University of Georgia Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics
- Phone:
- 706-542-9037
- Email:
J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks has led the University of Georgia Athletic Association through historic success since being named the program's 12th athletic director on Jan. 6, 2021. Â
Under his leadership over the last six years, the Bulldogs have earned nine team national championships, 14 SEC crowns and 33 individual national titles across 21 sports, while setting academic and fundraising marks along the way.
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In 2025, Georgia won four team national championships, which tied a school record for the most titles in a single athletics season. Student-athletes also set a new school-high mark with a 3.26 GPA during the 2024-25 academic campaign -- the highest single-year average in the history of the program.Â
During the 2026 fall campaign, Georgia football earned a victory in the SEC championship game during its unprecedented fifth-straight appearance. The Bulldogs have won the title in three of the last five seasons and in back-to-back years for the first time since 1980. That was followed by national championships in women's tennis and women's track and field during the indoor season.Â
These accomplishments highlight the University’s position as an academic and athletic powerhouse and underscore the achievements of the Athletic Association during Brooks’ six-year tenure as athletic director.Â
Additional highlights include football national championships in 2021 and 2022, a trio of national championships in women's tennis, the first-ever national title for women's track and field, a pair of equestrian national championships, and a school-record four-straight NCAA tournament appearances for soccer.Â
Georgia baseball captured the 2026 SEC regular season and tournament crowns, marking the first time since 2008 the program has earned the SEC title.Â
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Georgia's No. 7 ranking in the 2023 LEARFIELD Directors Cup was the program's highest mark in 18 years, as Brooks become a finalist for the Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year honor.Â
For all his success, Brooks has also become a leading voice in college athletics. He serves on the SEC Executive Committee, is vice chair of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee and is chair of the NCAA Football Practice and Playing Seasons Committee.Â
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With a focus on maintaining the University’s mission of excellence in teaching and learning, Bulldog student-athletes have excelled academically. Recently, UGA swimmers Abby McCulloh (2025) and Callie Dickinson (2023) garnered the prestigious H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award – the highest honor earned by a student-athlete in the SEC.  Women’s tennis star Dasha Vidmanova – only the third female tennis player to win the NCAA’s triple crown – was named the 2025 recipient of the Honda Award and was the Roy F. Kramer SEC Female Athlete of the Year.Â
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From academic and athletic success to historic fundraising and a multitude of facility projects, Brooks has continued to sustain Georgia’s standing as a national powerhouse. The Georgia Bulldog Club set new fundraising records in each of the last three years with $86.4 million raised in 2022, $102 million in 2023 and $113 million in 2024. Â
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Brooks has overseen substantial facility upgrades that include the brand-new Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Tennis Courts, improvements to the south side of Sanford Stadium, a $45 million renovation to Foley Field, a $38 million upgrade to the Jack Turner Softball Stadium, a new $1.8 million men’s and women’s basketball weight room as well as expansive updates to Stegeman Coliseum and a renovation project in the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.Â
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Georgia also built a new, state-of-the-art track and field locker room and a one-of-a-kind track facility off South Milledge Avenue is nearing completion.Â
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While facility upgrades have been at the forefront, Georgia’s emphasis on Name, Image, and Likeness has further enhanced its commitment to the student-athlete experience. Georgia Athletics was one of the first departments to announce a comprehensive NIL program, which provides wide-ranging education, multi-media management tools and brand-building training. The Bulldogs became one of the first schools to build an in-house NIL department with an Athlete Manager to help student-athletes navigate this space.Â
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Under his guidance, Georgia re-branded the mental health and performance department, bringing in a new full-time director and an additional clinical counselor as well as adding sports psychology services for every team.Â
Before returning to UGA in 2016 as Executive Associate Director of Athletics, Brooks served as Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Louisiana Monroe from 2015-16 and Director of Athletics at Millsaps College from 2014-15. He also served in capacities as Director of Football Operations (2008-11) and Assistant and Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations (2012-14) in his previous stint at UGA.Â
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A native of Hammond, La., Brooks also served as director of football operations at the University of Louisiana-Monroe beginning in 2004. He gained experience as a student at Louisiana State University, working as an equipment manager and a student assistant coach.
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Brooks graduated from LSU (’02) with a degree in Kinesiology and completed his master’s degree in Sport Management from UGA (‘14). He and his wife, Lillie, have twin sons, Jackson and James, born in July of 2009 and a third son, Davis, born in March of 2012.
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He and his wife Lillie have become a vital part of the Athens community. On January 20, 2021, just two weeks after becoming Athletic Director, Brooks pledged $100,000 to create a need-based scholarship to support UGA students from Athens-Clarke County. His gift created a Georgia Commitment Scholarship (GCS), adding to the more than 550 endowed, need-based scholarships created under the GCS program since its launch in January 2017.
