Cleary University has hired Max Ballinger as its next athletic director, effective immediately. Ballinger previously served as Cleary’s assistant athletic director for three years.
Heather Bateman, who was athletic director and senior vice president of campus operations, will continue her senior vice president duties in campus operations, which include the athletic department.
Ballinger’s experience includes student athlete eligibility, sports information, scheduling and game administration.
“He has been pivotal in the hiring of quality coaches, which has helped Cleary continue its commitment to competing in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC),” Bateman said. “We are extremely excited to see Max take the next step in his career development as athletic director. He is a trusted member of our campus community, whose experience and leadership have been invaluable. Our program is growing with the recent additions of Esports, men’s and women’s basketball and ACHA Division 3 hockey. Max has been an essential part of this growth.”
Ballinger began working in athletics at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, where he was a student manager of the men’s basketball team, helping the Chippewas to the MAC Championship in 2015.
After graduating from Central Michigan with a degree in sports management, he worked at Lansing Community College as the school’s assistant athletic director. From there, he was sports and athletic coordinator at Macomb Community College until he accepted the assistant athletic director position at Cleary in January 2020.
Ballinger will complete a master’s degree in Culture, Change and Leadership from Cleary in May.
“I look forward to continuing to build upon Heather’s vision for our growing athletic department,” Ballinger said. “We have such strong support from campus and community leaders that is reflected by our current staff. We have set some lofty expectations for our athletic department, and I believe we have the right components in place with our current coaching staff to meet those expectations.”
