Zack Lassiter’s vision for ACU Athletics is to create an environment where student-athletes can grow spiritually, achieve academic excellence, and compete for championships. Since being named the Vice President for Athletics at ACU in November of 2021, the department has experienced increased success both competitively and academically, while also taking an intentional approach to spiritual development.
Formerly the deputy athletics director for external operations at Oregon State, Lassiter has used his expertise in revenue generation to make an immediate impact at ACU. Since his arrival, total revenue at ACU has increased by 33 percent, multimedia rights revenue is up 51 percent, ticket revenue has realized gains of 36 percent, and the Wildcat Annual Fund/Ticket Priority has grown by 134 percent. ACU also broke all-time giving records during ACU Gives, a day of giving, attracting more than $370,000 in 2024.
Most notably, Lassiter led a one-year campaign to support the renovation of Crutcher Scott Field (ACU’s baseball complex). That campaign attracted more than $16 million of philanthropic gifts for the project, which is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2025. Lassiter opened the newly renovated Moody Coliseum, a $50 million project, and has also led facility improvements for football, tennis, and softball during his ACU tenure.
Competitively, the Wildcats have won a pair of WAC Championships (men’s tennis and men’s golf in 2022) under Lassiter’s leadership. ACU also had runner-up finishes in women’s track & field (2022), men’s basketball (2022), baseball (2022 tournament and 2024 regular season), football (2022), and women’s golf (2024). The Wildcats boast 11 victories over Power 5 baseball teams in Lassiter’s tenure. Those wins go along with one Power 5 win each for the men’s basketball, men’s tennis, softball, and volleyball programs. In all, ACU has claimed 15 victories over Power 5 teams since 2022.
In 2022, three ACU coaches received WAC Coach of the Year honors. Tom Shaw earned the distinction for men’s golf, Juan Nunez was recognized for men’s tennis, and Keith Patterson earned the honor for football. Under Lassiter’s leadership, a pair of ACU student-athletes have been recognized as WAC Players of the Year. During the 2023-24 season, three Wildcats earned WAC Rookie of the Year honors.
In May 2022, Lassiter announced the addition of a women's golf program. The Wildcats played their first full season in the 2023-24 academic year, and saw near instant success. ACU finished in first or second place in eight of its eleven tournaments that season. The Wildcats were runner-up at the WAC Women's Golf Championship, and Ryann Honea earned the individual championship. Honea qualified for the NCAA Regional in Bryan, Texas, the following month.
The Wildcats have also excelled in the classroom, as ACU student-athletes set a new department record GPA of 3.37 in both the fall and spring semesters during the 2023-24 academic year. In 2024, ACU placed 136 student-athletes on the Academic All-WAC Team.
Remaining true to the ACU Mission, Lassiter implemented the ACU Advantage program, which provides Christian leadership development for head coaches, positioning them to be the spiritual leaders of their programs.
Lassiter has established strategic partnerships with VIP Sports Getaways, Teamworks, and Under Armour. Further, he expanded the corporate relationship with First Financial Bank and established the Strive on Cats NIL collective. Through Strive on Cats, ACU fans can support the Wildcats’ player compensation efforts. This program has enabled ACU to leverage NIL support to attract and retain student-athletes who can position the university to win championships.
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. Lassiter also is a member of the FCS Football Regional Advisory Committee.
Prior to ACU, Lassiter oversaw the external units at Oregon State, while serving as the sports supervisor for men’s basketball and golf. During his tenure at OSU, he improved ties between academic and athletics departments in Corvallis, as well as the local business community. These partnerships led to the nation’s first in-house advertising and creative agency in intercollegiate sports. That increased awareness resulted in OSU being one of only two Division I programs to sell out a home game in football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball during the 2016-17 season.
The Beavers saw unmatched success during Lassiter’s tenure as the deputy AD for external relations. The men’s basketball program made two NCAA appearances, including its first Pac-12 Championship and a run to the Elite Eight in 2021. The women’s basketball team made five NCAA appearances, including a Final Four in 2016 and three additional appearances in the Sweet 16. The baseball team made a pair of trips to the College World Series and won the 2018 national championship.
Lassiter served OSU following three years on the executive team at the University of Central Florida. Under his leadership, ticket sales increased by 25 percent and UCF was recognized as the top athletics department in the nation for customer service.
From 2005-2012, Lassiter held several positions at the University of Utah. He was a part of the team that helped the institution transition from the Mountain West to the Pac-12. He served the Utes as the associate athletics director for revenue generation when he left for UCF.
Lassiter’s professional career began as an assistant ticket manager at the University of North Carolina from 2001-2003. He held a similar role at Louisiana State University for two years.
Along the way, Lassiter has served on administrative teams for football programs that have won three BCS bowl games - the 2004 national championship (LSU), the 2009 Sugar Bowl (Utah) and the 2014 Fiesta Bowl (UCF).
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).
He and his wife, Rachel, have two sons, Luke and Logan.
