ACU VP for Athletics Zack Lassiter Signs 5-Year Contract Extension
3/6/2026 3:30:00 PM | General
Abilene Christian University vice president for athletics Zack Lassiter has signed a 5-year contract extension, the school announced Friday.
Since being hired at ACU in November 2021, Lassiter has led ACU Athletics through transformative growth and success all while navigating the perpetually changing landscape of collegiate athletics. Under Lassiter's leadership, the Wildcats have won six team conference championships, and five conference Coach of the Year awards. ACU student-athletes have also posted record-setting departmental grade point averages, including back-to-back academic years of a 3.37 cumulative GPA.
Some of Lassiter's accomplishments include:
"Four years ago, Zack impressed us with his track record of innovation and creative problem solving, as well as his understanding of culture, values and intentional partnerships," ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert ('91) said. "In the years since his hiring, he has positioned ACU Athletics to win championships on the field and break records academically. He established a blueprint to guide our coaches as spiritual leaders, all while driving exponential increases in revenue and realizing $75 million in completed capital projects to our athletics facilities. I'm thrilled that we will continue to benefit from his visionary leadership, his commitment to our mission and his drive for excellence."
"Before I came to ACU, I did not know you could marry high-level athletics and a faith-based university. I've learned those two things are not mutually exclusive at ACU," said Lassiter. "We are constantly striving to reach new heights and grow the brand of the university through athletics so more people can learn the ACU mission and story. I can't thank our administration enough for the opportunity to serve here at ACU. God continues to do amazing things through our athletic department."
From day one Lassiter's vision for ACU Athletics has been to create an environment where student-athletes can grow spiritually, achieve academic excellence, and compete for championships. The Wildcats have experienced increased success both competitively and academically, while also taking an intentional approach to spiritual and leadership development.
Lassiter created ACU Advantage, a program which equips each head coach to be the spiritual leader of his or her team. ACU Advantage has consistently received praise from head coaches as being beneficial for their own walk with Christ and helping them steward their student-athletes and programs.
For the 2024-25 academic year, 187 ACU student-athletes earned Academic All-WAC honors by attaining at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA and competing in at least 50% of their team's events. Most recently, ACU had a record 52 student-athletes named Academic All-WAC in the fall of 2025.
On the playing field, the Wildcats have won conference titles in football (2024 and 2025), baseball (2025), men's tennis (2022 and 2025), and men's golf (2022). The ACU football team earned the right to host first round games in the FCS Playoffs in 2024 and 2025. The Wildcats defeated Northern Arizona 24-0 in 2024, and Lamar 38-20 in 2025, marking the program's first time to win postseason games in consecutive seasons since 2007-09 in its Division II era. The back-to-back United Athletic Conference titles are the first successive championships since 1950-53 when the Wildcats won the Texas Conference four times in a row.
The Wildcats boast 12 victories over Power 4 baseball teams in Lassiter's tenure, including the program's first home win over a ranked opponent. Those wins go along with one Power 4 win each for the men's basketball, men's tennis, softball, and volleyball programs. In all, ACU has claimed 16 victories over Power 4 teams since 2022. Other highlights include the women's basketball team reaching the Super 16 of the WNIT in 2025, its deepest postseason run in nearly 30 years, and women's golfer Ryann Honea qualifying for the NCAA Regional round in 2024 and 2025.
ACU has earned five conference Coach of the Year awards with Keith Patterson (football) and Juan Nunez (men's tennis) each winning twice. Men's golf head coach Tom Shaw was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 2022. Under Lassiter's leadership, four student-athletes have been recognized as WAC Player of the Year, and three others have earned WAC Rookie of the Year honors.
Lassiter used his expertise in revenue generation to make an immediate impact at ACU. Since his arrival, annual fundraising has increased by 360%, annual corporate sponsorship revenue has increased by 105% and annual ticket sales have increased by 97%.
In addition, $75 million in capital projects have been completed. Most notably, Lassiter led a one-year campaign to support the renovation of ACU's baseball stadium, now named Bullock Brothers Ballpark at Crutcher Scott Field. That campaign attracted more than $16 million of philanthropic gifts for the project, which was completed for the 2025 season. Lassiter opened the renovated Moody Coliseum, a $50 million project, and has also led facility improvements for football, tennis, and softball during his ACU tenure.
ACU Athletics has continually broken records during ACU Gives, the university's annual donation campaign. In 2024, more than $370,000 was raised for ACU Athletics. That amount increased by 28% in 2025 to a record $475,000.
Lassiter has navigated ACU through the constantly changing landscape of collegiate athletics by reinventing ACU's Name, Image and Likeness fundraising initiative to the Wildcat Annual Fund. Every dollar donated goes to student-athletes through the scholarship enhancement fund and faith development fund.
In 2024, Lassiter was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. This 12-person group is responsible for selecting, seeding and placing the 68 teams for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and then serves as administrators at sites throughout the tournament. This appointment runs through 2029.
Lassiter also is a member of the FCS Football Regional Advisory Committee.
Lassiter earned bachelor's degrees in economics and political science from Willamette University (1998) and a master's degree in sport administration from the University of North Carolina (2002).
Since being hired at ACU in November 2021, Lassiter has led ACU Athletics through transformative growth and success all while navigating the perpetually changing landscape of collegiate athletics. Under Lassiter's leadership, the Wildcats have won six team conference championships, and five conference Coach of the Year awards. ACU student-athletes have also posted record-setting departmental grade point averages, including back-to-back academic years of a 3.37 cumulative GPA.
Some of Lassiter's accomplishments include:
- Created ACU Advantage program for spiritual and leadership development
- Exponential increase in fundraising and revenue generation
- Realized $75 million in completed facility improvements
- Created a robust NIL and revenue share program for student-athletes
- Appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee
"Four years ago, Zack impressed us with his track record of innovation and creative problem solving, as well as his understanding of culture, values and intentional partnerships," ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert ('91) said. "In the years since his hiring, he has positioned ACU Athletics to win championships on the field and break records academically. He established a blueprint to guide our coaches as spiritual leaders, all while driving exponential increases in revenue and realizing $75 million in completed capital projects to our athletics facilities. I'm thrilled that we will continue to benefit from his visionary leadership, his commitment to our mission and his drive for excellence."
"Before I came to ACU, I did not know you could marry high-level athletics and a faith-based university. I've learned those two things are not mutually exclusive at ACU," said Lassiter. "We are constantly striving to reach new heights and grow the brand of the university through athletics so more people can learn the ACU mission and story. I can't thank our administration enough for the opportunity to serve here at ACU. God continues to do amazing things through our athletic department."
From day one Lassiter's vision for ACU Athletics has been to create an environment where student-athletes can grow spiritually, achieve academic excellence, and compete for championships. The Wildcats have experienced increased success both competitively and academically, while also taking an intentional approach to spiritual and leadership development.
Lassiter created ACU Advantage, a program which equips each head coach to be the spiritual leader of his or her team. ACU Advantage has consistently received praise from head coaches as being beneficial for their own walk with Christ and helping them steward their student-athletes and programs.
For the 2024-25 academic year, 187 ACU student-athletes earned Academic All-WAC honors by attaining at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA and competing in at least 50% of their team's events. Most recently, ACU had a record 52 student-athletes named Academic All-WAC in the fall of 2025.
On the playing field, the Wildcats have won conference titles in football (2024 and 2025), baseball (2025), men's tennis (2022 and 2025), and men's golf (2022). The ACU football team earned the right to host first round games in the FCS Playoffs in 2024 and 2025. The Wildcats defeated Northern Arizona 24-0 in 2024, and Lamar 38-20 in 2025, marking the program's first time to win postseason games in consecutive seasons since 2007-09 in its Division II era. The back-to-back United Athletic Conference titles are the first successive championships since 1950-53 when the Wildcats won the Texas Conference four times in a row.
The Wildcats boast 12 victories over Power 4 baseball teams in Lassiter's tenure, including the program's first home win over a ranked opponent. Those wins go along with one Power 4 win each for the men's basketball, men's tennis, softball, and volleyball programs. In all, ACU has claimed 16 victories over Power 4 teams since 2022. Other highlights include the women's basketball team reaching the Super 16 of the WNIT in 2025, its deepest postseason run in nearly 30 years, and women's golfer Ryann Honea qualifying for the NCAA Regional round in 2024 and 2025.
ACU has earned five conference Coach of the Year awards with Keith Patterson (football) and Juan Nunez (men's tennis) each winning twice. Men's golf head coach Tom Shaw was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 2022. Under Lassiter's leadership, four student-athletes have been recognized as WAC Player of the Year, and three others have earned WAC Rookie of the Year honors.
Lassiter used his expertise in revenue generation to make an immediate impact at ACU. Since his arrival, annual fundraising has increased by 360%, annual corporate sponsorship revenue has increased by 105% and annual ticket sales have increased by 97%.
In addition, $75 million in capital projects have been completed. Most notably, Lassiter led a one-year campaign to support the renovation of ACU's baseball stadium, now named Bullock Brothers Ballpark at Crutcher Scott Field. That campaign attracted more than $16 million of philanthropic gifts for the project, which was completed for the 2025 season. Lassiter opened the renovated Moody Coliseum, a $50 million project, and has also led facility improvements for football, tennis, and softball during his ACU tenure.
ACU Athletics has continually broken records during ACU Gives, the university's annual donation campaign. In 2024, more than $370,000 was raised for ACU Athletics. That amount increased by 28% in 2025 to a record $475,000.
Lassiter has navigated ACU through the constantly changing landscape of collegiate athletics by reinventing ACU's Name, Image and Likeness fundraising initiative to the Wildcat Annual Fund. Every dollar donated goes to student-athletes through the scholarship enhancement fund and faith development fund.
In 2024, Lassiter was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. This 12-person group is responsible for selecting, seeding and placing the 68 teams for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and then serves as administrators at sites throughout the tournament. This appointment runs through 2029.
Lassiter also is a member of the FCS Football Regional Advisory Committee.
Lassiter earned bachelor's degrees in economics and political science from Willamette University (1998) and a master's degree in sport administration from the University of North Carolina (2002).
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