Edward Waters University athletic director Ivana Rich-Leitner announced her resignation from the position on Aug. 26, after nearly three years at the helm.
Her resignation, accepted by university president A. Zachary Faison Jr., takes effect on Sept. 1.
Edward Waters had appointed Rich-Leitner in October 2022 as the first woman to hold the athletic director position in the university’s history. Her tenure included the finishing stages of Edward Waters’ transition into NCAA Division II from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
That transition began in July 2021 under Rich-Leitner’s predecessor, Paul Bryant, and concluded in July 2024.
In Rich-Leitner’s place, the university announced that deputy athletics director Ashley Conner and Derrick Burroughs will serve as co-vice presidents for athletics on an interim basis.
Conner has served in the university for two years, originally as associate athletic director for student services and senior woman administrator, after arriving from Shaw University in North Carolina.
Burroughs, a former first-round NFL cornerback who played for the Buffalo Bills from 1985 to 1989, had worked at Lane College since 2015 and had served as athletic director there since October 2019. He also has nine years of head football coaching experience in two separate stints at Lane.
Rich-Leitner’s resignation is the second major move at Edward Waters Athletics in a six-week span. On July 16, head football coach Toriano Morgan resigned after four seasons, subsequently taking a co-offensive coordinator position at Football Championship Subdivision program Tennessee State. The university promoted former Bethune-Cookman and Alabama State coach Brian Jenkins to take Morgan’s place.
The Edward Waters athletic calendar for 2025-26 opens Aug. 30 with the school’s football opener on the road against Savannah State.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Edward Waters athletic director Ivana Rich-Leitner resigns
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
