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Former Minnesota Viking Tripp Welborne Selected as Lawrenceville School Athletic Director

WelborneSullivan A. “Tripp” Welborne III has been selected as the new Lawrenceville School Athletic Director.

Welborne, who currently serves as the Director of Athletics at the Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, Fla., will begin his duties on July 1.  He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and of the Queens University of Charlotte McColl Graduate School of Business, where he earned his master’s degree in business administration.

“We are very excited to have Tripp join Lawrenceville’s senior staff. He is an experienced athletic director, former college and professional athlete, and accomplished executive, so he will ensure that Lawrenceville’s athletic program remains first class,” Lawrenceville Head Master Liz Duffy said. “Tripp will be an invaluable mentor for both our student-athletes and faculty coaches, as well as a strong advocate for the role of athletics in students’ growth and development as both competitors and people.”

For the past six years, Welborne has overseen the athletic program at Shorecrest, which offers 17 sports and 49 athletic teams to its nearly 1,000 students. His duties include athletic strategic planning and program development, as well as the hiring and evaluation of the school’s athletic department staff and 90 coaches. Welborne is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association Sectional Committee and is Vice Chair of the association’s athletic directors advisory committee.

From 1991-93, he was a defensive back for the Minnesota Vikings, where he initiated and participated in a host of community activities, including urban development and tutorial incentive programs. Before being selected by the Vikings in the 1991 NFL draft, Welborne was a standout player for the University of Michigan football team.

Before returning to athletic administration in 2009, Welborne spent more than a decade working in the corporate world. He served as the director of operations for the Target Corporation, as vice president of risk management-technology and operations at Bank of America, and also held several management positions at Wachovia Corporation. He has also been an instructor in the business and accounting division of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, teaching students the basics of business practices with a focus on finance, accounting, economics, and marketing.

“As an educator I am committed to character, leadership, academic, and athletic development; and I am excited to partner with the students, faculty, administration, and athletic department to add value to Lawrenceville athletics,” Welborne said. “The Lawrenceville School has a fantastic learning community and is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country. It is truly an honor to join the senior staff and continue the long-standing pursuit of academic and athletic excellence at the highest level.”