WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie has announced the addition of Mike Harrity to his Senior Executive Staff. Harrity will assume the role of Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Operating Officer.
Harrity will lead the daily operations in the areas of Sports Performance (sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and performance nutrition), Strategic Communication (athletic communications, digital and social strategies, creative and video services, and broadcasting) and Licensing and Branding. Additionally, he will help oversee the Development area as Army West Point Athletics embarks on a major capital campaign. Harrity will assist with the administration oversight for Army Football in addition to serving as a sport administrator for other varsity sport teams.
“We are so fortunate to have the Harrity family joining the Army West Point team,” said Buddie. “Mike has expansive experience in Division I athletics and an impeccable track record as an administrator who builds consensus and develops relationships. His ability to think creatively, pursue innovation and have an entrepreneurial approach will continue to push Army West Point as a leader nationally in intercollegiate athletics. His positive impact on our cadets will be immediate and lasting as he continues to focus on leadership, human performance and character development initiatives at the United States Military Academy.”
Harrity comes to West Point from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a Senior Associate Athletics Director and served as a member of the Executive Team. During his time with the Fighting Irish, Harrity led the areas that directly impact the student-athlete experience: the Rosenthal Leadership Academy, personal growth and career development, community service-learning, athletic training, sports nutrition, strength and conditioning and sports science innovation. He also served as the sport administrator for the men’s lacrosse program.
"We are so excited to join the Army West Point community,” said Harrity. “My dad, John, is a proud Army veteran who met my mom, Oknan, while serving in South Korea. Now, to have the opportunity to serve alongside such extraordinary people is monumental for me. I am grateful to Mike Buddie for entrusting me to join his team and honored to help advance the mission of Army West Point."
Harrity worked closely with Notre Dame’s Athletics Advancement team on top priorities, including the Advisory Council for the Student-Athlete to secure funding for key department strategic initiatives. He served as Athletics Chair on three of the four Advisory Council committees: Sports Science/Sports Performance, Leadership and Well-being, and Career Development. Harrity is also engaged extensively on a national level, creating the Notre Dame/Australian Catholic University annual Human Performance Summit, serving as an Executive Committee member of the Sports Management Institute, a member of the LEAD1 Messaging Working Group, and formerly served as a Board of Directors member of the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Student Welfare Committee and is a 2019 graduate of the NCAA Pathway Program.
Harrity grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and earned a journalism scholarship to The University of Kansas, where he went on to become the first in his entire extended family to graduate from college. He also earned a Master’s degree in Education and served in athletics department roles at the University of Minnesota and The University of Kansas before joining the University Notre Dame in December 2011.
"Mike Harrity is as focused on the welfare of the student-athlete as anyone with whom I have worked,” said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame Vice President, James E. Rohr Director of Athletics. “From leadership development, to sports science, to mental and physical well-being, Mike has improved the experience of every Notre Dame student-athlete. He will be greatly missed, but I could not be more enthused about the opportunity this represents for Mike and his family. Mike Buddie has added one of college athletics bright young talents to the Army West Point Family."
Beyond being an exceptional athletics administrator, Harrity is a published author. Fascinated by creating cultures of sustained excellence, Mike explored this subject with 13 coaches who have won 103 combined championships including Lou Holtz, Scotty Bowman, Brad Stevens and John Wooden, along with many of their former team members. The results of his exploration were published in his first book in 2012, Coaching Wisdom.
His wife, Dr. Megan Harrity, also worked at Notre Dame as a Counseling & Sport Psychologist. They have two daughters, Grace and Evelyn.
Courtesy of Army West Point Athletic Communications
