By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western State University has named Andrew Carter as the school's next athletic director. The University made the formal announcement late Wednesday afternoon.
Carter is currently the A.D. at NCAA Division II Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota. He'll start at Missouri Western on May 2, and an introductory press conference will be held on that day.
"In visiting with Andy, it was clear that he understands our mission," said Missouri Western president Elizabeth Kennedy in a statement. "With 25 years of experience as an athletics director, there is very little he hasn't seen. He believes in the importance of character and leadership development."
Kennedy continued, "Having been a coach himself, he understands better than most the value of the student athlete experience. Andy will be a great fit on my leadership team, on campus and in our community."
"I'm incredibly humbled and honored to be joining the team at Missouri Western," Carter said in a statement of his own. "This is something that my wife and I prayed about for some time. We feel strongly that this is where we're supposed to be and it's an awesome opportunity for us to come home to Missouri."
Carter has over 30 years of experience in college athletics - the last 25 as an athletic director at NAIA Missouri Baptist University and DII schools Newberry College, Armstrong Atlantic State and Northwestern Oklahoma State before joining Minot State in 2016.
Carter was appointed to the NCAA Division II Membership Committee in 2019 and has served in numerous other leadership roles at NCAA conference levels.
Carter has also had a successful baseball coaching career, leading his team at Missouri Baptist to seven consecutive American Midwest Conference championships, earning seven conference coach of the year awards and being inducted into the Missouri Baptist Athletic Hall of Fame.
"President Kennedy and her vision for the university is attractive," Carter said. "Athletically, the Griffons play in a power conference in Division II. The MIAA has a tremendous history."
Carter attended East Central College, has a bachelor of science degree from Missouri Baptist and a master of business administration from Lindenwood. He spent his early years in mid-Missouri and graduated from high school in St. Charles, where he met his wife Rena.
They have seven children and eleven grandchildren. He's excited to introduce himself to the community.
"I am relationship-focused," Carter said. "This is a people business. My focus is on developing people to be the very best version of themselves and help them have the best experience they can have. I'm here to serve people, and that goes for our students, for our staff and coaches, and for our fans."
Carter will become the school's ninth athletic director. MWSU has not had a permanent A.D. since Josh Looney departed for the same role at Division I Northern Alabama in late August 2021.
Senior Woman Administrator Theresa Grosbach has served as the interim athletic director since that time.
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