American University Athletics Director Joni Comstock has been named NCAA senior vice president for championships.

Comstock, who replaces Judy Sweet, will join the national office staff September 29. She also has been designated as the Association’s senior woman administrator, a role Sweet had filled since 2001.

Comstock will lead a staff that administers 84 annual championships and also will oversee the statistics and playing-rules staffs.

She has been the athletics director at American since 2003. Before that, she was the AD for three years at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

Comstock has chaired the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee since September 2005.

"Joni emerged from a strong field of candidates because of her experience at the local, conference and national levels," said NCAA President Myles Brand. "Her efforts at both North Carolina-Asheville and at American have been characterized by strong leadership and visionary growth.

"She also presented strong national involvement in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the-women’s basketball committee. She clearly has a firm grasp of how championships can enhance the student-athlete experience and how to ensure that the experience is positive."

Comstock was responsible for 16 sports at American and oversaw the school’s recreational sports and athletics facilities. She managed an administrative staff of 70 and an athletics program that included 260 student-athletes. During her tenure, the athletics department experienced a 200 percent growth in gifts and a 40 percent growth in revenue.

At North Carolina-Asheville, Comstock was known for improving women’s participation levels without eliminating any athletics programs.

Before serving at North Carolina-Asheville, Comstock was a senior associate director of athletics at Purdue University from 1989 to 2000, where she led the marketing and promotions plans for women’s basketball.  

She also was an assistant director of athletics at the University of Illinois, Champaign (1983-89), where she worked with women’s sports and rules compliance.

Comstock began her career as a coach and instructor of volleyball, men’s tennis and women’s basketball at Lincoln College (1979-83) in Lincoln, Illinois.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University, her master’s from Illinois State University and her doctorate from Illinois. She currently is on the board of directors for the National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletics Administrators and is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.