Northwest Missouri State University Director of Athletics Dr. Andy Peterson has announced the hiring of Tim Yourison as the department’s Deputy Athletic Director.
Yourison will oversee major gifts and annual fundraising for Bearcat athletics. Yourison comes to Northwest after serving as the Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics at Southwestern University, an NCAA Div. III institution in Georgetown, Texas.
Yourison will bring more than 18 years of experience in collegiate athletics to Maryville, Mo. He spent a decade as a football coach before transitioning to an administrative role as a fundraiser.
“I’m so pleased that Tim has decided to join us in Maryville to help uplift our Bearcats,” Peterson said. “Tim’s vast experience in small college athletics as a student-athlete, coach, administrator, and fundraiser is exactly what we need right now. Finding the right person is more important than just filling a position. We could not have found a better candidate to come in and help us continue to push Bearcat Athletics into this new age of college sport. It’s an exciting time for Bearcat Athletics and I can’t wait to get Tim here and onboarded and turn him loose on Bearcat Nation.”
Yourison displayed his work at Southwestern through fundraising, donor/partner management, portfolio management and corporate sponsorships. He created the Pirate Athletic Association and helped contribute to a $150 million comprehensive giving campaign. He was hired by the Southwestern University development office in conjunction with Southwestern University Athletics as the Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics in the summer of 2023.
Yourison came to Southwestern from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Foundation (UWL) where he was the Athletic Gift Officer, responsible for raising money for all 21 of the UWL's varsity programs. While at UWL, Yourison's efforts tripled the number of Diamond Eagles, their highest donor level, and significantly increased their total donors, gifts, and money brought into collegiate athletics. Prior to stepping into his fundraising role with the Eagles, Yourison coached college football for 15 seasons, including coaching stops at Luther College, Hamline University, Aurora University, Austin College, Western Illinois University and UWL’s varsity programs.
A former Division III student-athlete, Yourison played collegiate football for the Luther College Norse. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education and exercise science from Luther in 2006. He gained his master’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., in 2008.
