Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

Liz Dennison joined the Hobart and William Smith Athletics leadership team as associate director of athletics in November 2021 and was promoted to deputy director of athletics in 2024. She came to the Colleges following three years as the director of athletics a Sacred Heart Greenwich, a college preparatory school for girls in Connecticut.
 
Dennison’s duties at HWS include facility management, budget management, sport oversight, and serving as the senior woman administrator.
 
At Sacred Heart Greenwich, Dennison directed the operations of the Department of Athletics and Physical Education, overseeing 16 sports and more than 60 coaches. She was responsible for all aspects of the department’s management, including budgets, scheduling, travel, facilities, and fundraising. She chaired the school’s leadership and wellness committee and served on the buildings and grounds committee and the COVID special committee.
 
Before moving to Connecticut, Dennison spent nine years as a member of the Cornell University coaching staff. She spent five years as an assistant coach and an associate head coach before being promoted to Staley Head Coach of Women’s Rowing in 2014. She was named the 2011 EAWRC Assistant Coach of the Year and helped the Big Red earn NCAA Championship bids in 2012 and 2013. In 2017, Dennison was named the associate director of rowing, working on athletic department-wide initiatives, strategic planning to advance Cornell rowing and supervising the women’s rowing program.
 
Dennison has a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. She was a four-year member of the Hoyas’ rowing team, serving as a team captain as a junior and as a senior.