Chris Spells joined UC Santa Cruz as the Director of Athletics & Recreation in June of 2024 after serving at Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), and Division I Stanford on both the Athletics and Recreation fronts while at both institutions.
Prior to joining UCSC, Spells worked at CMS Athletics, where he served in multiple positions over his eight years there. Before departing, Spells was the Assistant Athletic Director for Facility Operations, Recreation, & Engagement at CMS. Arriving at CMS in April of 2016, Spells was hired as the Director of Recreation within the CMS Athletics Department. In that capacity, Spells was tasked with the opening of Roberts Pavilion, a competition arena and recreation center sized at 150,000 square feet. Spells also oversaw the implementation of Group Fitness classes and handled supervision of the CMS Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs program areas. In 2022, Spells was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Facility Operations, Recreation and Engagement. In that role, Spells oversaw game day and daily operations for all 21 varsity sports and in addition to overseeing recreational programming on campus. Spells also served as tournament director when CMS hosted NCAA regional and national championship events. The school most recently hosted the final eight, and National Championship of the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball championship. Spells was also on the department's Diversity, Equity Inclusion and Belonging committee, as a co-chair for the Student-Athlete Engagement subcommittee.
In 2023, Spells was selected to the NCAA Pathways program. This program is designed by the NCAA Leadership Development team to elevate senior-level athletics administrators from Division I, II, and III to the next step as directors of athletics or conference commissioners. After a year-long work alongside the cohort and the program facilitators, Spells graduated in June 2024 from the program. Currently, Spells serves on the NCAA's Strategic Planning and Finance Committee for Division III, and works alongside NCAA DIII Governance on key issues impacting the division.
Prior to CMS, Spells worked at Stanford University, within the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation, most recently as the Assistant Director for Facilities and Operations in 2016. After starting as an intern in 2011, Spells opened two new facilities on the Stanford Campus, the first being the Arrillaga Recreation Center at SLAC, and then the Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center. Prior to taking on that role, within Recreation and Operations, Spells worked as the lead Event Manager within Athletic Operations, and helped oversee game day operations for all 36 varsity teams.
After an immersive first year on campus here at UCSC, and with a new leadership alignment through the Division of Student Affairs and Success, Spells continues to work to serve the community here at UCSC in any and every way possible through Athletics and Recreation. This includes focusing on creating the best possible experience for all students, faculty and staff members within the UCSC community, and continuing to elevate both Athletics and Recreation, the experiential learning and stories that come from both, and help all areas thrive on campus, in our community, and on the national level. Go Slugs!!!
