Bio

Christian Pope became Milligan's athletic director in July 2021 following a national search.

The Buffs claimed NAIA national championships in men's and women's cross country in 2021 and have claimed 15 individual NAIA and USA Cycling national championships under Pope's watch. He was tabbed as the 2022-23 Appalachian Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year.

Prior to joining Milligan, Pope had 27 years of athletic administration experience and spent the previous 10 years as associate director of athletics at Campbell University in North Carolina. He has served in athletic leadership roles, including compliance, at Virginia Commonwealth University, Indiana University, Murray State University, University of Rhode Island, Chicago State University and Georgia Southern University.

Pope holds a master’s degree in athletic administration from Georgia Southern and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also attended the Sport Management Institute Executive Program at the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina.