Rock Hill, SC – After five years as the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics at Winthrop, Dr. Ken Halpin has been named Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Purdue University athletics department.
 
In the interim, former Deputy AD Hank Harrawood will serve as Athletics Director.
 
"Amber and I came to Rock Hill and Winthrop with the intention of truly immersing ourselves into the University's culture as well as the Rock Hill community, and it worked," Halpin said. "This makes leaving so much harder, leaving all of the wonderful people we've grown so close to. Winthrop Athletics has such a bright future and we will always and forever have a soft spot in our hearts for our Eagles and Rock Hill."
 
Since his arrival in Rock Hill, Halpin has restructured the department and assembled a dynamic team of coaches and administrators, leading the Eagles to unprecedented success in competition, student-athlete academic results, and revenue generation.
 
In his first year, he laid the foundation and vision for the future by developing a comprehensive seven-year strategic plan, the "Drive to '25", which aims to bolster the student-athlete experience by focusing on the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, campus collaboration, community engagement, revenue generation, and diversity & inclusion.  The results have restored Winthrop's championship tradition, while setting records both athletically and academically.

The Eagles took home seven Big South Conference titles under Halpin's reign, highlighted by back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021 for the men's basketball team. In 2019, volleyball added to the trophy case with its first championship and NCAA tournament appearance since 2006 following a perfect 14-0 record in conference play.
 
"Over the past 3 years, I have had the privilege to work under Dr. Ken Halpin and couldn't give higher praise to a person," head volleyball coach Chuck Rey said. "He is a transformational and progressive leader that challenges you to be your best. The results are obvious as Winthrop Athletics has achieved numerous championships and the highest ever GPAs. Volleyball would not have returned to its championship ways on the court and in the classroom without his vision. He leaves a lasting impact and will be sincerely missed."

Winthrop has also reached new heights in the classroom under Halpin's leadership, posting new records for department cumulative GPA in each of the past four years, including a record 3.34 GPA in 2020-21, which saw 190 student-athletes named to the Big South honor roll and 21 earn a 4.0 for the entire academic year.

Leaning on his background in fundraising and external operations, Winthrop has also seen record revenue growth during Halpin's tenure.  Shortly after his appointment, Halpin led the restructuring of the athletic department's fundraising model, which saw Winthrop Eagle Club memberships more than double, and total athletics fundraising dollars increase over 214%.  Additionally, corporate sponsorships have seen a 190% increase, and ticket sales have grown 48%.

Halpin has led national searches for seven head coaching positions during his time at Winthrop, ultimately bringing to Rock Hill: Julika Blankenship (Lacrosse) in 2016, Chuck Rey (Volleyball) in 2018, Windy Thees (Softball) in 2018, Vivian Segnini (Women's Tennis) in 2019, Joshua Sides (ESports) in 2019, Kasey Gambrell (Women's Golf) in 2019 and Mark Prosser in 2021. Halpin most recently announced the permanent hiring of head women's basketball coach Semeka Randall Lay in May 2021.
 
"Purdue University is getting an exceptional person in Ken Halpin. Since my brief time here with Ken, he has worked tirelessly to leave his mark, positively impacting and improving the Winthrop Athletics department," Randall Lay said. "His resume speaks volumes of the hard work and sweat that he gave to our athletic department and community. I'm truly excited for Ken, his family and the Boilermakers community."

In addition to the conventional duties of an athletic director, Halpin also made headlines when Winthrop announced it would be launching ESports in the 2019-20 academic year, becoming one of only three Division-I institutions to sponsor ESports within its athletics department. In 2021, Winthrop ESports claimed the Big South Conference title, Collegiate ESports National Championship, as well as the League of Legends College Championship.

Halpin is active in the college athletics industry as a writer, speaker and guest lecturer, and has also contributed himself to Winthrop's academic mission. In addition to teaching multiple classes on campus, Halpin created the industry's first MBA Specialization in Sport Marketing and Revenue Generation, partnering with Winthrop's College of Business Administration to launch the program for the first time in Fall 2020.
 
The Winthrop Athletics Department thanks Dr. Ken Halpin for his contributions over the years and wish him and his family the best of luck at Purdue!