April 28, 2006

Cedar Falls, Iowa - Julie Bright, senior associate athletics director at the University of Northern Iowa, has announced she has accepted the position of senior associate director of athletics for administration at Iowa State University. Bright, who also serves at UNI's senior woman administrator, will begin her new duties at ISU in mid-May.

"I am very excited to be joining the Iowa State administrative team," Bright said. "I have spent the last 34 years of my life associated with UNI, and so this was not an easy decision. I have a great love for Panther athletics. I will miss working with the folks at UNI, but am very much looking forward to working at Iowa State."

As the number two administrator at UNI, Bright was responsible for supervising the business, ticket, marketing, compliance and media relations offices. She also had administrative responsibility for each of UNI's 18 sports, and was a key player in the planning and financing of the McLeod Center, which is set to open this November.

"UNI's loss is Iowa State's gain in regard to Julie Bright," UNI director of athletics Rick Hartzell said. "She has been a part of UNI athletics for more than 30 years and you just do not replace that history and level of success easily. We will miss her greatly. In all my years of college athletic administration I have never been around anyone who has done their work at the level of Julie Bright. She is one-in-a-million, a very, very special person, colleague and dear friend. She has been given the highest accolades and awards professionally and will leave a hole that is extraordinarily hard to fill. But, we are proud of her, wish her the very best, and will do all we can to continue to support her and her husband, Dave, as they move forward in this exciting time in their lives."

Bright has been associated with UNI since she was a freshman student in 1972. After graduating with her bachelor's degree in business in 1975, she received a job in the UNI department of personnel services. After one year, she was named UNI-Dome business manager, a position she held until 1985. She was promoted to UNI athletics business manager in 1985, and to associate athletics director for business and licensing in 1998. She was elevated to her current position in 2002.

She is a past president of the College Athletic Business Management Association (CABMA), and the Association of Collegiate Licensing Administrators. She received the Iowa Board of Regents Staff Excellence award in 2002, and named Manager of the Year by both CABMA and the Amateur Athletic Foundation in 2001. She also received a Gold Star Award from ACLA in 2001.

A native of Ruthven, Iowa, she and her husband, Dave, have two children - Ben, 28, and Krystal, 26.