STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron announced two staff promotions as well as a new appointment within the department's senior leadership team on Thursday. 

Rob Emmerich has been promoted to Deputy Director of Athletics while Courtney Rickard has been elevated to Senior Associate Athletic Director/SWA. Heilbron also announced the addition of Debbie DeJong, who is joining the Stony Brook Athletics family as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance. 

"Rob and Courtney have assumed significant leadership roles within our department and are extremely deserving of their promotions. They have been instrumental to our success on and off of the field," Heilbron said. "I'm also very excited to add a professional of Debbie's caliber to our team. She brings a wealth of expertise, including her recent experience as Director of Athletics at LIU. I have every confidence in her ability to have an immediate impact on Stony Brook Athletics."

A member of the department since 1997, Rob Emmerich oversees all of the department's external areas, including fundraising, ticket sales, fan engagement, communications and digital media. He also manages Stony Brook's relationship with Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment in addition to providing sport oversight for Men's Soccer and Women's Lacrosse.

Courtney Rickard will continue in her role as SWA, a role that she has held since 2017. She arrived at Stony Brook in 2003 and currently has management responsibilities for student-athlete development in academic success and life skills. In addition to those duties, Courtney serves as the sport administrator for women's basketball and swimming and diving.     

Debbie DeJong will lead the compliance efforts for Stony Brook Athletics and assist the department in various capacities as a member of the senior leadership team. She arrives at Stony Brook after serving as Director of Athletics at LIU, where she led the Division I unification efforts of their Post and Brooklyn campuses over the past year. Before her time at LIU Post, she was Associate AD for Facilities and Recreation and head softball coach at Dowling College. Debbie was also a member of the softball coaching staff at St. Johns, where she was head coach for her last two seasons there.