Lisa Archbald was promoted to Associate Commissioner for Compliance and Governance/SWA after serving as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and SWA. Archbald oversees the Northeast Conference's compliance and eligibility programs, NCAA and NEC waivers, violations, assists with rules interpretation and education, and coordinates NCAA coaches’ certification and National Letter of Intent matters. She also serves as the primary liaison to the NEC Senior Woman Administrators, Academic Support Administrators, Faculty Athletic Representatives and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Since joining the NEC, Archbald has been actively involved at the national level. She currently serves on the NCAA Legislative Committee and the NCAA Transfer Portal Advisory Group and NCAA External Education Advisory Group. In addition, Archbald is a Board of Directors member for the National Association for Athletic Compliance (NAAC). Previously she served on the NCAA Division I Interpretation committee (2015-2018), NCAA Division I Legislative Council (2011-2013) and was member of the NCAA Limited Resource Working Group (2010-2012.)
Sports Industry Journey:
Education
D1 Student-Athlete: Soccer | University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW)
Bachelor's Degree | Marketing | UNCW
MBA | University of West Florida
Career
Compliance Graduate Assistant | University of West Florida
Academic/Compliance Coordinator | UNCW
Assistant Director of Compliance | Mountain West Conference
Associate Athletic Director of Compliance | University of Central Florida
Associate Athletic Director/SWA | Saint Peter's University
Assistant Commissioner for Compliance/SWA | Northeast Conference
Associate Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator | Northeast Conference
Twitter: @LisaArchbald
LinkedIn: Lisa Archbald
What led you to go from studying marketing, working as a special events coordinator to pivoting to the compliance world?
While I was a student-athlete I was a part of SAAC and our SAAC adviser let me intern with her at UNCW. Then I was able to obtain a GA in compliance. I couldn’t even get a job after being a graduate assistant so I had to be an intern elsewhere. Then I was doing contract work and trying to figure out my life and things were getting hard. Fortunately, through networking and people I met at UNC Wilmington, they hired me on as full-time Assistant Director of Academic Advising/Compliance Coordinator.
Paying your dues in athletics.
There is no getting a $60,000 job after you're a GA. You have to pay your dues in athletics. Unless you have experience in some fashion, you’re not going to be an Associate AD right off the bat, but you'll need to get experience first.
Showing leadership on campus.
Volunteer on campus and find committee’s you can be on. These things aren’t just given out to people, you have got to earn them. The truth is you’re not going to get on an NCAA committee for at least 10 years. If you are on a NAAC committee or subcommittee of any kind, ask how you can be involved more.
Don’t be above doing grunt work.
I’m going to promote someone who is grinding, and being great at what they do.
What are some tips you have for building and maintaining relationships in the sports industry? (It could be with a mentor, client, donor, co-worker, etc.)
Ideally mentorship comes organically. At Saint Peters I had an amazing student worker and she was a student-athlete. Her responsibilities included doing financial aid and handling matters regarding eligibility. She became a GA, and now is the Senior Associate AD at Eastern Carolina. Because she worked with me, we’re friends and I am her mentor. We text, talk on the phone, etc. That doesn’t happen all the time.
Women’s Leaders in College Sports has great mentorship opportunities as well as NAAC.
Also, ask mentors about how they got to where they are. If their team had a win, text them and congratulate them.
What advice would you give to females who are in their first job out of college or early on in their career that want to become an SWA one day?
Realize there is one SWA at every school. There’s only 355ish SWA’s at the D1 level. It’s not like compliance. There is only one designee. Be really good at what you’re doing and move up the ladder. At some point in your career it will pan out for you.
Just be a good person.
People don’t emphasize enough about being a good person. That is so important in this industry. Be personable, care about people, work hard. But be a good, quality individual.
You're overworked, underpaid and you want to snap, and you just can’t. Sports is such a different industry. You can’t be doing it for money, because you won’t make it.
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
Giving your time and energy to make relationships with people. The return you get on that is life long. Here's a great example of this; I was friends with someone in collegiate athletics at a different school and his wife was having serious health issues. I couldn't be there to physically help them through this tough time, so I sent them a $50 gift card to go get dinner. If I was there I would’ve gotten them this food myself. But I wanted them to just go and enjoy a meal together during this tough time. Fast forward to today and now we’re best friends.
Making those relationships that go past your job is what I’m talking about.
What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student who is looking to start a career in sports? What advice should they ignore?
Volunteer. Intern. Beg people for opportunities to get your foot in the door. That is the only way you’re getting in this industry. You graduate and want to be a GA, but you need experience. Whatever area you think you want to work in, volunteer. If someone says no, ask again. Just look for opportunity. You have more time as an undergrad then you will at any other time of your life. If someone say’s they don’t have work for you, go to another area and ask them if they need help. Don’t wait until you graduate to get the experience. Once you graduate you’ll have student loans, etc.
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