Senior Woman Administrator and former long-time assistant basketball coach Sharon Perkins has been named interim director of athletics at Grambling State University , President Dr. Horace A. Judson announced Friday. Perkins, recently named the department’s SWA in the fall of 2007, will be responsible for overseeing sport management and the daily internal operation of the Grambling State University Athletic Department, which fields 18 varsity athletic programs. A veteran of more than 14 years in Division I athletics, Perkins began her athletic career on the administrative side as a graduate assistant women’s golf coach at Grambling State from 1994-95. In 1996, she accepted a position at Grant Parish High School in Dry Prong, La. and wore several hats during her two-year stint at the school by serving as head coach in both girl’s basketball and track along with teaching physical education. Perkins returned back to her alma mater in 1997 as an assistant coach for the Lady Tiger basketball team under former head women’s basketball coach David “Rusty†Ponton. Since returning to Grambling State , Perkins was an invaluable member on the Lady Tiger coaching staff for the past 11 years as she was responsible for coordinating the team’s day-to-day administrative duties off the court in addition to assisting the team with on-court instruction. During the offseason, Perkins also served as camp coordinator for Ponton’s Girl’s All-Star Basketball Camp.
In addition to her professional duties, Perkins is active in the Women’s Basketball and Black College Coaches Associations along with holding memberships in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Active in the community, Perkins is an annual participant in the City of Grambling ’s annual toy and food drives along with also having participated in the KGRM Bicycle and Ricky McCall Cancer Drives. A native of Lake Charles , La. , Perkins graduated from Grambling State in 1994 with a B.S. in Management in addition to receiving a M.S. in Sports Administration from Grambling State in 1995. Perkins also obtained a M.S. in Developmental Education with a concentration in Guidance and Counseling from GSU in 2004 and also holds a certification in Guidance Counseling on the elementary and secondary educational level in the state of Louisiana. She’s the proud mother of a seven-year-old daughter, Alexia.
The university has begun the process of conducting a comprehensive national search to fill the Director of Athletics position.