University of Tennessee Athletics
Staff Directory
Dr. Marshall Steward
- Title:
- Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Competitive Officer
- Email:
- Phone:
- (865) 974-1250
Updated: November 2025
Dr. Marshall Steward serves as the Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Competitive Officer & Associate Provost, where he plays a pivotal role in both Athletics and Academic Affairs.
A key member of the Athletic Director’s Cabinet, Dr. Steward oversees a variety of critical, student-facing areas including academics, student-athlete development, compliance, sports medicine, sports performance, sports science, and sports nutrition.
Additionally, Dr. Steward has oversight of human resources, student conduct, Title IX, letterwinner relations, equipment, athletics camps, parking, and housing.
Dr. Steward provides administrative oversight for all 20 UT sports programs and currently serves as the primary sport administrator for men’s basketball and rowing, having previously shared oversight of football and Lady Vol basketball.
As an administrator, Dr. Steward has played key roles in national searches for head coaches for Tennessee rowing (Kim Cupini), women’s basketball (Kim Caldwell), and, most recently, Tennessee baseball (Josh Elander).
In rowing, Coach Cupini has taken the program to back-to-back NCAA championships in her first two years, finishing 3rd and 5th, respectively. In year 1 of the Coach Caldwell era, the Lady Vols advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before securing the country’s top recruiting class in 2025. Coach Josh Elander, one of the nation’s most prolific recruiters and developers of talent, takes the reins of a program he helped turn into a national power with six NCAA tournament appearances, three trips to the Men’s College World Series, and the program’s first national championship in 2024.
Collectively, Tennessee achieved its third consecutive top-10 finish in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup in 2024-25, with all 20 sports reaching the postseason for only the second time in school history.
As a dual-report to the Provost, Dr. Steward also provides strategic oversight of Tennessee Tailored, nationally recognized programming for student-athletes focused on academic investment, professional preparation, leadership development, and community connection.
Under his leadership, Tennessee student-athletes have achieved record-breaking success, putting together the best academic year in school history in 2024-25, highlighted by a 3.43 departmental GPA in spring 2025.
Throughout Dr. Steward’s tenure, Tennessee student-athletes have achieved a 3.0+ GPA for nearly 13 consecutive years, with the last four years above 3.20. Those years coincide with record numbers of Dean’s List and SEC Honor Roll recipients, and over 80% of all student-athletes earning a 3.0+ each semester.
In 2025, Dr. Steward led the tenth cohort of the nationally recognized VOLeaders Academy - a year-long, course-based, leadership development program that uses sport to cultivate student-athlete leaders and promote positive social change - on a two-week cultural exchange trip to Brazil. A past recipient of the NACDA Model Practices Award, the Academy has traveled to eight countries since 2016.
Dr. Steward also co-founded the Tennessee-Rwanda Leadership Experience (TRLE), an international partnership offering students immersive learning in Rwanda and South Africa focused on leadership, service, culture, and community development.
As a former college student-athlete, Dr. Steward began his ascent in athletics leadership at Western Michigan in 2009, serving as an academic advisor and Director of Athletic Academic Services, and arrived on Rocky Top in 2012.
Dr. Steward has steadily risen through the ranks at UT, previously serving in several director-level roles and as Executive Director of Academic Services before being named Deputy AD & Associate Provost in 2024.
Nationally, Dr. Steward is a respected administrator and a proud alumnus of AD360, Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium (CALS), SEC Opportunity Forum, and the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute. Dr. Steward has also served on the NCAA DI Women’s Rowing Committee.
A native of Mt. Vernon, Indiana, Dr. Steward holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Management from Indiana State University, where he was a member of the ISU football team and a graduate assistant for tutorial services in the Student Academic Services Center. Dr. Steward completed his PhD in the University of Tennessee’s Higher Education Administration program.
Dr. Steward and his wife, Kramer, reside in Knoxville with their sons, Kyron and Kaylor, and daughters, Hazel and Mira.
Dr. Marshall Steward serves as the Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Competitive Officer & Associate Provost, where he plays a pivotal role in both Athletics and Academic Affairs.
A key member of the Athletic Director’s Cabinet, Dr. Steward oversees a variety of critical, student-facing areas including academics, student-athlete development, compliance, sports medicine, sports performance, sports science, and sports nutrition.
Additionally, Dr. Steward has oversight of human resources, student conduct, Title IX, letterwinner relations, equipment, athletics camps, parking, and housing.
Dr. Steward provides administrative oversight for all 20 UT sports programs and currently serves as the primary sport administrator for men’s basketball and rowing, having previously shared oversight of football and Lady Vol basketball.
As an administrator, Dr. Steward has played key roles in national searches for head coaches for Tennessee rowing (Kim Cupini), women’s basketball (Kim Caldwell), and, most recently, Tennessee baseball (Josh Elander).
In rowing, Coach Cupini has taken the program to back-to-back NCAA championships in her first two years, finishing 3rd and 5th, respectively. In year 1 of the Coach Caldwell era, the Lady Vols advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before securing the country’s top recruiting class in 2025. Coach Josh Elander, one of the nation’s most prolific recruiters and developers of talent, takes the reins of a program he helped turn into a national power with six NCAA tournament appearances, three trips to the Men’s College World Series, and the program’s first national championship in 2024.
Collectively, Tennessee achieved its third consecutive top-10 finish in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup in 2024-25, with all 20 sports reaching the postseason for only the second time in school history.
As a dual-report to the Provost, Dr. Steward also provides strategic oversight of Tennessee Tailored, nationally recognized programming for student-athletes focused on academic investment, professional preparation, leadership development, and community connection.
Under his leadership, Tennessee student-athletes have achieved record-breaking success, putting together the best academic year in school history in 2024-25, highlighted by a 3.43 departmental GPA in spring 2025.
Throughout Dr. Steward’s tenure, Tennessee student-athletes have achieved a 3.0+ GPA for nearly 13 consecutive years, with the last four years above 3.20. Those years coincide with record numbers of Dean’s List and SEC Honor Roll recipients, and over 80% of all student-athletes earning a 3.0+ each semester.
In 2025, Dr. Steward led the tenth cohort of the nationally recognized VOLeaders Academy - a year-long, course-based, leadership development program that uses sport to cultivate student-athlete leaders and promote positive social change - on a two-week cultural exchange trip to Brazil. A past recipient of the NACDA Model Practices Award, the Academy has traveled to eight countries since 2016.
Dr. Steward also co-founded the Tennessee-Rwanda Leadership Experience (TRLE), an international partnership offering students immersive learning in Rwanda and South Africa focused on leadership, service, culture, and community development.
As a former college student-athlete, Dr. Steward began his ascent in athletics leadership at Western Michigan in 2009, serving as an academic advisor and Director of Athletic Academic Services, and arrived on Rocky Top in 2012.
Dr. Steward has steadily risen through the ranks at UT, previously serving in several director-level roles and as Executive Director of Academic Services before being named Deputy AD & Associate Provost in 2024.
Nationally, Dr. Steward is a respected administrator and a proud alumnus of AD360, Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium (CALS), SEC Opportunity Forum, and the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute. Dr. Steward has also served on the NCAA DI Women’s Rowing Committee.
A native of Mt. Vernon, Indiana, Dr. Steward holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Management from Indiana State University, where he was a member of the ISU football team and a graduate assistant for tutorial services in the Student Academic Services Center. Dr. Steward completed his PhD in the University of Tennessee’s Higher Education Administration program.
Dr. Steward and his wife, Kramer, reside in Knoxville with their sons, Kyron and Kaylor, and daughters, Hazel and Mira.
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