Bio

Paul Gavin became director of athletics at Mount Mercy on Nov. 1, 2015, after serving as head men's basketball coach for 23 seasons and head men's golf coach for 19 years. The Mustangs have prospered under his leadership, adding two new athletic facilities, hosting NAIA championship events, increasing the department's fundraising efforts, and creating new leadership opportunities through Mount Mercy's Council for Student-Athletes.

The Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex, home to Mustang baseball, softball, soccer, track & field, and women's lacrosse, opened in 2017, while the Rinderknecht Athletic Center, Mount Mercy's state-of-the-art wellness and athletic performance center, was completed in 2019. Mount Mercy successfully hosted the 2018 and 2020 NAIA Cross Country National Championships at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids and the 2024 NAIA Men's Volleyball Championship at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse. The Mustangs will continue to host the NAIA men's volleyball national tournament through 2026.

In addition, Gavin has increased the department's fundraising efforts by expanding partnerships with local and regional organizations. Those efforts support the Mustang Athletic Club and the university's 500+ student-athletes. Fitness equipment for the Rinderknecht Athletic Center, as well as focused branding efforts, are just two of the projects supported by the department's annual fundraising campaigns.

A basketball and golf standout during his collegiate career at Mount Mercy, he collected more victories than any other men's basketball coach in school history and was the first to reach the 300-win mark during the 2010-11 season. His 2014-15 squad won the Midwest Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament titles to earn an automatic berth in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship, where they reached the second round. All three national tournament appearances in program history have been led by Gavin.

The Mustangs also earned an at-large berth in the national tournament in 2013 and won the MCC regular season and tournament titles in 1996. That resulted in Mount Mercy's first-ever appearance at nationals, where the Mustangs made it to the second round.

Gavin has guided 11 NAIA all-Americans and is a five-time MCC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2010, 2015). Gavin was also the MCC Men's Golf Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2002 when he led the Mustangs to conference championships.

Gavin, who graduated from Mount Mercy in 1988 and earned a Master's degree from Columbia Southern in 2006, resides in Marion with his wife, Traci. They have two children, Trenton and Kailee.