Colorado State University Athletics
Mark Driscoll CSU Director of Athletics
9/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
Mark Driscoll has done just about everything in 30-plus years of his association with Colorado State University?s athletic program.
He?ll have the opportunity to add to an already distinguished and lengthy list of achievements at CSU after he was named the school?s director of athletics Aug. 8, 2003, thus continuing a relationship that first began in 1971when he joined the Rams? football squad.
During more than three decades in Fort Collins, Driscoll has been an all-star quarterback who later played for two NFL teams, an assistant football coach at the Colorado State, served as the color analyst for the school?s football radio broadcast in 2002, and for the past 9 years, been president of First National Bank of Fort Collins.
Since the time Driscoll first set foot on the school?s campus as a freshman quarterback from La Junta, Colo., his title may have changed, but his heart never did.
?I?m a Ram through and through,? he said. ?I am truly grateful for this opportunity. I received a wonderful education that has helped me succeed in life. Through the years, my association with CSU has opened many doors.?
Another door opened in the summer of 2003 when Driscoll was named the school?s new director of athletics by Dr. Larry Penley, the school?s president.
?In Mark Driscoll, we have a person with a very unique set of skills. He understands athletics, he has a proven business acumen and he is a true Ram fan,? Penley said. ?His skills are the perfect complement to the existing strengths of the athletic program, and I?m confident that under his leadership Colorado State athletics will achieve even greater heights.?
Driscoll will have as a primary focus increasing the department?s fund-raising ability and seeking new revenue streams to support the program. He has several other initiatives he plans to implement within the program.
He will also oversee the completion of several projects already underway when he arrived including the implementation of a 16th sport program to meet NCAA standards and the renovation and expansion of Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium.
He brings to the athletics program a personable style with vision for the future, the same style that earned him praise in the financial world. He also brings excitement and enthusiasm.
?To say I am excited is an understatement. I have a great deal of affection and loyalty to Colorado State University and am proud to be a Ram,? he said.
?To be able to come back to my alma mater ? and to use some of the knowledge and skills I?ve acquired over the years in the business community to serve the athletic program ? is the opportunity of a lifetime. I?m thrilled and humbled by that opportunity and responsibility.?
Penley said Driscoll?s involvement won?t be limited to the athletics department.
?Athletics is an important connection to our alumni and friends and a real opportunity to showcase the high level of academic and athletic excellence here at Colorado State,? Penley said. ?Mark Driscoll is going to be a key element of the univiersity?s leadership team, and I?m very excited to be working with a person of his intelligence, integrity and experience.?
Driscoll?s devotion to the university spreads throughout his family. He earned both his bachelor?s and master?s degrees from CSU. Neyla, his wife, is also a CSU graduate, as are brothers Paul, Steve and Joe. Mark?s brothers Paul and Steve also both played football at Colorado State and earned degrees from the school.
From 1994 until his appointment at CSU, he was the president of First National Bank, and in 2002 became the president of First National of Colorado, Inc., serving as the chief operating officer of a bank holding company which owns three banks in the state with assets in excess of $2.3 billion.
He was the bank?s senior vice president from 1993-94, after having served from 1984-93 as vice president. Driscoll joined the banking profession in 1980 at First National Bank in Fort Collins before moving to Greeley National Bank from 1982-83, then returning to Fort Collins in the role of assistant vice president.
Driscoll earned his bachelor?s degree in business administration in 1976, and his master?s degree in business administration in 1988.
Mark and wife Neyla have three children: son Luke, who currently works for the St. Louis Rams, daughter Ellie, a recent CSU graduate, and son Andy, who attends college locally.
