John Carroll University’s ​​Senior Director of Athletics, Michelle Morgan, recently accepted a new position as Commissioner of the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) and College Hockey America (CHA) for Division I Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey. 

Morgan has spent five years at John Carroll as Director of Athletics, but her journey to JCU was one of grit and determination.

Growing up in Chicago, Morgan was very involved in hockey. When she turned 18, she was the first woman to be awarded a scholarship by the Chicago Blackhawks, the National Hockey League team based in Chicago. 

She moved to Minnesota as she went to school at the University of St. Thomas where she thought she would go into the science side of sports. She quickly began to change her mind as she started to find interest in the business side of athletics. 

Morgan worked for the Blackhawks during summers or when she was home for holidays as she thought it would be her first big break into professional sports. Unfortunately, she graduated during the NHL lockout, so she had to change her course of action. 

Attending a job fair of thousands of people, Morgan received an internship with the Minnesota Vikings. After working in the National Football League, she decided to make a run back into the hockey atmosphere as she started with the Minnesota Wild in Corporate Sponsorships and Services. 

She spent two and a half years in that area with the Wild before transitioning into Sales, specifically Corporate Sponsorships and Advertising as she became the youngest female in the NHL selling sponsorships.

After about five years with the Wild, her college alma mater had a project for a new athletic complex and needed assistance with paying bonds and how to finance the building and Morgan became the Director of Marketing for her school. 

“I loved it because I got to be with young people,” Morgan told The Carroll News. “Being in the college space and watching college athletes grow. I loved it and I was like ‘this space is for me.’”

Eight years later, a pathway program opened up for the Athletic Director position and Morgan jumped on the opportunity. She was recruited by a scouting organization and ended up at John Carroll in the position she currently holds.

“Five years have flown by. It’s been amazing, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t bumps in the road. We lived through a pandemic which disrupted a lot of things for a lot of people. It was crazy. But, it’s been amazing. I’m really proud of the culture that we, the coaches, staff, athletes and I have created. They really care about John Carroll Athletics.”

Now it is time for Morgan to transition into her new role: Commissioner of the AHA and CHA. 

“Commissioners are in charge of the whole administration of the conference. The schools still have the day to day responsibilities but the commissioner still has the element of compliance, scheduling officials and making sure they are up to date and they are doing this accordingly and soundly, budgeting the management of the championships. It’s also about how I’m telling the bigger story as a conference commissioner for all of the member institutions, not just my athletes on my campus like I did here. There is also the element of how we grow the game, how we are making it safer, how we grow a pipeline of officials who are knowledgeable and how we are cultivating younger talent.”

Morgan is a strong female leader in the sports world and works hard towards paving the way for the younger generation of women to follow their dreams and in her footsteps. 

“I sit in this seat because people have poured into me. In the stereotypical man’s world of sport, now we are seeing more visible change in female leadership and diversity and not just in gender but ethnicity and race. In a leadership role it’s your job to champion that and pour into others. I think as a leader in this seat and I happen to be a woman I can’t forget that because there are always eyes on me. There are young people and young women in particular that might say to me that they want to do what I do one day. My two little nieces say to me ‘Aunt Chelle I want to be like you.’ When you hear a little kid say that it really hits differently. I thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you were paying attention and I was making an impact.’ I hope that young girls can see the battles I fought and the battles that were fought well before me to allow me this opportunity so they don’t have to do it, but also so they can be fearless and can own it. It’s pretty remarkable.”

Morgan’s last day at John Carroll is scheduled for Wed., April 12 but she will relocate to Boston at the end of June. 

She will be missed by the Blue and Gold as under her supervision the Blue Streaks have won 39 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships and made a total of 42 NCAA postseason appearances.

To her though, the success is due to the people she works with and are some of her fondest memories. 

“That success is a testament to the people here and their commitment to success. Some of my most special memories are the success of the athletes and our teams. These are in no particular order, but being in New York with London Fletcher and a group of JCU constituents at the National Football Foundation and his Hall of Fame Induction, that was awesome. The opportunity to get all the dollars in the door and the shovel in the ground to build the tennis structure and complex and bring tennis back to campus. It was really cool to know that those athletes had a home on campus again. Although I won’t be able to see it through in its completion, the same is going to happen with the fieldhouse. The first Day of Giving that we implemented five years ago and raised $160,000 in 24 hours. When everyone had low goals, I said, ‘No, I don’t work like that, we need to set the bar high and if we miss then we miss swinging.’ There have been crazy stories and crazy things that have happened, but I think the people have been a great part. The ability to be myself and be comfortable around these people and know we can’t take life too seriously. Because we get to do really fun stuff every day and be around sports and athletes, who are trying to get better and learn those out of the classroom life lessons. The camaraderie and back and forth or the practical jokes and pranks lighten the mood through the hard work we have to work through everyday.”

Morgan is a female champion and will continue to push the limits and boundaries of being a woman in sports as she continues to lead by example and show people that anything is possible as long as you put in the work and dedicate yourself to your dreams. 

“I’m excited for the different pace and a new challenge. I’m excited to be able to pour my energy into one sport and make it the best.”