CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Yulander Wells, Jr. has been named Harvard's Deputy Athletic Director for External Operations and Relations, Erin McDermott, The John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics, announced today.
 
In his role, Wells will provide strategic leadership and be responsible for broad supervision of the athletic department's external units, which includes athletic communications, business development, ticketing, marketing, multimedia, alumni relations and development.
 
"Yulander is a proven leader with the talent, presence and vision to align our external efforts and execute mission-driven priorities and strategies," McDermott said. "I am thrilled to welcome Yulander and his family to Harvard and look forward to them joining the Crimson community."
 
Wells will be charged with developing and executing strategies to help strengthen the Harvard Athletics brand, while also looking to maximize revenue potential and increase opportunities for engagement among the many external constituencies.
 
"I am humbled and excited to be given this opportunity to work with Erin McDermott and the Harvard University community," Wells said. "The chance to be part of a world-class institution whose values align with my own, and partner with a great group of coaches and staff that will serve tirelessly to provide an unrivaled experience for all Harvard University scholar-athletes is such an honor. My family and I are delighted to join the Harvard University family."
 
With more than 12 years of athletic administration experience, Wells is set to arrive in Cambridge from Tampa. A former two-sport athlete, Wells was USF's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Business and Finance/Chief Financial Officer for three years before being elevated in September 2017 to Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration. Then in 2018, Wells added development to his title and list of duties. 
 
In his most recent role as South Florida's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration and Development, Wells helped USF reach all-time highs for total dollars raised in a single year ($14+ million) and number of Bulls Club donors (3,800+), while assisting the department in surpassing for the first time the 100 Iron Bull mark, which represents the highest annual giving donor level. He additionally managed all football scheduling and led metric tracking, meetings and implementation of the department's strategic plan. 
 
During his time at USF, Wells served on the senior leadership team, overseeing all aspects of the department's financial and business operations strategy, with a specific focus on football, men's basketball and women's basketball. He also oversaw human resources, game contracts for all sports, South Florida's facility master calendar, information technology and equipment management, while serving as a sport administrator for programs that routinely won conference titles and earned NCAA berths (baseball, men's soccer, softball). Under his leadership, the department successfully transitioned from the Big East to the American Athletic Conference, and oversaw a budget growth from $43 million to $49 million. 
 
Additionally, Wells managed ticket operations, and served as the direct management liaison for several third-party partners for ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, food and beverage services, and arena management. During his stint in Tampa, Wells helped secure several revenue-generating contracts, including multi-year deals with Adidas, the Aspire Group, Coca-Cola, Fanatics and the groundbreaking, 10-year multimedia rights partnership with Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties, which also included an arena naming-rights partnership for the Yuengling Center.
 
A respected leader in the USF athletic department and the greater campus community at large, Wells served as the co-advisor for the Bulls' Black Student-Athlete Council and on the USF President's Black Employee Steering Committee.

Before joining the Bulls, Wells was the Assistant Controller for the University Athletic Association, Inc., at Florida from 2008-13. Wells was responsible for the overall financial management specifically related to the athletic department's fundraising arm, Gator Boosters, Inc. He served as the primary contact for Gator Boosters, Inc., in regards to financial reporting, tax filings, internal and external audit engagements, budgeting, forecasting, cash management and internal controls with also a limited role in soliciting and cultivating donors. In addition to financial management responsibilities, Wells was also a liaison to the University of Florida Foundation, Inc., assisting with the review of gift agreements and gift processing, endowment requests, disbursements and tax related issues.

Wells serves on multiple committees, including being elected 2019 President for the Collegiate Athletic Business Manager Association (CABMA), serving on the College Football 150^th Anniversary Finance Committee, and various boards for local organizations. He has also presented at several college athletics conventions and NCAA events, has experience as a lecturer, and co-founded WellsQuest, a client-centric firm that offers an array of services and is focused on fostering an innovative workplace that is proactive, measurement-based and conscientious. 
 
Prior to working at Florida, Wells was the Accounting Manager for Angie's List in Indianapolis, Ind. His previous work experience also includes a six-year career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, starting out as a Management Trainee in Chicago, Ill., and rising through the company, ultimately becoming the Group Accounting Supervisor for the state of Indiana's Enterprise Rent-A-Car division. For two years, he also served as the Men's Basketball Assistant Coach at his alma mater, North Central College.

A native of Chicago, Ill., Wells earned his Bachelor of Business Administration-Finance Degree in 2001, and his Master of Business Administration-Management Degree from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., in 2005. While at NCC, Wells was a member of the basketball and track teams, serving as a three-year basketball captain and earning all-conference honors each year. Yulander and his wife, Dr. Janelle Wells, have three sons.