DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Linda Moulton was appointed as the Interim Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in August of 2021. This comes after the decision made by Amanda Van Voorhis to assume a new role in the athletic department as the Associate Director of Athletics for NCAA Compliance. Moulton, who has served as an athletics consultant for the University since January 2020, was Director of Athletics and Recreation at Clark University before retiring in 2011 after 24 years leading the department. She was the university's first female athletic director and fifth overall.
Moulton has been a highly respected leader among NCAA Division III athletic administrators. While at Clark, she was a member of the NCAA Management Council and Division III Steering Committee as well as the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics, Division III Nominating Committee, and Division III Restructuring Task Force. In addition to serving as president of the NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference), she served on several committees at the regional and national levels.
Among several honors awarded Moulton, she has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both NACWAA (National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators) and Eastern Illinois University, her alma mater. Additional accolades include NACWAA's Jostens District Administrator of the Year Award and the Massachusetts-AIAW Jeanne Rowlands Merit Award. She is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at Middlesex School, where she established the girls' athletics program in the 1970s.
For the past three decades, Moulton also has served as an independent athletic consultant specializing in providing external reviews of NCAA Division III colleges, universities, and athletic conferences. Her work emphasizes mission statement, core values, operating procedures, organizational structure, strategic planning, recruiting strategies, and AD searches. Moulton has worked closely with more than 20 institutions and conferences, among them: Colby College, Hamilton College, Haverford College, Macalester College, UMass Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke College, Pomona College, Skidmore College, Sweet Briar College, and Vassar College. She also was a consultant to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the North Atlantic Conference.
While at Clark, Moulton led the Cougars into athletic conference play in 1993. The formerly independent institution joined both the Constitution Athletic Conference (for men) and the New England Women's Eight Conference. Moulton was then a leading member when the NEW 8 went coed, becoming the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). It remains one of the most academically and athletically competitive conferences in the country.
Moulton's efforts led to the establishment of Clark's Athletic Hall of Fame and Friends of Clark Athletics as well as the Athletic Board and Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She also was instrumental in numerous facilities improvements.
Under Moulton's leadership, eight teams represented Clark at NCAA Division III tournaments and championships. The men's basketball team reached back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight rounds (2002, 2003); while the women's basketball team played in the national tournament five times (1989, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2004). The field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer, and softball teams were also selected to NCAA team tournaments. Individually, several Cougar swimmers and two divers competed at NCAA Championships, including Clark's three-time NEWMAC women's diver of the year.
Moulton was part of Clark's senior leadership team and served on various campus committees. She significantly contributed to the Greater Worcester area basketball scene with her longstanding commitment to the Clark Tournament, a premier 16-team boys' high school basketball event in February. Moulton was the tournament's director and served on the tournament committee for nearly 25 years.
In 1986 Moulton was a founding member of the Haverford Group, an affiliation of 26 academically selective and geographically diverse Division III colleges and universities that are bonded by their philosophical compatibility. She continues to serve the Haverford Group as an emeritus member. In addition to having a positive influence on the direction of Division III athletics, the Haverford Group occasionally makes public statements in support or dissent of significant issues that affect the group's athletic programs and student-athletes.
Moulton's entire career has been in the field of physical education and athletics as a teacher, coach, and administrator. She began her professional experience as a physical education instructor and coach of multiple sports at the prep school level. After serving as assistant women's basketball coach at Harvard University, Moulton moved into administration full-time. She was director of athletics at Wellesley College, associate director of athletics at Smith College, and an athletic administrative consultant at the College of William and Mary before taking over Clark's athletics department in 1987.
An Illinois native, Moulton graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in physical education, followed by a master's in athletic administration and curriculum from Northeastern University.
