Francis Marion University officials announced on Tuesday (Sept. 2) the appointment of Quin Monahan as the University's new Director of Athletics. Monahan will start officially in his new role on Oct. 13, and will replace retiring AD Murray Hartzler. Monahan becomes the fourth director of athletics in the University's 56-year history.
Monahan has been the athletics director at USC Beaufort for the past 13 years, and has 17 years of experience leading a four-year college athletics program.
"I am truly honored to join Francis Marion University as its next Director of Athletics," Monahan said. "FMU has a proud tradition of academic and athletic excellence, and I look forward to building upon the strong foundation established by Murray Hartzler and so many others who have invested in Patriot Athletics.
"I want to thank President (Dr. Fred) Carter, Murray, and Executive Vice President Darryl Bridges for their confidence in me and for the opportunity to serve this outstanding university. Together with the coaches, staff, student-athletes and supporters of Patriot Athletics, we will continue to compete at a high level, develop leaders on and off the field, and strengthen Francis Marion's presence in the community and across the region. Competing in the highly competitive Conference Carolinas provides an outstanding platform for our student-athletes to excel and for Patriot Athletics to continue raising its profile.
"I am excited to become part of the Florence community and contribute to the future success of Francis Marion University."
"It was hard for me to imagine that we could ever find a suitable successor to Murray Hartzler" Carter said. "He has served us so well for so long. But Quin has his own set of very distinctive strengths, to include dynamic leadership, a fiercely competitive instinct, and decades of experience developing successful student-athletes. He will fit in here perfectly and continue our winning tradition."
Monahan was appointed as USCB's athletics director in the fall of 2012, and was instrumental in the Sand Sharks' successful transition from the NAIA to full NCAA Division II membership.
Under his leadership, USCB has expanded sport offerings, improved athletic facilities, enhanced departmental staffing, and prioritized both academic and athletic excellence with student-athletes consistently maintaining a department-wide grade-point average above 3.0.
His impact at USCB has extended beyond campus through active involvement in national and regional athletic governance. He was set to serve as Chair of the Peach Belt Conference Athletics Director Committee for 2025-26 and has previously served on the NACDA Executive Committee. Other past leadership roles include the Conference Carolinas ADA Committee, the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee, and President of the NAIA Athletics Directors Association.
Before taking the position at USCB, Monahan served as Director of Athletics at Belmont Abbey College for two years (2010-12), overseeing 18 varsity and five junior varsity programs and more than 400 student-athletes.
From 2001 to 2010, he held multiple leadership roles at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), including Director of Athletics (2008-10), Associate Director of Athletics, and Coordinator of Academic Advising. While at SCAD, he played a key advisory role in USCB's initial launch of intercollegiate athletics.
As an interim head coach, Monahan led the SCAD women's swimming team to the 2009 NAIA national championship. Prior to joining the SCAD staff, he was an academic counselor and head women's soccer coach at Savannah Christian Prep School for four years.
Monahan earned his Associate of Arts degree in secondary education from Kansas City Kansas Community College (1988), a Bachelor of Science degree in behavioral science from Oklahoma Wesleyan University (1990), and a Master of Arts degree in counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary (1994).
Hartzler, who wraps up 25 years leading the FMU athletics department, said of his successor, "Quin checks all the boxes. With his background and abilities, he will be able to hit the ground running. I have known Quin for quite some time, and will now look forward to watching him further enhance and improve the Patriot athletic program."
Francis Marion sponsors 17 intercollegiate sports, with 16 competing in the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas and the men's golf program competing in the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference.
This past year saw seven (of 10) sports teams post winning records and four squads advanced to NCAA Tournament play, keeping alive a streak of having FMU student-athletes compete in NCAA post-season play for every full year of competition since 1992. The Patriot student-athletes' grade point average continues to exceed the overall student body GPA and the combined grade point average of all of the FMU teams for the past year was above 3.1.
