UAB President Carol Garrison announced Wednesday, Feb. 14, that Brian Mackin is UAB’s new athletics director.

Brian Mackin talks with a local Fox6 reporter about his new role as UAB’s athletics director. The announcement was made during a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Mackin joined UAB in 2002 as senior associate athletic director for external affairs, responsible for fund-raising, corporate support and marketing for the athletic department. Mackin is a UAB alumnus and former Blazer baseball player.

“You can’t find anyone who is more devoted to Blazer athletics than Brian,” Garrison said. “During the past four years he has become invaluable at UAB by representing our program so well in the community. Additionally, he is respected by our coaches and the athletic department staff. He fully understands the unique challenges UAB faces as a young athletic program that just now is recognizing its overall potential.”

Garrison thanked UAB Vice President of Financial Affairs and Administration Richard Margison “for the superb job he has done as our interim athletics director. He stepped into that capacity with ease and conducted some very successful coaching searches, among the many other things he accomplished for our athletic department. I have asked him to remain involved in the program and to continue offering his good guidance there as we move forward with our plans for new athletics facilities.”

“It is a very exciting time to be able to guide this athletics program, and I am honored to be given this opportunity,” Mackin said. “All the sports in our conference are very competitive, and we will work very hard to ensure that we continue to build on the success that we have had. This means making a reality out of the plans for new facilities. It means continuing to grow our community and fan support for all our programs. It means taking this excellent athletics program up another notch,” Mackin said.

In 2006, Mackin was named Division I-A Fundraiser of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. Under Mackin’s leadership, contributions to UAB athletics have nearly tripled from $1.3 million in 2001 to about $3.7 million in 2006.

Additionally, he has been responsible for the creation of several affinity groups including the Athletic Investors Group, the Champion Club and the Blazer Club, which brought together the two annual funds supporting football and men’s basketball.

Prior to joining UAB, Mackin served as manager of corporate business development at Vulcan Materials, where he was responsible for examining potential new markets for business development and locating growth opportunities in the industry.

Mackin earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from UAB in 1983, and he was a member of the Blazer baseball team for four seasons.

Mackin’s community activities include the Birmingham Tip-Off Club, which hosts the State High School Final Four; the Monday Morning Quarterback Club; and the Birmingham Rotary Club. He has served as the president of the Birmingham Tip-Off Club. He and his wife Sally have five children.