Scranton, PA – Marywood University Director of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Mary Jo Gunning has been named to the NCAA Division III Division III Convention Planning Committee and to the Subcommittee for Legislative Relief. Currently in her 20th year as the head of the Pacers' athletic department, Gunning now serves on five NCAA Division III committees.
The Convention Planning Committee prepares all aspects in preparation for the annual NCAA Division III Convention and reports to the Management Council. The Subcommittee for Legislative Relief is a branch of the Management Council, on which Gunning serves, and has the authority to issue a blanket waiver in order to temporarily provide relief from NCAA legislation for specific extenuating circumstances that have a reasonably demonstrated widespread impact.
Gunning was named to her second term on the NCAA Division III Management Council of November of last year after previously serving on the Council from 1995 to 1999. Among the duties of the Management Council is the implementation of policies adopted by the Presidents Council and Executive Committee, recommending legislative proposals for sponsorship by the Presidents Council, and make interpretations of Division III bylaws.
Gunning also serves on the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee which determines athletic eligibility for student-athletes and is the Chair of the NCAA Division III Infractions Committee which reviews NCAA violations by member schools and recommends penalties to be assessed upon a member institution
In her twenty years as Marywood's Director of Athletics and Recreation, Dr. Gunning has overseen the expansion and emergence of the University's intercollegiate athletic and recreation programs. Since joining the Colonial States Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, in 1992, Marywood teams have captured 22 championships and earned 20 runner-up finishes.
A 1979 graduate of Marywood, Dr. Gunning went on to obtain her M.A. in Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine from the University of Maryland in 1981. In 1991, Dr. Gunning completed her Ed.D. in Sports Administration at Temple University prior to returning to her undergraduate alma mater as an athletic administrator.
