Ira Childress is in year two of leading UT Arlington’s fundraising efforts as the Mavericks’ Senior Associate AD for Development. In 2024, he helped lead UTA Athletics to the best fundraising year in school history. Including a 40% Increase in dollars raised in the Maverick Club, 78% increase in premium seating, 95% increase in total dollars raised, received the largest unrestricted gift in athletics history, received the most gifts over $25,000 in athletics department history and the most dollars ever raised in a single year.
Childress who is also the sports administrator for men’s and women’s basketball joined UTA in August 2023 from LSU, where he served as the football program’s Assistant AD for Player Relations. He boasts a robust advancement, alumni relations and leadership background with stops at Dartmouth, the NCAA National Office, Ferris State and twice as a high school AD.
Throughout his career, Childress has secured millions of fundraising dollars through major gifts and corporate sponsorships, while executing a plethora of community and alumni events to engage and facilitate donor cultivation.
Childress joined Brian Kelly’s staff at LSU in January of 2022, and spent the past 18 months as the primary liaison between the football program and campus community. Prior to that he served as the Assistant AD for External Relations at Dartmouth, managing donor communications and stewardship, and alumni and supporter events.
His time in Hanover, N.H., came after stints as the Director of Athletics at both prestigious Gulliver Prep in Miami (2019-21) and Okemos High School in Michigan (2013-19). While leading all aspects of both athletic departments, Childress hired Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen as Gulliver’s head boys’ varsity basketball coach, and at Okemos he spearheaded a $600,000 donation for facility improvements.
As a result of his creativity and vision to provide forward-thinking solutions and championship experiences for student-athletes, coaches and the community, Childress was a finalist for the Varsity Brands National High School Athletic Director of the Year in both 2019 at Okemos and 2020 at Gulliver Prep.
As an Assistant Director of Leadership Development at the NCAA from 2008-11, Childress provided innovative programming that helped positively impact hundreds of student-athletes, coaches and administrators. He created and implemented the first-ever NCAA Sports and Entertainment Summit – resulting in career opportunities for numerous student-athlete participants – and also coordinated fan-engagement events at the Final Four and Women’s College World Series.
Childress got his start in advancement at his alma mater, Ferris State, beginning as the university’s Assistant Director of Alumni Relations in 2003 and leaving as its Associate Director in 2008. In those roles, he developed and executed strategic initiatives which resulted in several major gifts and improved constituent relationships.
A best-selling author of the book Beating the Odds: From Poverty to Prominence, Childress is a native of Baldwin, Mich., and a two-time graduate of Ferris State. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Applied Speech Communication in 2003 and his Master of Science in Education in 2005.
Childress was also a scholarship football player with the Bulldogs, and member of the 1999 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship team which finished two games ahead of archrival and then Brian Kelly-led Grand Valley State.
