Bio

Sara Higley serves as senior associate athletic director at Ferris State University for internal operations along with being the senior women's administrator.

As the senior associate athletics director, Higley oversees the department's comprehensive compliance program as required by the NCAA, GLIAC, WCHA and Ferris State University.  She also oversees the department's Title IX efforts, serves as the athletics department's NCAA Diversity/Inclusion Officer along with being the advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Higley has a primary focus on internal operations including compliance, budget overview and department gender equity efforts. She also has administrative oversight of the women's basketball, women's soccer, men's and women's golf and strength and conditioning programs.

Additionally, as the department's senior associate athletics director, Higley serves as the athletic department liaison on various committees, including the Athletic Advisory Committee, while serving on the department's senior leadership team and as chair of the FSU Compliance Committee.

In 2012, after serving in an interim role, Higley became the school's first full-time compliance coordinator and she continues to monitor all aspects of FSU's NCAA and conference compliance and reporting program while working closely with each of the Bulldogs' 17 varsity teams.

A local native, Higley graduated from Morley-Stanwood High School and earned a bachelor's degree in sports management and communications from the University of Michigan in 2005. She received her master's degree in business administration from Ferris State in 2015.

As an undergraduate student, Higley served as a sports marketing intern at Michigan for two years and also spent time working with the Leisure Intelligence Group, a sports management consulting firm, from 2005 to 2007. 

She previously served as a freelance writer from 2008 to 2010 before initially joining the FSU Athletics program as a part-time compliance assistant in 2011.