CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced Thursday the promotion of Roger Denny to Deputy Director of Athletics. Denny will serve as the second-highest ranking administrative officer for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) and will lead the athletic program's day-to-day operations in Whitman's absence.
Denny joined DIA in July 2021 as Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Denny has helped push the Fighting Illini to new levels of competitive success while advancing DIA's administrative agenda. For the past three seasons, he has served as the sport administrator for the football program, where he has worked daily with head coach Bret Bielema to elevate Illini Football to historic heights. This spring, he also gained oversight of track & field, with the Illini women claiming finishes of eighth and fifth at the indoor and outdoor national championships, respectively.
In addition, Denny oversees DIA's business office, facilities and capital projects, human resources, data and business intelligence, and sports technology. He also supervises DIA's public facilities of Atkins Tennis Center, Atkins Golf Club, the Orange and Blue Golf Courses, and the Armory. He has been instrumental in balancing DIA's budget, negotiating dozens of coaching contracts, including the recent extensions for Bielema, Brad Underwood and Shauna Green, and developing and executing comprehensive plans to upgrade Memorial Stadium. Since his arrival, Denny has been intimately involved in DIA's name-image-likeness strategy and, in the last year, has led efforts to develop DIA's approach to maximizing new opportunities for Illinois student-athletes following the recent settlement of the House lawsuit.
"I am excited to promote Roger into the role of Deputy Director of Athletics," said Whitman. "Roger maintains a low profile, but he has quietly become an unsung hero of our department. Since Roger's arrival, he has helped push our program to greater heights, particularly in his areas of administrative responsibility, with historic success in football, a steadied financial outlook, significant upgrades to our most notable facilities, especially Memorial Stadium, and long-term partnerships with our most prominent coaches. Roger's legal background, including expertise in executive compensation, tax, corporate finance, and licensing, make him uniquely qualified to help us take advantage of the disruption occurring across the collegiate athletics landscape. In this elevated role, he will continue to lead and as we face even more dynamic change in the coming years."
Denny is a licensed attorney who spent nearly 15 years practicing law. He came to Illinois from SpencerFane LLP in St. Louis, where he had been a partner since 2015. Denny earned a bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State University, a law degree from St. Louis University, and an LLM degree in tax from Washington University in St. Louis.
He and his wife, Alecia, have twin sons, Trey and Michael.
Denny assumes the Deputy AD position that has been vacant since April 2022 following the retirement of long-time DIA administrator Warren Hood, who spent 36 years with the Fighting Illini, including his final six years as Whitman's second-in-command.
