Bio

Dr. Lynn Griffin has served as Coker University’s Director of Athletics since 2010 and was elevated to Vice President of Athletics and Athletic Facilities in 2012. Throughout her tenure, she has guided the Cobras through a period of significant expansion, facility enhancement, competitive success, and national recognition, transforming the athletics department into a comprehensive and forward-looking program.

A visionary and strategic leader, Griffin has spearheaded the addition of eleven new sports at Coker, including men’s lacrosse (2011–12), men’s volleyball (2012–13), wrestling (2013–14), women’s lacrosse (2013–14), men’s and women’s outdoor track and field (2014–15), men’s and women’s indoor track and field (2015–16), field hockey (2018–19), esports (2018–19), and acrobatics and tumbling (2019–20). She also led Coker’s transition to the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) in July 2013, advancing the university’s competitive profile and regional visibility.

Under Griffin’s leadership, Coker has earned national recognition not only for athletic and academic success but also for its commitment to service. The Cobras were named NCAA Division II Community Service Champions in both 2023–24 and 2024–25, reflecting the department’s deep and sustained engagement in the Hartsville community and beyond.

Coker teams and student-athletes have also achieved significant competitive success during Griffin’s tenure. Most recently, the women’s basketball program won the 2025 SAC regular season title, captured the Southeast Region Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The men’s soccer team reached the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 in 2024, and the men’s golf team advanced to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals in 2024. Additional major achievements include baseball advancing to the NCAA Division II Championship in 2013, softball qualifying for the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in 2018 and 2019, and multiple standout performances in men’s golf: Jake Murphy’s third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championships, the 2011–12 men’s golf team advancing to the NCAA Division II Regionals, Will Bundy placing tied for 54th at the 2016 NCAA Division II Regional, the 2016–17 men’s golf team earning another NCAA Regional berth, and Wanjoo Lee competing at the 2018 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. Coker track and field and cross country have also produced national-level competitors under Griffin’s leadership. Darroneshia Lott qualified for the 800-meter final at the 2018 NCAA Division II Track and Field National Championships and finished 38th at the 2017 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. Calene Lazare delivered two top-six national finishes at the 2022 NCAA Division II Track and Field National Championships, placing fourth in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash. Across multiple sports, Coker programs have earned numerous SAC honors and postseason appearances, marking one of the most competitively successful eras in school history

Griffin’s leadership was pivotal to the development of the Harris E. and Louise H. DeLoach Center, a 71,000-square-foot athletics facility that opened in June 2014. The center—designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture—features a 1,908-seat main gymnasium, a practice gym, academic classrooms, advanced training rooms, athletics offices, a conference room, and a campus café.

In recent years, she has overseen major enhancements to Coker’s outdoor athletic venues, including the Garrett Bakhsh Fan Den, new synthetic turf at the Coker Athletic Field, construction of a baseball hitting facility, upgrades to the baseball field, new softball dugouts, resurfaced tennis courts, and the lighting of all Coker outdoor athletic venues.

Griffin’s career includes numerous recognitions. She was inducted into the Tarleton State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 as part of the historic 1991–92 women’s basketball team, where she served as assistant coach during a 30–8 season that culminated in an NAIA Division II National Tournament runner-up finish and a No. 2 national ranking. In 2010, she received both the Indiana Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (IAHPERD) Pathfinder Award and the National Pathfinder Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport for her outstanding advocacy for women in athletics. Earlier, in 2008, she was named NCAA Division II Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA).

Active in NCAA Division II governance, Griffin currently serves as Chair of the NCAA Division II Reinstatement Committee. Her past service includes the NCAA Division II Management Council (2015–2019), the Division II Nominating Committee (Chair, 2014–2016), the championship committee for swimming and diving, the women’s basketball rules committee, and regional advisory committees for women’s basketball, women’s tennis, and women’s lacrosse. She maintains active involvement in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Women Leaders in Sports, and she is an instructor in Coker’s Master of Science in College Athletic Administration program.

Prior to joining Coker, Griffin spent seven years at the University of Indianapolis as Senior Associate Director of Athletics, providing oversight for 12 of the institution’s 21 athletic programs. Earlier in her career, she held multiple leadership roles at St. Andrews University—Associate Director of Athletics, Compliance Coordinator, Senior Woman Administrator, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, and Sport Studies Instructor—as well as coaching and teaching positions at the University of South Dakota and UNC-Asheville.

A native of North Carolina, Griffin earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where she was a two-sport athlete in basketball and softball. She holds a master’s degree in exercise and sports studies from Tarleton State University and completed her doctorate in sport management from Northcentral University in 2011.