Mark Orr became the 18th Director of Athletics at Sacramento State on March 27, 2017.
A native of Sacramento, Orr was the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Saint Mary’s from March 28, 2006 until taking the position at Sacramento State. With the Gaels, he has overseen 17 intercollegiate athletics programs as well as the college’s recreational sports programs. In total, he has supervised a staff of 110 employees and 360 student-athletes, and has managed a budget of more than $17 million.
Orr graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento in 1994. He earned a scholarship to play football at Cal, where he played from 1994 to 1998. A four-year letter-man defensive back on the California football team, Orr was an honorable mention all-academic Pac-10 selection in 1997 and 1998. He was awarded the Pappy Waldorf Honorary Scholarship for Academic Excellence in 1998 and received the Tiny Bates Memorial Award for Leadership in 1998.Orr and his wife, April, have two children, Tyson, Mark and Jacob William.
During his tenure at Saint Mary’s, Orr has handled almost every facet of the Department of Athletics. In addition to the management of the department’s budget, he has served as the lead sport administrator for football, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s tennis. Additionally, he was responsible for compliance, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and ticket operations. In February 2003, Orr assumed the position of Associate Director of Athletics for Business and Finance before being promoted in October 2004 to Senior Associate Director of Athletics.
Orr came to Saint Mary’s College on Aug. 4, 2000, as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Support Services, responsible for overseeing eligibility for student-athletes, overseeing the Champs Life Skills program, and assisting with compliance.
He came to SMC from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as the Compliance Assistant and the Interim Eligibility Assistant in 1999-2000. He also served as a peer ad visor and senior tutor for two years, and was a teaching assistant and graduate student instructor that same year. Orr completed his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in social welfare in 1999 and earned his master’s degree in education in 2000.