Doug Aiken has been named the Interim Director of Athletics after 26 years with Chapman University. Aiken was promoted following 10 years as Chapman's Associate Athletic Director and 16 years as the Sports information Director.
After 16 years as Chapman's Sports Information Director, Aiken moved into a new position as Associate Director of Athletics in 2015 where handles all matters relating to NCAA rules and legislation, compliance and eligibility, and oversee the university’s physical activity curriculum. In 2022, he also took on administrative oversight of the swimming & diving, track & field, cross count\ry, tennis, women's lacrosse and women's soccer programs.
In a decade as the Associate Athletic Director, Aiken has provided transformative leadership at Chapman and beyond. In his role as the Co-Chair of the Hall of Fame Committee, Aiken has led the efforts of rebranding the bi-annual Hall of Fame dinner into the Night of Champions - an annual celebration of Chapman Athletics' past and present. He provided leadership alongside then-Director of Athletics, Terry Boesel, through the COVID-19 pandemic when Chapman became one of just four teams in the SCIAC to return to play in the Spring of 2021.
During his time as Associate AD, Chapman had its highest-ever finish in the SCIAC All-Sports Standings. He has also provided leadership in the implementation of providing additional resources to student-athletes from mental health to academic advising and career planning. His leadership was essential in creating the Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony and the Athletics Advising Day.
Aiken has also assisted in Chapman Athletics' fundraising efforts, including the establishment of the $1 million David Currey Athletics Endowment. His strategic plans in 2024-25 also led to a 50 percent increase in ticket revenue for the athletic department.
Beyond Chapman, he served on the Baseball Rule Committee from 2019-23, including serving as the Chair of the committee for the last two years. It was in his time as Chair that college baseball implemented a pitch clock. He has worked on over a dozen NCAA and Chapman-specific committees, including the Division III Men's Basketball Regional Advisory Committee from 2016-19 and the currently serves on the Division III Football Regional Advisory Committee. He was also recently named to the Division III Nominating Committee in 2025, which is "charged with reviewing the slates of nominees and forwarding recommendations to the Division III Management Council and Championships Committee for appointments to all Division III committees (except for the Division III Presidents Council) and Division III positions on Association-wide committees.”
Aiken previously served as the university's sports information director beginning in 1999, when he assumed the role at the age of 21. He oversaw athletics communications and media relations for Chapman's 20 intercollegiate varsity programs. Some of the highlights during his tenure included the Panthers' 2003 national championship in baseball and the school's move into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in 2011.
He was instrumental to the growth of Chapman's communications efforts which have become much more interactive for Panther fans with various social media platforms, live video and stats offered from home sporting events and the branding of ChapmanAthletics.com. Besides his time as Chapman’s SID, he has also spent time working in the California League (baseball), Summer Pro League (basketball) and assisted on such major events as the 2010 MLB All Star Game in Anaheim and the 2014 Rose Bowl and BCS Championship games.
Beyond his work in athletics, Aiken has also taught several classes at Chapman, including Sports Public Relations - an upper-division elective as part of Dodge College of Media Arts. He has served as a member of the Chapman Athletics Hall of Fame committee. He also served as assistant and associate head coach of the Chapman softball program for nine seasons from 2002-10. In 2011, he was named as one of the "150 Faces of Chapman".
He is a Chapman lifer, having earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Chapman in 1999 and then his master's in organizational leadership in 2009. He and his wife Ashley currently live in Anaheim with their son, Eli, and daughter, Zuzu.
