Julian Jones came to WMU as the first-ever Senior Associate Athletic Director for Broncos Empowered and Championship Culture in July of 2022.
Jones leads the Broncos EmPOWERed Program to propel WMU Athletics to lead the country in the holistic development of its student-athletes, while strengthening community partnerships and empowering athletic department staff and coaches.
The Broncos EmPOWERED Program centers on three main areas of focus:
- Empowering Student-Athlete Holistic Development – to include career development and graduate school prep; leadership development; personal development; financial education; community service; diversity and inclusion; personal brand management and NIL
- Empowering Alums and Community – to include community engagement; student-athlete career mentoring services; “W” Club and Hall of Fame engagement; and community service
- Empowering Coaches and Staff – to include leadership development; staff mentoring; diversity and inclusion initiatives; culture building and continuing education opportunities.
These functional areas will be supported by programming directly put on by Broncos EmPOWERed staff, service learning opportunities with various institutional and community stakeholders, or other opportunities for student-athlete growth and recognition, such as conference-wide (MAC) or national-level (NCAA) awards or service programs.
Jones joined Western Michigan after spending three years at Kansas State University, where he served as the Associate Athletic Director for the Evans Competitive Advantage (Student-Athlete Development) Program and Chief Diversity Officer for the athletic department. At KSU he oversaw the student-athlete development department and programming for all 14 of the sports programs. He also oversaw diversity and inclusion initiatives for coaches, staff and administrators
Jones also spent time as the assistant director of student-athlete development at Clemson, while earning his master’s degree youth development leadership. He earned a bachelor degree in physical education from Youngstown State University in 2016.
