As a student leader and as Morehead State Athletics’ long-time leader, Brian Hutchinson left a lasting legacy and made a profound impact on the direction of Eagle athletics. He served as the department’s director of athletics from 2004-19.
Under Hutchinson’s guidance, Eagle teams won 23 conference championships. He also helped spearhead improvements in a wide range of other areas, including fundraising, facility improvements, academic progress, increased budgets and targeted marketing and branding campaigns.
In 2012, the athletic department took a monumental step forward in serving the academic needs of its student-athletes. With Hutchinson’s vision, the former wellness center was converted into the 7,000-square foot EAGLE Center (Eagle Athletics Guided Learning and Enhancement). The facility includes more than 40 computer stations, learning labs and tutoring areas.
In conjunction with the EAGLE Center and its staff, Morehead State Athletics received an NCAA pilot-program grant for accelerating academic success to bring MSU up to fully-funded status for the grant. Under Hutchinson’s leadership tenure, 14 student-athletes earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (now College Sports Communicators) and 25 additional were named academic all-district. In addition, Morehead State earned the Ohio Valley Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award seven times in Hutchinson’s time and nearly every program won a conference or respective coaches association team academic honor.
During his tenure, MSU teams or individuals made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including two victories by the men’s basketball program (2009 and 2011). Soccer advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times (2008, 2010 and 2013), while volleyball qualified twice (2011 and 2013). Women’s golf, which Hutchinson helped re-establish as a program in 2007 after a 24-year hiatus, participated in an NCAA regional in 2011 and baseball was in an NCAA regional after the 2015 and 2018 seasons. Soccer's appearance in 2008 was MSU's first team appearance for any sport in NCAA postseason play since the 1983-84 season.
In addition to winning the two OVC Tournament titles, the volleyball program claimed six OVC regular-season titles in Hutchinson’s time and was 67-3 in conference play from 2011-13. The football program also claimed Pioneer League South Division titles in 2004 and 2005, and the Morehead State cheer program won 21 of its national championships with Hutchinson leading the department.
More than 60 individuals won a major postseason award from the OVC or PFL (i.e. Player of the Year, Coach of the Year) and more than 300 were named to an all-conference team.
Hutchinson was also extremely active with the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and OVC leadership teams throughout his tenure. He served on the NCAA Division I Council, where he was the inaugural OVC representative, and the Competition Oversight Standing Committee. He represented the Pioneer Football League as a member of the Division I Football Championship Committee and the Football Championship Subdivision Central Regional Advisory Committee and served as chair of the championship committee during the 2016-17 season. He also served on the Division I Football Issues Committee (2013-14), the Division I Recruiting and Personnel Issues Committee (2008-11), the FCS Governance Committee (2006-08), the FCS Division I Football Issues Committee (2006-08). Hutchinson served as president of the NACDA FCS Athletic Directors Association in 2013-14 and was a member of the FCS Athletic Directors Association Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Academic All-Star Team Selection Committee. Among his professional opportunities with the OVC and PFL, he served on the Board of Directors of Athletics, was the chair of the OVC board in 2006-07 and the PFL board in 2007-08 and served as OVC chair again in 2015-16.
Hutchinson was also instrumental in major facility projects. Fundraising was completed in 2018 to construct the Rex Chaney Golf Practice Pavilion and a new film study lab for men’s and women’s basketball in the Academic-Athletic Center. Hutchinson was instrumental in the purchase and implementation of two Daktronics video boards in Johnson Arena. The project also paved the way for a full-time video coordinator position and streaming of more than 75 events per year on the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network and now ESPN+. Significant improvements were also made to the primary athletic training facility, the Phil Simms Weight Training facility, the lobby area of Johnson Arena, all locker rooms and coaching staff offices. Hutchinson also oversaw the addition of beach volleyball to the MSU Athletics competition slate and the construction of the beach volleyball competition and practice facility, Giovanni's Breadstick Beach.
Hutchinson was instrumental in leading a new branding strategy for the department. MSUEagles.com, in partnership with Sidearm Sports, consistently ranks as one of the most popular sites among all campus web pages, and Hutchinson launched and helped shape a targeted social media campaign that still continues to exponentially gain new fans, followers and annual donors. The athletics X (Twitter) account currently boasts more than 40,000 followers.
In addition to his athletics leadership role, he chaired the search committee for a new chief of police and director of recreation and wellness. Through his unique position in athletics and with the campus, Hutchinson was heavily involved in the current campus master plan steering team and the information technology infrastructure project steering team. He also served on the President’s Leadership Council. Hutchinson also served one academic year as the Interim Dean of Students and a short stint as the Acting Vice President for Student Life.
Prior to leading as the director of athletics, Hutchinson served as the department’s associate athletic director from 2001-04. He led many of the department’s internal operations and had sport oversight for several programs. Hutchinson also held positions of director of athletic development and marketing (1999-01), director of athletics development for the MSU office of development (1998-99) and regional development officer (1996-98).
A native of Louisa, Ky., Hutchinson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from MSU in 1996 and received his MA in Education (Recreation and Sports Management) in 2001. He was the president of the student government association and a member of the MSU board of regents during his time as an undergrad. Hutchinson is also a proud member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
Hutchinson and his wife, Elizabeth, whom he met at MSU in 1993 and is also a two-time MSU alum, have two sons, Benjamin '22 (Sarah '21) and Riley (Lauren). They welcomed their first grandchild, Sophia, in 2025.
