Austin Shaver serves as Deputy Athletics Director for External Operations at Longwood University, where he leads the department’s external strategy with direct oversight of communications, ticketing, branding, licensing, corporate sponsorships, and name, image and likeness (NIL), in partnership with marketing. He plays a central role in advancing Longwood Athletics’ visibility, revenue generation, and institutional alignment.
Since assuming his current role, Shaver has driven significant growth across Longwood’s external operations. In partnership with development, he helped redesign the season ticket and hospitality program, resulting in a 268% increase in tickets sold and a 620% increase in season ticket revenue. Under his leadership, the corporate sponsorship program has tripled in terms of revenue produced, while men’s and women’s basketball attendance has increased dramatically — including a 47% increase for men’s basketball and more than doubling women’s basketball attendance — coinciding with the opening of the Joan Perry Brock Center.
In addition, Shaver organizes and leads all name, image and likeness (NIL) efforts for Longwood Athletics, coordinating strategy and execution in alignment with institutional values, compliance standards, and community impact. He oversees athletics branding and licensing efforts, spearheads initiatives to increase community engagement across all sports, and has negotiated high-profile event hosting opportunities, including securing Longwood as host of the 2025 Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association basketball state championships.
From May through August 2022, Shaver was appointed Interim Athletics Director, where he led day-to-day department operations, managed senior staff, and directed multiple head coach and administrator searches. He worked closely with university leadership to maintain momentum following Longwood’s first NCAA Tournament appearances in the Division I era.
Shaver also provides sport oversight for women’s lacrosse and field hockey.
Before transitioning fully into administration, Shaver spent more than a decade as a Division I basketball coach, experience that continues to inform his leadership approach and commitment to student-athlete development, staff collaboration, and program assessment.
He holds a master’s degree in Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia.
