Kyle Brennan

Illinois State University has formally introduced Jeri Beggs as its new athletics director. University president Aondover Tarhule says Beggs showed visionary leadership in her nearly two years in the interim role.

Jeri Beggs is now officially ISU's athletics director, after serving in that role on an interim basis since May 2023. Beggs was named to the position Wednesday following a national search that began in November 2024.

Now that the flap over spending on donor entertainment is over, and trustees have named a permanent ISU president, several interim positions need to be filled. One of those is in the Athletics Department.

Illinois State University has released summaries of an internal audit of Athletics Department spending and of an external audit commissioned in the wake of questionable expenditures that led to the resignation of Athletic Director Kyle Brennan last year.

Kyle Brennan will lead fundraising efforts for a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collective at the University of Utah. NILs raise money through marketing deals and other employment to pay student-athletes.

An internal audit of ISU Athletics was completed less than a year ago, finding two dozen problem areas – including prohibited or questionable purchases, a risky approach to travel, and sloppy or delayed record-keeping that would make it harder to detect issues.

Illinois State University’s interim president said Wednesday that he’s canceled plans for a student fee increase for Athletics and pledged “closer oversight” of Athletics fundraising in the wake of a costly and widely condemned donor junket.

Many of those who worked under Kyle Brennan say the rebuilding must acknowledge broader workplace-culture issues inside Illinois State University Athletics – problems that go beyond any single junket on a millionaire’s private jet.

New Illinois State University Interim Athletics Director Jeri Beggs has a large set of tasks following the departure of Kyle Brennan under a cloud. In this interview with WGLT's Charlie Schlenker, ISU Interim President Aondover Tarhule lays out his expectations for Beggs and tries to put the upheaval in context.

Beggs has an extensive history in college athletics. She recently served on the NCAA Transformation Committee, is a top advisor for the Missouri Valley Conference and is ISU's faculty athletics representative for the NCAA, a post she has held for 14 years.