Industry Veteran John Hartwell Joins College Sports Solutions as Partner

College Sports Solutions (CSS), a leading provider of integrated consulting services for collegiate athletics, announced today that longtime athletics executive John Hartwell has joined the firm as Partner and Consultant.

Hartwell brings 28 years of NCAA Division I leadership experience, including the last 13 years as Director of Athletics at three FBS institutions: University of Louisiana Monroe, Utah State University, and Troy University. Before his athletics career, Hartwell earned his CPA license at Ernst & Young. Known for his strong business acumen and successful track record in coaching hires, he will focus on expanding CSS’s executive search and financial consulting practices.

“John’s breadth of experience and proven leadership will significantly enhance the deliverables we provide our clients,” said Jeff Schemmel, Founder and President of CSS. “His insights from nearly three decades on campus make him an invaluable addition to our team.”

Hartwell made a number of key coaching hires during his tenure as an athletics director, including Neal Brown (Troy 2014), Blake Anderson (Utah St 2020), and Bryant Vincent (ULM 2023) in football; Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss 2006), Craig Smith (Utah St 2018), and Ryan Odom (Utah St 2021) in men’s basketball; Missy Bilderback (ULM 2023) in women’s basketball; Rob Neilson (Utah St 2020) in women’s volleyball; and Manny Martins (Utah St 2021) in women’s soccer. Many of these coaches turned previously underperforming programs into conference champions and post season participants in a short amount of time.

Hartwell states “I am thrilled to partner with Jeff Schemmel and CSS’s talented group of consultants to help provide effective and efficient solutions to institutions, conferences, and other entities involved in today’s complex and ever-evolving world of college athletics. I believe my immediate transition from the AD’s chair will provide valuable insights in helping our clients meet today’s challenges, whether those be financial, coaching or administrator searches, or other needs where that experience and expertise can help our clients succeed.”

With the addition of Hartwell, CSS will continue to grow its executive and coaching search practices. Most recently, CSS has placed the head track and field coach (Edrick Floreal) and national championship winning head softball coach (Mike White) at Texas, head football coaches at Tulane (Willie Fritz) and Idaho (Jason Eck), and head men’s basketball coach at Cal Poly (Mike DeGeorge).

About College Sports Solutions
College Sports Solutions (CSS) is a full-service consulting firm providing strategic solutions to universities, conferences, and organizations across collegiate athletics. CSS specializes in executive search, financial consulting, compliance, and strategic planning.