McMurry University Athletics

On April 28, 2014, Sam Ferguson was appointed McMurry’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and has since been promoted to the Vice President for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics. Ferguson came to McMurry from Averett University in Danville, Virginia.

At McMurry, Ferguson oversees the War Hawks’ 21-sport intercollegiate program, while also supervising student affairs at the President’s Cabinet level. In 2017, Ferguson was named McMurry University's "Most Outstanding Administrator" in recognition of his contributions to the campus community. He also won McMurry's "Outstanding Servant Leadership" award in 2021.

Ferguson takes very seriously the culture of the department and worked with athletics staff to develop the “Developing Champions for Life” mission, as well as the R.I.S.E. (Responsibility, Integrity, Service, and Excellence) core values.

Ferguson made an immediate impact upon his arrival, with early highlights such as the current exclusive apparel deal with Adidas, the development of the Scholar-Athlete Leadership Academy, organizing a new booster club, an exclusive bus transportation contract and creating an athletics sponsorship program that yields more than $100,000 per year for the department.

Fundraising has also seen an enhancement under Ferguson’s leadership. Under his leadership, the department has increased its giving by more than 400% from FY 2016 to FY 2019. In fact, through the generosity of the McMurry donors, McMurry’s War Hawks Club raised more than $1 million in FY 19 through annual gifts, capital gifts, endowments, and sport-specific donations. That generosity made possible the construction of McMurry’s Edwards Field Softball Complex, as well as other facility and scholar-athlete experience upgrades.

The following facility upgrades have been completed under Ferguson’s leadership through the generosity of loyal McMurry supporters:

• Artifical Intellegence-powered Hudl Cameras at Wilford Moore Stadium (2021)
• New signage and branding throughout Wilford Moore Stadium (2021) 
• Construction of Edwards Field (2020)
• Two weight room redesigns (2020 & 2015)
• Keemotion artificial intelligence cameras for Kimbrell Arena (2019)
• Kimbrell Arena and Ron Holmes Court redesign (2018)
• New poured track construction at Wilford Moore Stadium (2018)
• Videoboard installation at Phillips Family Swim Center (2018)
• Videoboard installation at Wilford Moore Stadium (2016)

The War Hawks scholar-athletes have also flourished under Ferguson’s leadership. During the spring 2020 semester, 72 percent of McMurry scholar-athletes posted a term GPA of 3.0 or higher. Further, all 21 teams within the department posted team GPAs higher than 3.0 in the spring 2020 term. Since the 2014-15 season, Ferguson’s first full season at the helm, McMurry has had 502 Academic All-Conference selections. Additionally, McMurry Athletics has engaged in a comprehensive community outreach program under Ferguson, featuring a relationship with Abilene’s Adaptive Recreation Center clients. On average, scholar-athletes and coaches amass 4,500 community service hours per year. The War Hawks have made servant leadership a priority under Ferguson’s direction.

Competitively, the War Hawks have won four conference championships under Ferguson’s leadership, following a four-year NCAA reclassification process during which McMurry was ineligible for most championship opportunities. Also under Ferguson's watch, McMurry added softball to the intercollegiate athletics program in 2018 and saw near instant success, finishing with a 13-2 overall record before the COVID-19 pandemic haulted the season. In 2019-20, the McMurry Women's Soccer program broke a school record with 12 wins, hosted its first-ever American Southwest Conference Quarterfinal match and appeared in the semifinal round for the first time. The War Hawks have also added Esports since Ferguson's arrival, debuting the team in Fall 2019. Esports defeated teams such as Texas A&M, Lamar University and TAMU Corpus Christi, among others, in its debut season.

In the area of student affairs, Ferguson oversees a staff of 18 that include student activities, residence life, security, student health, and counseling. The work of this staff, in cooperation with other campus stakeholders, has led to unprecedented retention rates. The first time full-time cohorts in 2019 and 2018 retained at a higher rate than in any of the last 10 years. In the spring of 2020, Ferguson was charged with coordinating the University’s response to COVID-19 and creating the necessary protocols designed to keep the campus community safe.

Prior to McMurry, Ferguson served as Averett University’s director of athletics for five years from 2006-2011, supervising a 14-team athletics department that included approximately 300 student-athletes and nearly 40 full and part-time employees.

During his tenure as the director of athletics, the Cougars men’s basketball team won a pair of USA South Conference Championships in 2008 and 2009, while also picking up the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in more than 15 years. The women’s soccer team (set a school record in 2011 with 14 wins), the women’s basketball team (recorded a program-best 17 wins during the 2009-10 season), and the football team (tied a school mark with seven wins in 2009) also experienced unprecedented success while Ferguson served as director of athletics. Additionally, the men’s soccer team posted 12 wins in 2010, the most by the program since 1981.

Ferguson also oversaw an era of increased visibility for the Averett Athletics program. He led the department through the development of Averett’s official athletics website, utilization of social media platforms, as well as a rebranding of the institution’s athletics logo. The increased visibility helped bring a substantial increase in donor and corporate sponsorships. Working as part of the strategic planning committee, Ferguson assisted in the development and promotion of Averett’s Big Dreams Bold Futures Campaign, which included $6 million of planned athletics facility upgrades.

Ferguson served as Averett’s director of annual giving programs and got his start in athletics in 2000, as Averett’s first full-time sports information director. Outside of athletics, Ferguson has experience with the Clement & Wheatley Law Offices in Danville, Virginia.

Ferguson is active in the community, as he currently serves on both the Abilene Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and United Way Board of Directors. He has also served on the executive committee of both the Danville, VA Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat for Humanity board of directors. Ferguson was a member of the Riverview Rotary Club and was chair of the Danville’s Riverview Rotary Christmas Parade. 

Ferguson graduated from Averett in 1997 and was a two-year member of the institution’s golf and basketball teams. He later earned a Master of Science degree in Sports Management from Nova Southeastern University in 2006 and then a Doctor of Education from East Tennessee State University in 2019.

Ferguson is married to the former Kimberly Parker, who is an elementary school administrator. The couple have two fabulous sons – Angelo and Kaden - and reside in Abilene. They are members of Beltway Park Church.