Patrick Gray comes to West Virginia from the University of Michigan where he worked in different capacities since 2015.
West Virginia University Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President Shane Lyons has named Patrick Gray as Senior Associate Athletics Director/Executive Director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.
Gray will be responsible for the management and leadership of all development activities within WVU's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and serve as its lead fundraiser. He will direct and oversee the annual fund, endowments, funding for capital projects, special events, major and planned gifts as well as the priority seating, suite and club seat programs.
He will serve on the senior leadership team of the WVU Foundation and Athletics Department, while leading a metrics-driven, results-oriented fundraising effort designed to enhance donor cultivation and contributions to WVU athletics.
"Patrick brings a great deal of experience to the MAC, and we are excited to have him lead our fundraising efforts," Lyons said. "Our donors will enjoy getting to know him, and they will be pleased with his professionalism and ideas. Our MAC opening drew a lot of attention from around the country, and it became clear that Patrick was the choice to lead our fundraising efforts."
Gray comes to West Virginia from the University of Michigan where he worked in different capacities since 2015. He began his tenure with the Wolverines as director of development and was promoted to senior director in 2018. In his last role, he was named the assistant athletic director for development and a member of Michigan's development leadership team.
"I'm very excited to have Patrick Gray joining our development leadership team," B.J. Davisson, WVU Foundation Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, said. "Athletics fundraising is extremely important to WVU and the Foundation. I'm quite confident Patrick will do an excellent job in leading this area of our development operation to an even higher level of success."
At Michigan, Gray oversaw major gifts and the annual giving team as he directed the fundraising areas of the East Coast, Southern states and West Coast for the Wolverines. He successfully secured one-time, pledged and deferred commitments and worked to develop individual donor strategies and regional engagement opportunities. Traveling extensively to secure and develop donor support, Gray also oversaw Michigan's premium seating plan and played a key role in the past year, through fundraising, to help Michigan's athletics department overcome the budget constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to Michigan, Gray spent five years at the University of Georgia where he progressed from assistant to associate then director of development for the Georgia Bulldog Club. He managed major donor portfolios, the annual giving fund and started a fundraising club for former student-athletes, while creating a young alumni ticket program, which brought new members into the Bulldog Club.
Gray started his career in collegiate fundraising at the University of North Carolina where he was a development assistant. While in Chapel Hill, he worked on a fundraising team to help raise $70 million for a football stadium expansion and secure more than $10 million in annual fund donations.
Before entering collegiate athletics, Gray worked for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2003-07 in community, player and alumni relations. He generated and implemented community programming, promotions and sponsorship for the Blue Jays and served as a player liaison with club management and the city of Toronto.
"I would like to thank Shane Lyons, Steve Uryasz and the WVU Foundation for affording me this opportunity," Gray said. "My family and I are excited to join the Morgantown community and meeting all of those who make up Mountaineer Nation. I look forward to serving the University and continuing to build on the solid foundation that has been established within the Mountaineer Athletic Club."
Gray earned his bachelor's degree from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2003 and a master's degree from North Carolina in 2009. Patrick and his wife, Melanie, have two children, Jacob and Benjamin. He will start his new duties at WVU on July 26.