DeWayne Peevy announced as new DePaul athletics director

DePaul has officially announced DeWayne Peevy as the school’s new athletics director.

“I am honored and humbled today to accept the position of director of athletics at DePaul,” Peevy said in a press release. “This is an opportunity that I have long dreamed of and one that I do not take lightly. DePaul is a proud and tradition-rich athletic department built on the foundation of a strong mission in a diverse urban community. My family and I are all excited and energized to join the Blue Demon family.”

Peevy, who has been at Kentucky since 2008, has spent the last six years as the school’s deputy director of athletics. He was previously a finalist for the UCF athletics director opening in 2015.

Peevy was recently tabbed one of the SEC’s ‘Behind-The-Scenes-Power-Players” by AL.com.

“DeWayne is someone I trust wholeheartedly, to the point where he became the center of our scheduling and worked hand-in-hand with me on just about everything we do. It made it so that he and I talked every day, oftentimes multiple times a day,” Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari said in a press release. “DePaul will see quickly that DeWayne is a gatherer, a listener, a consensus builder and an idea man who gathers the right people in place to execute. I can’t wait to see what happens for the athletic department at DePaul and for DeWayne personally.”

During his time in Lexington, Peevy played a prominent role with key fundraising efforts, strategic planning and media relations while also serving as the liaison to the SEC and SEC network offices. He also played a prominent role in overseeing the day-to-day operations of Kentucky basketball.

“DeWayne is already a well-respected leader in college athletics as he has shown the ability to be effective in numerous areas of athletics administration,” Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said. “At UK, his impact will be felt for years to come, and we will be able to enjoy the memories of the successes in our program we experienced together. We’re excited for him and look forward to seeing him grow the program at DePaul.”

Peevy even helped create the CBS Sports Classic, which started in 2014 and sees Kentucky, Ohio State, North Carolina and UCLA face off every year in one of the top neutral-court events in college basketball.

“DeWayne leaves UK with a lasting legacy. Without question, he helped lead our program to new heights of success in sports across our campus. But more importantly, he always put our student-athletes first, mentoring them and preparing them to lead lives of meaning and purpose, on our campus and in the broader world in which they have been called to serve,” said Kentucky president Eli Capilouto. “DePaul is gaining one of the country’s finest young athletic administrators and leaders. And while he and his family will no longer be on our campus each day or on the sidelines cheering on our teams, they will always be members of the Big Blue Nation.”

It’s great to see Peevy is finally getting a chance to run his own athletics department. Best of luck to him in his new job.