by DEMOREST, GA. Jamie Purdy has been named the new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Piedmont University. According to a news release, Purdy is a longtime leader in the department and a 2000 Piedmont College alumnus.
Purdy takes over the role following ten years as the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) and Assistant Director of Athletics, where she was instrumental in the development and management of Piedmont’s twenty-two intercollegiate sports.
According to Marshall M. Criser, III, president of Piedmont University, Jamie’s dedication to honesty, quality, and success are hallmarks of her leadership both on and off the court.
Since 2005, Purdy has also been the head coach of the women’s basketball team, where she has built one of the most successful programs in the South Region. With a career record of 398 190 (.676) going into her 21st season in 2025–26, she is in the top 50 active NCAA Division III coaches in terms of winning percentage.
Her teams have won three conference titles, nine seasons with 20 wins, and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. In front of the home crowd at Cave Arena, Purdy guided the Lions to a share of the CCS Regular Season title this past season. The Lions then easily won the CCS Conference Tournament Championship. The team’s seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament under Purdy’s direction served as a reward.
Being chosen to head a department that holds such significance for me is an immense honor, Purdy remarked. I’ve been here for almost 20 years, and I’m thrilled to keep expanding on the success that has already been established.
Throughout her administrative career, Purdy has been involved in departmental planning, compliance, and student-athlete development, as well as helping to oversee daily department operations.
Purdy was most recently honored in 2024 when he was admitted into the Statesboro Athletic Hall of Fame, having already been inducted into the Piedmont Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. She was a two-year softball letterwinner and a four-year basketball letterwinner while she was a student-athlete, helping the Lions capture the Georgia Athletic Conference softball championship.
Piedmont awarded her a B.A. in psychology in 2000, and Georgia Southern awarded her an M.S. in kinesiology with a sport psychology concentration in 2002. Purdy was the head women’s basketball coach at Middle Georgia College before returning to her alma university, where she guided the team to a GJCAA Championship Game trip. She lives in Habersham with her five kids and husband Ben.
With immediate effect, she has been appointed Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. She will remain the head coach of the women’s basketball team.
