MURFREESBORO - Chowan University's Associate Athletic Director for NCAA Compliance, Patrick Mashuda, announced today the hiring of Tiffani Sykes as the department's Director of Compliance.  Sykes joins the administrative staff after most recently serving as a Sport Management Specialist at the CIAA Office in Hampton, Virginia. She brings a wealth of knowledge in many facets of athletics administration that will help her take on the Director of NCAA Compliance role for the CU athletic department. 

"We are  excited to have Tiffani join our staff this year. Her experiences in college athletics and in the CIAA will certainly be a tremendous benefit for the entire department," stated Mashuda. "She has hit the ground running since she got to campus, which is evidence that she will do a great job for us in compliance as well as other areas this year."

The Chesapeake, Virginia native is a 2001 graduate of Virginia State University. At VSU she excelled on the women's volleyball team and in the classroom as an honors student and a member of the Leadership Development Fellows Program. After graduating from VSU, Sykes was hired at Saint Paul's College as the SWA and Assistant Athletic Director. Sykes remained at Saint Paul's College for four years and ran the day to day operations and sports information department. As a member of the senior management team, she assisted in all aspects of  administration and governance of the department's sixteen sports program. 

Sykes left Saint Paul's College for a Sports Information Director's position in late 2006 at Virginia Union University. She spent three years at Virginia Union as  the department's main contact for Sports Information. She also served as the department's SWA from 2007-2008 where she supervised the day to day operations of twelve of the school's fifteen sports programs. 

Sykes left VUU to pursue her M.S. in Sport Administration at Grambling State University (LA) in January of 2009. While working on her M.S. at Grambling she took on added responsibilities as the Assistant Sports Information Director. Sykes completed her internship requriements at the CIAA Office and upon graduation from GSU was hired by CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry as a Sport Management Specialist. 

Sykes is 2007 graduate of the NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females. She also served on the NCAA Volleyball Regional Ranking Committee while at Saint Paul's College and Virginia Union University.

Sykes will oversee most aspects of NCAA and CIAA compliance at Chowan as well as help manage daily functions within the department.