BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford Senior Associate Director of Athletics Peter Neuberger will retire Friday after 26 years of service to the school.
The athletics department has planned a "Fun Run" in Neuberger's honor for Friday morning from 10-11:30 a.m. on the Quad on Samford's campus. A one-mile walk or run around the Quad will take place and refreshments will be served as the department says goodbye to Neuberger.
"I feel very fortunate and blessed to have been a part of four decades, 1987-2013, of quality Samford administrative leadership (Corts/Westmoreland), outstanding faculty and staff support and the academic and athletic success from the many colleagues, coaches, and most importantly, the students, I have had the honor to serve," Neuberger said.
After coming to Samford in 1987 as an assistant basketball coach, Neuberger spent the last 21 of his 26 years at the school in athletics administration. During his time in administration, Neuberger has been responsible for several aspects of the department, including NCAA compliance, the Academic Enhancement Program (AEP, the department's academic support system) and acting as liaison between the athletics department and the university's academic community.
Under Neuberger's leadership, 599 Samford student-athletes have been named to the Southern Conference's Academic Honor Roll in the five years the Bulldogs have been in the league.
The school's student-athletes have also consistently performed well in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) Report. In every year since the APR Report debuted in 2004-05, at least five Samford teams have earned Public Recognition Awards for placing in the top 10 percent in the nation in their respective sport. In the most recent APR Report, Samford's teams scored an average of 990 out of 1,000.
In addition to his work with Samford's student-athletes, Neuberger also served as a part-time adjunct instructor in the Kinesiology/Nutrition Science department, teaching Concepts in Fitness and Health Promotion and as a long-time Foundation instructor.
Before coming to Samford, Neuberger played professional basketball and taught in Europe for eight years. He has lived, studied and played basketball in Austria, Mexico, Italy and Spain, and he speaks five languages.
Neuberger is a 1978 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he played collegiate basketball, earning Academic All-America honors. He also earned a Master's degree in Human and International Relations from Webster University (Vienna) in 1983. Neuberger and his wife, Becky, have two grown sons, Andrew and Scott.
