Peter Pilling was introduced as Columbia University’s Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education in February 2015 after serving as vice president at IMG College for nine years. Pilling is Columbia’s seventh athletic director since the position became full-time in 1931.
Pilling enters his ninth full academic year at the helm of a Columbia Intercollegiate Athletics Department which features 31 varsity sports, serves more than 750 student-athletes, and boasts nearly 150 years of athletics tradition.
During Pilling’s tenure, the Lions have claimed seven team national championships, 11 individual national championships, 21 Ivy League team championships and 81 individual conference or Ivy League titles. Columbia’s football program has undergone a complete transformation as the Lions have averaged over six wins per season since 2017.
Women’s basketball had arguably its finest season in program history in 2022-23. The Lions won their first Ivy League Championship and set new benchmarks for wins and conference wins. Columbia also advanced to the championship game of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), the deepest run by any team in Ivy League history.
Additionally, Columbia opened the multi-level Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center at the Baker Athletics Complex in February 2023. The state-of-the-art facility features both indoor and outdoor courts, which will house the Lions’ nationally ranked men’s and women’s tennis programs and host the 2024 ITA Indoor National Championships in February.
After guiding the athletics program through the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia returned to competition in 2021-22. The Lions picked up a national championship when the men’s lightweight varsity eight took gold at the IRA Championships. Columbia also won a pair of Ivy League Championships in men’s fencing and baseball.
The Lions saw 17 individuals achieve All-America status, won 11 Ivy League individual or relay titles and saw 39 first team All-Ivy League selections with three securing player or rookie of the year honors.
Columbia also continued to upgrade its facilities with Levien Gymnasium receiving a transformation in 2021. The project included updated branding and two new videoboards installed in the venue to enhance the in-game experience for volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball.
During the 2020-21 academic year, Columbia Athletics launched a diversity, racial justice equity and inclusion initiative. The “We Roar Together” committee is comprised of department staff members and student-athlete groups with the goal to provide an equitable experience for all.
During Pilling’s tenure, Columbia student-athletes have also achieved at a high rate in the classroom as 445 student-athletes attained a perfect 4.0 term grade point average, over 2,000 student-athletes earned Dean’s List honors. In addition, 98 percent of all graduating 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 student-athletes either secured employment, enrolled in graduate school, and/or completed training while securing employment with firms such as Goldman Sachs, Unilever, Morgan Stanley, MSNBC, JP Morgan Chase and Northwestern Mutual.
Pilling oversaw and directed the creation of the Bubble at Baker, an air-supported structure that is placed over Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium and enables Columbia student-athletes a much-needed indoor practice facility during the winter months of November through March. The Bubble at Baker opened in January 2017. In 2019, Columbia renamed the Levien Gymnasium basketball court after one of its most influential and supportive alums Jonathan D. Schiller.
In November 2016, he introduced a new branding and recruiting initiative #OnlyHere, which focuses on the assortment of advantages to the Columbia student-athlete. #OnlyHere emphasizes Columbia’s extraordinary location in New York City, unparalleled academic and career opportunities, an elite-level athletic performance program, and a “built to win” foundation in facilities and personnel.
In June 2017, Pilling unveiled a new multimedia agreement with national marketing giants JMI Sports and IMG for Columbia Athletics, a contract that provides valuable national and international brand exposure and recognition to the University community and New York City, while also providing for an even greater experience for student-athletes. In July 2018, Columbia also unveiled a new and improved website,
www.gocolumbialions.com, hosted by SIDEARM Sports, a new digital ticketing platform powered by national leader Paciolan.
Pilling’s first year at Columbia also saw the hiring of head coaches for football (nine-time Ivy League champion Al Bagnoli), men’s basketball (Jim Engles), and women’s basketball (Megan Griffith).
Before arriving in Morningside Heights, Pilling accumulated an avid sports management background, as he has previously served in leadership roles as Vice President at IMG College, senior associate athletics director at Brigham Young University, and associate athletics director at Villanova.
As Vice President at IMG College, the nation’s largest collegiate sports marketing company, from 2006-15, Pilling built extensive administrative experience working with a variety of NCAA Division I athletics departments including Brigham Young, TCU, Baylor, Gonzaga, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Before his time at IMG College, Pilling worked at BYU where he was the Senior Associate Athletics Director managing athletic operations including finance, development, media relations, corporate sponsorships, marketing and promotions. He also served as the sports administrator for the men’s and women’s basketball, tennis, track and field, and swimming squads.
A former board member and past president of NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators), Pilling has also served on the Board of Directors for NCLA (National Collegiate Licensing Association). In June 2001, he received the 2001 NACMA National Outstanding Individual Achievement Award.
A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in accounting, Pilling continued his education at Ohio University, where he earned a Master's degree in Sports Administration. At both BYU and Villanova, Pilling served as an adjunct professor in the business department, where he taught a sports business course.
Pilling and his wife, Deanna, have four children: Travis, Kyler, C.J., and McKenna, two daughters-in-law, Sara and Nicole, son-in-law Jordan, and four grandchildren: June, Oliver, Jack and Ren.
COLUMBIA ATHLETICS UNDER PILLING (2015-present)
7 National Team Championships
11 National Individual Championships
21 Ivy League Team Championships
81 Ivy League/Conference Individual Championships
