with university, conference and NCAA rules, regulations and procedures. He will serve as the liaison for athletics to the NCAA Eligibility Center as well as university legal counsel on administrative matters for the department. 

He will also play a vital role in ensuring the CSU athletic department operates within NCAA rules and regulations by issuing rules interpretations and providing education for the 18 Cleveland State sports programs, over 350 student-athletes and 70 staff members.  In addition, Mathis will serve as a sport administrator for the cross country, track and field and swimming and diving programs.

Mathis joins Cleveland State by way of the University of Akron where he served as the Zips Assistant AD of Compliance since November 2015. The Ohio native brings over eight years of NCAA Division I experience to Cleveland, including a stop with Middle Tennessee State University. 

"I am excited to join the Vikings Family and support the vision and growth of Cleveland State's athletics coaches, staff, and student-athletes success," Mathis said. "I would like to thank President Laura Bloomberg, AD Scott Garrett, General Counsel Sonali Wilson, Deputy AD Kelsie Gory Harkey and the search committee for the detailed and welcoming process. I look forward to contributing towards the future success of Cleveland State Athletics." 

During his time at Akron, Mathis oversaw the compliance office of the Zips athletic department. His duties included overseeing the entire compliance staff, communicating with various campus leaders, managing the department's $6 million athletic grant-in-aid program, monitoring the eligibility of approximately 500 student-athletes, auditing the recruiting and practice activities of the entire department and being accessible for coaches, administrators and other concerning issues that arose pertaining to the NCAA, Mid-American Conference and university policies.  

"We are thrilled to have recruited Erik to join the Vikings team," said Garrett. "He will ensure that our day-to-day department activities meet our expectation of a department culture that embraces compliance, integrity and ethical conduct, while also contributing strategically in our responsiveness to the rapidly changing regulatory environment in intercollegiate athletics."

Prior to his latest role at Akron, Mathis had stops as a compliance assistant at both Middle Tennessee State University and Akron University. He also gained experience as a sports agent assistant before joining the ranks of intercollegiate athletics in 2014. 

Mathis majored in Sports Management and earned his Bachelor of Science at Bowling Green University in 2011. He followed it up and earned his Master of Sport Administration from Kent State University in 2013.