Men's Swim & Dive
- Positon:
- Executive Associate AD, Internal Operations
- Alma Mater:
- UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON
- Email:
- penner.2@osu.edu
- Phone:
- 292-1848
Mike Penner has been a member of The Ohio State University’s athletic department’s leadership team since 2006 providing strategic direction and oversight for the 36-sport athletic department with more than 1,000 student-athletes and 1,700 full and part-time employees. He was promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director in June 2018 and currently serves as the lead administrator for the department’s facility operations, capital projects, athletic district development, event management, championships, camps, information technology, video, and audio services.
He also serves as the sport administrator for the softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and artistic swimming teams.
In his time at Ohio State, Penner has provided oversight of the OSU Golf Club, equipment, sustainability initiatives, communications, digital media, and marketing; and provided leadership for more than $250 million of capital projects; has hosted more than 100 NCAA championships and more than 50 Conference championships; and has managed more than 150 events in the 100,000-seat Ohio Stadium.
Penner serves on department and university committees as an advocate and advisor, representing Department of Athletics: Athletic Council, Finance and Facilities, President and Provost Council on Sustainability, Integrated Physical Planning Liaison Group, Parking Advisory, Access Control, Energy Advisory, Greens, Recreational Sports Advisory, Aquatics Oversight, Student Life Internal Program Review Panel
Penner is a Past President of the Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association (CEFMA) and was selected as the inaugural CEFMA/GameDay Consulting Event & Facility Manager of the Year award recipient. He has taught classes in Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business in the Sport Management program and has given dozens of presentations on various event topics at national and regional conferences and local universities. He has worked at the NCAA Hoop City, OHSAA Tournaments for track, tennis, basketball, softball and wrestling, the Special Olympics State Summer Games, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Fan Fest.
A 1997 sport management graduate of the University of Dayton, Penner earned his master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1999. He then began his career at Ohio State in July 1999 with the Department of Recreational Sports where he served as the intramural coordinator. He moved to the Department of Athletics in 2001 as the assistant director of event management and then was promoted to event management director in 2003, assistant athletics director in 2006, associate athletics director in 2009 and is now the Executive Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations.
The Cleveland native now resides in Upper Arlington, Ohio with his wife Stephanie, daughter Kaylie (12) and son Zachary (9).
