Willis Pooler begins his 23rd year as Lindsey Wilson University's director of athletics with the start of the 2025-26 season.
Pooler has been selected as the Mid-South Conference Athletic Director of the Year five times -- the 2004-05, 2006-07, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2016-17 academic years.
He has guided Lindsey Wilson to 10 Mid-South Conference President's Cups -- the conference's all-sports trophy. The Blue Raiders have also won the Men's and Women's All-Sports Trophy twice, including capturing the inaugural Men's All-Sports Trophy and Women's All-Sports Trophy in the President's Cup competition in 2017-18.
Under Pooler, the Lindsey Wilson athletic department has finished in the top 10 of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings 16 times. The Blue Raiders posted seven straight, top-three finishes from 2012-13 to 2018-19 including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
He led an athletic department effort to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2015-16 as Lindsey Wilson captured the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup as the nation's top NAIA athletic program, collecting more points than any other institution in the nationwide competition.
Pooler was also named a 2016-17 NACDA-NAIA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Since Pooler took over the reins of the department in 2003, the number of student-athletes has increased 97 percent, including the initiation of the first football program in 75 years, men's wrestling, men's and women's swimming, archery and women's wrestling programs.
Pooler was instrumental in aiding with the designs of the Lindsey Wilson Sports Park -- home of the baseball, football, softball, and track & field programs -- and the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center -- home of LWC wrestling and men's and women's swimming.
Pooler leads Lindsey Wilson athletics in the continuation of outreach programs within the Adair County-Columbia communities. The athletic department partnered with the Adair County Little League to build an indoor practice facility for baseball and softball. His athletic department programs provide instruction to the youth and are involved in such community projects as roadside clean-ups and volunteering at local schools.
During Pooler's tenure, 279 teams have earned the distinction of being named NAIA Scholar Teams -- including a school-record 23 teams during the 2023-24 academic year. Over the last five seasons, Lindsey Wilson has averaged 132 NAIA Scholar-Athletes per year with a record of 157 in 2024-25. At the conference level, Lindsey Wilson boasts at least 180 Academic All-Mid-South Conference honorees in each of the previous five academic years, including 247 honorees in 2024-25.
In addition to his Mid-South Conference Athletic Director of the Year honors, Pooler has earned NAIA Region XI Athletics Director of the Year in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
Prior to becoming director of athletics, Pooler led the Lindsey Wilson women's soccer program for three seasons. In his three years, Pooler guided the Blue Raiders to a 57-13-2 record, including the program's first appearance in the NAIA Women's Soccer National Semifinals.
Pooler led the Blue Raiders to the program's first two 20-win seasons and a 27-2-2 all-time home record. Pooler was named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002 and NAIA Region XI and NSCAA NAIA-South Coach of the Year in 2001.
Before taking over the LWC women's program in 2000, Pooler spent five seasons as an assistant coach for the Lindsey Wilson men's soccer team, which won NAIA National Championships in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999.
A native of Tampa, Florida, Pooler is a 1993 Lindsey Wilson graduate, later earning his MBA from Western Kentucky University in 2002. He was captain of the Blue Raider soccer team in 1992, the same year the Blue Raiders reached the NAIA National Tournament for the first time.
He was a two-time All-KIAC midfielder and ranks 39th on the school's list of career-scoring leaders with 54 points in his three seasons.
Pooler and his wife Traci, have three sons, Tanner, Jacob, and Lucas.
Contact Information
Office: Athletic House
Phone: 270-384-8186
Fax: 270-384-8078
Mail: 210 Lindsey Wilson Street, Columbia, KY 42728
E-Mail: poolerw@lindsey.edu
