Amy Cooper has been named Augsburg University’s athletic director effective June 1, 2025.
“After a nationwide search for our next athletic director, we could not be more pleased to welcome Amy Cooper to the Auggie athletics family,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “With experience as a student-athlete, coach, and administrator, Amy is a seasoned leader who has operated at every level of NCAA athletics. Most importantly, she grounds her expertise in a deep commitment to ensuring that every student-athlete, regardless of background, has the opportunity to succeed.”
Cooper currently serves as senior associate athletics director at the University of St. Thomas, where she has led the university’s transition to NCAA Division I. In her current role, she oversees compliance, financial operations, and gender equity, and holds sport administration responsibility for baseball, women’s basketball, women’s tennis, and volleyball. She previously served as associate athletic director of administration at Howard University, director of athletics at Trinity Washington University, and in coaching roles at South Carolina State University, Southwest Minnesota State University, and Prairie View A&M University.
“Returning to my Minneapolis roots in a leadership role at Augsburg is an opportunity to serve the community that shaped me,” said Cooper, who grew up in South Minneapolis and attended Washburn High School. A standout student-athlete and Athena Award winner at Washburn, she competed in soccer, track and field, basketball, and swimming and diving, earning all-metro, all-conference, and all-state honors in soccer. As an undergraduate, she played for Howard University, the only HBCU with a women’s soccer team at the time, and became the first female HBCU player to earn all-conference honors (All-Big South). She holds a Master of Education from Prairie View A&M University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University. Earlier this year, she received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award from the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership.
“Augsburg’s mission aligns deeply with my own commitments to access and student-centered learning,” Cooper said. “Throughout my career, I have championed spaces where all student-athletes feel valued and empowered. I believe athletics is a transformative vehicle, and I want to continue fostering that experience at Augsburg.”
More than 400 Augsburg student-athletes compete across 22 varsity sports at the NCAA Division III level. Reporting directly to the university president, the athletic director is responsible for the leadership, strategic planning, management, and administration of the athletic program. In this role, Cooper will oversee budgets, personnel, planning, fundraising, marketing, media contract negotiations, and the student-athlete experience. She succeeds Jeff Swenson ’79, who will transition to a special assistant role in the Office of the President at the end of May.
In fall 2025, Augsburg University will welcome the initial students to a first-of-its-kind doctoral program in Minnesota. The Doctor of Medical Science program offers physician assistants/associates (PAs) a pathway to career advancement in health care leadership and administration, research, public policy, academia, and specialized clinical practice. 
