1Scope
Personalized scope & sequence
No two departments should be audited the same way. We build an individual scope and sequence with your leadership before anyone sends a survey.
You get: a defined scope, agreed constituents, and a calendar.
Stronger athletic departments build stronger schools.
Most athletic departments run on default. Oak Hill helps private high schools, colleges, and athletic associations build theirs by design — great culture first, competitive excellence after — so the whole school gets stronger.
Choose your seat
Where do you sit?
Athletics looks different from the sideline, the press box, and the boardroom. Pick a seat and the rest of this page rewrites itself around it.
Sec01Admit one
Oak Hill Athletic ConsultingSeason 26–27
I run the athletic department.New in the chair, or been here a while and ready to fix something.
GateThe sideline№ 0001-ADTake this seat
Seated
Sec02Admit one
Oak Hill Athletic ConsultingSeason 26–27
I lead the school.Head of school, president, principal — athletics reports up to you.
GateThe press box№ 0002-HSTake this seat
Seated
Sec03Admit one
Oak Hill Athletic ConsultingSeason 26–27
I serve on the board.Trustee, chair, or committee — you steward the whole institution.
GateThe boardroom№ 0003-BDTake this seat
Seated
How long have you been in the chair?
Seated. The rest of this page is now written for you.See your path ↓
Is your athletic culture built by design or default?You just inherited an athletic culture. Was it built by design — or by default?You already know what needs to change. Can you see it from inside?Is athletics advancing your strategic plan — or running beside it?Is athletics being stewarded — or hoped for?
Our mission is to build programs known forgreat cultures and competitive excellence.
Oak Hill partners with high schools, colleges, and universities to develop thriving athletic programs characterized by great cultures and competitive excellence. Our goal is to encourage and compel leaders to fulfill their potential in the athletic arena.
Your path
This section is waiting on you.
Choose your seat above — sideline, press box, or boardroom — and we'll lay out the problem you're solving, the plan, and what's at stake, in your language.
Choose my seatYour path · Sideline · new in the chair
Start right. Then prove it.
How long in the chair?
You want a baseline nobody can argue with, coaches who buy in early, and a plan with your name on it — before anyone starts judging you against last year.
The problem
What's in the way
You inherited a department with no map: traditions nobody wrote down, a budget nobody explained, coaches who have outlasted three athletic directors.
How it feels
Everyone is waiting to see what you'll do — and you don't yet know what you don't know.
Why it matters
A new leader deserves a baseline before being judged against one.
Your guide
We've been the new AD. We know the first year is decided by what you learn in the first ninety days — and by whether anyone hands you an honest picture.
50+years in athletic leadership between us
11state championships as coaches
The plan, in three moves
Walk the whole season ↓- 1Take the pulseThree minutes on the twelve pillars we measure. See where your rings are thinnest before anyone else does.
- 2Audit in your first ninety daysYour staff’s survey plus our one to two days on campus give you a baseline your head of school can trust.
- 3Six months alongside youCoaching and a roadmap you can present by mid-year — with two former ADs on the phone when it gets hard.
What success looks like
By year one: a department aligned to the mission, coaches working as one staff, and a roadmap with your name on it.
What's at stake
By year two: the defaults you inherited are now yours.
Start with the auditTake the pulse firstThree minutes. Nothing stored.
Your path · Sideline · been here a while
Fix what isn't working.
How long in the chair?
You can name the problem — coaches in silos, turnover you can't explain, a budget that follows history — but you can't get above it. And you'd rather it not become a referendum on you.
The problem
What's in the way
Something in the department needs to change. From inside the office it's hard to tell whether it's people, structure, communication, or money — and you're too close to be sure.
How it feels
Asking for an outside look can feel like admitting you couldn't do it yourself.
Why it matters
Good coaches get film on themselves. Good athletic directors should get to, too.
Your guide
We've run departments for twenty-five years each. We know exactly how it feels from inside that office — and how much an honest outside read changes.
25+years each as athletic director, coach, and teacher
36region championships between us
The plan, in three moves
Walk the whole season ↓- 1Take the pulseRate the twelve pillars honestly. The thinnest rings are usually where the problem actually lives.
- 2Get the auditYour staff’s survey and our two days on campus surface what is driving the problem — with one recommendation per pillar.
- 3Six months alongside youStrategy, one-on-one coaching, and accountability while you execute. Findings only matter once they become behaviors.
What success looks like
Coaches working as one department. A problem you have named for years finally moving — and a staff that saw you lead it.
What's at stake
The same season, one more time.
Get an outside readTake the pulse firstThree minutes. Nothing stored.
Your path · Press box · school leadership
Athletics that advances the plan.
You want athletics to advance the mission and the strategic plan — not run beside them.
The problem
What's in the way
Athletics is the most visible part of your school and the least measured. It shapes enrollment, reputation, and culture, and you inherit its results either way.
How it feels
You're asked to evaluate a department you never ran.
Why it matters
Distinction in athletics should be designed, not left to whoever is loudest.
Your guide
We've sat on executive leadership teams responsible for strategy, operations, and hundreds of employees — and we've run the athletic departments those teams oversaw. We speak both languages.
7stages Vail Christian is implementing from its Outcome Document
12pillars, one finding and one recommendation each
The plan, in three moves
Walk the whole season ↓- 1Set the standardWe scope the audit with you and your AD around your strategic plan — so the read answers the questions you actually have.
- 2Get the readSurvey, campus visit, and a twelve-point Outcome Document: strengths, blind spots, threats, recommendations.
- 3Give your AD a partnerSix months of implementation and coaching, with progress you can see and an AD who feels equipped rather than evaluated.
What success looks like
A department that reads like a chapter of the strategic plan, and an athletic director who is supported, not exposed.
What's at stake
Another year of athletics decided by anecdote, with an AD who feels evaluated but not equipped.
What one family is worth
$37,135One upper-school student who re-enrolls instead of leaving, for the next year alone. The median independent school loses 8.1% of its students every year — about 29 families at a school of 364.
Median grade 9 day tuition and median attrition, NAIS 2025 Facts at a Glance (2024–25, 1,331 member schools). List tuition; 26.2% of students receive aid.What a staff that stays together is worth
+0.85Efficiency margin for every additional year a coaching staff stayed intact, across 4,167 Division I team-seasons — and it held after controlling for how experienced those coaches were.
Carousel Analytics, NCAA Division I Data Summit, March 2020. Associational, and drawn from college basketball.Bring us into your strategic planTake the pulse from the press boxThree minutes. Nothing stored.
Your path · Boardroom · trustees
Stewardship you can see.
You want confidence that athletics is well stewarded — and a plan you can hold people to.
The problem
What's in the way
The board hears about athletics when something goes wrong: a coach, a budget line, a parent. Rarely a roadmap.
How it feels
You're asked to approve what you can't see.
Why it matters
Stewardship means an independent look, not a hopeful one.
Your guide
We've briefed boards and built department roadmaps that trustees could actually steward — and we bring the independence of two people who don't work for anyone on campus.
12point Outcome Document delivered to leadership
6months of implementation the board can track
The plan, in three moves
Walk the whole season ↓- 1Commission an independent auditScoped with leadership, run by two former athletic directors with no stake in the outcome.
- 2Receive the Outcome DocumentTwelve findings, twelve recommendations: strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, threats — in plain language.
- 3Track the implementationSix months of milestones the board can review, and a department that knows it is being stewarded, not audited once.
What success looks like
A road map to departmental success the board can steward — professionally and personally, as one chair put it.
What's at stake
Another year of anecdotes.
What one family is worth
$37,135One upper-school student who re-enrolls instead of leaving, for the next year alone. The median independent school loses 8.1% of its students every year — about 29 families at a school of 364.
Median grade 9 day tuition and median attrition, NAIS 2025 Facts at a Glance (2024–25, 1,331 member schools). List tuition; 26.2% of students receive aid.What a staff that stays together is worth
+0.85Efficiency margin for every additional year a coaching staff stayed intact, across 4,167 Division I team-seasons — and it held after controlling for how experienced those coaches were.
Carousel Analytics, NCAA Division I Data Summit, March 2020. Associational, and drawn from college basketball.Request a board briefingTake the pulse from the boardroomThree minutes. Nothing stored.
The Athletic Audit
A season of honest work, not a report that collects dust.
Five stages. One on-campus read of your program, a twelve-point document naming exactly what we found, and six months of partnership to act on it.
2Survey
The internal survey
Our assessment goes to athletic leadership, staff, and coaches across the twelve organizational-health pillars — from staffing and funding to communication frequency and external factors.
You get: a baseline your department has never had.
3On campus
One to two days on site
We come to you and sit with key constituents — head of school, AD, coaches, board — gathering the story behind the survey and assessing organizational health and culture in the room.
You get: two former ADs walking your halls, not a slide deck.
4Outcome
The twelve-point Outcome Document
Strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, and threats — one finding per pillar, each with a recommendation. Vail Christian is implementing its seven stages right now.
You get: a working roadmap your department can actually execute.
5Partnership
Six months alongside you
Findings only matter if they turn into behaviors. For six months we consult, coach leaders individually, and help build the implementation plans — the season it takes to grow a new ring.
You get: strategy, one-on-one coaching, and accountability.
12Pillars measured
A three-minute read
Take your program's pulse
Rate your department across the twelve organizational-health pillars our audit measures. Your profile draws as you go. Nothing is stored.Rate your department across the twelve pillars our audit measures. Be honest — nothing is stored, and the thinnest rings are usually where the work is.Rate the department you oversee. Your read from the press box is data too — the audit compares it with what your staff report.Rate what you can see from the boardroom. The gap between your read and the department's own is exactly what an independent audit finds.
Your programGrowth rings (1–5)Thinnest rings
Right now, your culture reads as built in places, defaulted in others.
Move the sliders and this reading updates. Uneven rings are normal — the audit exists to find out why.
White paper
The total impact of a thriving athletic department
What the evidence says about culture, retention, and the real cost of a program that runs on default — with every figure cited, and its limits stated beside it.
- What one family is worth, using NAIS attrition and tuition medians
- What a coaching staff that stays together is worth, from NCAA data
- The twelve pillars of a department built by design
- Ten questions a board or head of school should be able to answer
White paper
The Total Impact of a Thriving Athletic Department
Tell us who you are and the download opens immediately.
Three ways we partner with you
Athletic AuditIs your program the very best it can be?Our Athletic Audit is a five step approach to assessing your organization and providing you with valuable information and strategies for the future. Our focus is on providing athletic audits that outline strengths, blindspots, potential threats, and growth opportunities.Audit
Executive CoachingCan you use a partner in leadership?Oak Hill’s vision for development is to compel athletic leaders to pursue excellence and impact the marketplace through strategy, influence, and accountability. Executive coaching brings together leaders in the athletic community to collectively impact the athletic marketplace.CoachingLeadership TrainingDo you need training and development for your leaders and coaches?Oak Hill partners with organizations in training coaches and leaders that are committed to a competitive, healthy, and values-driven culture. We believe that our impact is best served through excellent athletics, defined culture, and a competitive landscape.Training
What athletic leaders are saying
Houghton UniversityDirector of Athletics
“Mike and Andrew were excellent to work with. They have a unique mix of experience and expertise in athletic administration. Their investment in our staff have helped to develop our culture as we continue to build and grow our program.
As we are in a new institutional strategic plan, we invested in this process and it has shown to be extremely helpful as we look for ways to improve, grow, and get better at what we do. It is an investment, but from my perspective it has been totally worth it. If you are considering something like this, I would highly recommend Mike and Andrew.”
Matt Webb — Director of Athletics, Houghton University
Vail Christian High SchoolHead of School
“We engaged Oak Hill because we wanted to achieve a higher level of athletic excellence. Our newly adopted strategic plan prioritized Athletics Distinction. Having VCHS Athletics be known in our local market and far beyond for its excellence and for equipping our students to become what we call a Portrait of a Saint.
The Oak Hill Athletic Audit was the perfect answer. Putting our strong athletic programs under a microscope to celebrate what we’re already doing well but to identify areas to strengthen. The audit did just that! Yes, it identified many strengths but also weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Most importantly, the audit’s Outcome Document provided solutions and a roadmap to get there. Seven stages that we’re now implementing. One of the most important results of that work is that our talented coaches, who previously largely worked in silos with their programs, are now working together to help create a unified athletic department better aligned with our school’s overall mission, values, culture, and vision. Oak Hill’s work created a new team. Our coaches.
Beyond the audit, Oak Hill ran a half-day clinic for all our coaches on two vital topics. Behaviors Matter and Defining Success. They nailed it! Analogous to farming, they tilled up our athletic soil giving it oxygen, nutrients, and water, and our coaches are now planting new seeds that will yield an abundant harvest. They provided our coaches with inspiration and the tools to take VCHS Athletics to the next level.”
Steve O’Neil — Head of School, Vail Christian High School
NCCAAExecutive Director
“Mike and Andrew bring their wealth of experience and merge knowledge with time tested wisdom to help any Athletic Director or staff elevate their program.”
Dan Wood — Executive Director, NCCAA
Covenant CollegeDirector of Athletics
“Mike and Andrew have been incredibly helpful to myself and our department through the athletic audit process. I was impressed immediately with their desire to get to know me and our institution. Their recommendations following the audit were clear, concise, and practical. We benefited greatly from our partnership with them!”
John Hirte — Director of Athletics, Covenant College
Messiah UniversityExecutive Director of Athletics
“When the time came for us to write a new strategic plan, we wanted an outside perspective on where we stood and Mike and Andrew were the perfect option for us. They were able to assess our processes, policies and culture and give us valuable feedback to inform our new strategic plan, but also to share with campus constituents and help us better present ourselves to the institution. Mike and Andrew were fun to work with, perceptive in their assessments, and gave us a finished product that was extremely useful and will inform many decisions moving forward. I highly recommend working with them if given the opportunity!”
Sarah Gustin-Hamrock — Executive Director of Athletics, Messiah University
Augusta Christian SchoolsChairman of the Board of Trustees
“Working with Andrew and Mike has truly been amazing. Our entire Board enjoyed the opportunity to work with these guys and appreciate the way they built a road map to departmental success; not just professionally, but personally as well. True men of character…”
Phillip Price — Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Augusta Christian Schools
St. Thomas’ Episcopal SchoolAthletic Director
“Oak Hill Athletic Consulting provided outstanding strategic leadership and operational expertise, helping transform STE Athletics into a more unified, mission-driven, and sustainable program positioned for long-term excellence.”
Chris Twine — Athletic Director, St. Thomas’ Episcopal School
Covenant CollegeMen’s Soccer Coach
“Mike and Andrew did a tremendous job of identifying needs in our athletic department and came up with practical and timely solutions. They were personable and professional and spent quality time making sure they understood the needs of our athletic department. Oak Hill is the group you want on your team to optimize and streamline a process that will benefit and enhance your athletic department.”
Scott Bosgraf — Men’s Soccer Coach, Covenant College
Ready to take the next step towards athletic excellence?Start your first year with a baseline.Get the outside read you've been putting off.Put athletics inside the strategic plan.Give the board a roadmap to steward.
We look forward to partnering with you!Two former athletic directors reply personally, usually within two business days.We'll bring your AD into the first conversation, if you'd like.A thirty-minute briefing is enough to know whether an audit fits.