NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Carleton College Athletic Director Gerald Young announced that he is retiring effective July 1, 2024, after 14 years overseeing the Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation (PEAR) Department and 32 years of service overall at the College. Young's decision will lead to other transitions within the PEAR Department. Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Heidi Jaynes will be promoted to Athletic Director and also takes over as chair of the PEAR Department. Amy Erickson, head softball coach at Carleton, will add Senior Women Administrator responsibilities to her duties. Tammy Metcalf-Filzen, head coach of the women's basketball program, will add PE Curriculum Coordinator to her responsibilities.
 
(A national search for an Associate Athletic Director will begin immediately. Information about the position can be found on the Carleton Human Resources website.)
 
"Gerald Young has contributed so much to Carleton athletics and to the Carleton community during his 32-year career as a Knight," said Carleton President Alison Byerly. "As Athletic Director, he was a strong advocate for the benefits that athletic participation, teamwork, and leadership can have on the educational experience. As a college citizen, his experience made him a valued voice in many important discussions. I am personally grateful for his leadership, dedication, and support."
 
Young came to Carleton in 1992 and served as an assistant football coach at Carleton for 17 seasons and as an assistant softball coach for 10 seasons. He also worked with the men's and women's track & field programs. He was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in 2001 and took over as Carleton's Athletic Director when Leon Lunder retired in 2010.
 
"Having the opportunity to serve Carleton students and coaches for the past 32 years–14 of them as athletic director–has been a blessing and a great honor," said Young. "I have cherished working at an institution that truly values the student experience through sport and activity, and I'm looking forward to watching future Carleton athletics successes with a great sense of 'Knight' pride."
 
Only three months after being named athletic director, Young was forced to guide the PEAR Department's recovery following the Cannon River flood of Sept. 2010, an event that took two of the College's main athletic facilities–Laird Stadium and West Gym–offline for an extended period of time.
 
In addition to his role within the athletic department, Young serves on Carleton's Title IX Lead Team and has been a mentor within the College's Posse Program. Young has been closely involved with the NCAA. He was appointed to a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Management Council, serving in the role from 2014-2018. That 19-member Council represents all 430 Division III institutions and is comprised of chief executive officers, faculty athletic representatives, athletic directors, senior women administrators, conference leaders, and student-athletes. The Council oversees the implementation of NCAA policies, reviews and resolves issues, and makes recommendations to the NCAA Presidents' Council.

Young completed the 2001-02 NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males, acted as chair of the NCAA Division III committee on infractions from 2006-08, and took part in the 2007-08 NCAA Pathway Program designed to enhance the professional skills of women and people of color who seek to become directors of athletics, through education, training and mentorship. He served as chair of the NCAA Championships committee in 2016-17.
 
During Young's tenure as athletic director, the Carleton coaching staff collected a total of 35 MIAC Coach of the Year honors and has guided the Knights to 32 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season titles, 10 MIAC Playoff crowns, and 36 trips to the NCAA Championships in addition to numerous individual qualifiers for Nationals in golf, swimming & diving, and track & field. In 2023, Donna Ricks, Carleton's head women's cross country and track & field coach, was named National Coach of the Year after leading her team to the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country National Championship.
 
Jaynes will be the second woman to oversee the entire athletic department at Carleton, joining Mylla Urban who served as Athletic Director from 1988-92. Jaynes spent 19 seasons leading Carleton's volleyball program but stepped down from her coaching role in 2018 when she was promoted to be Carleton's full-time Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator. That change in job responsibilities came a year after she was selected as 1 of 30 senior woman administrators to participate in the NCAA Division III SWA Program.
 
Jaynes also serves as Carleton's Title IX Deputy for Faculty and Staff, is active on MIAC committees, and is responsible for compliance, eligibility, SAAC, and NCAA policies. Jaynes currently sits on the Campus Facilities Planning Committee formed from Carleton's 2033 Strategic Plan.
 
She came to Northfield after coaching at the University of Oklahoma, where she was All-Conference, Academic All-Conference, captain, and MVP for the Sooners' volleyball team. She majored in Finance, International Business and earned her MBA at OU. At Carleton, she coached eight All-Americans, 11 All-Region athletes, two NCAA Postgraduate scholars, won the MIAC Conference title in 2004 and led the Knights to their highest national ranking at No. 8 in the AVCA Division III National Coaches poll in 2005.
 
Erickson is in her 27th year guiding Carleton's softball program and has 330 wins, more than triple the next closest total in program history. Under her leadership, Carleton Softball recorded the first three 20-win seasons in school history and 14 of the top-17 victory totals in program annals. Erickson also serves as a professor in the PEAR Department. In taking over Senior Woman Administrator responsibilities, she will represent Carleton at the MIAC and NCAA level while leading equity and diversity programs and initiatives on Carleton's campus.
 
Metcalf-Filzen is in her 17th year at the helm of the women's basketball program at Carleton. A three-time MIAC and region coach of the year, she first came to Carleton in 1992 as an assistant and assumed head-coaching duties on an interim basis for the 1997-98 season before taking the position permanently. She established the Knights' program as one of the elites in NCAA Division III as the team made five trips to the NCAA Championships. A member of Carleton's 'C' Club Athletic Hall of Fame, Metcalf-Filzen initially stepped down following the 2009-10 campaign to focus on her family, but she came out of retirement in 2019. She will continue coaching as she takes on the PEAR Department PE Curriculum Coordinator leadership role.
 
In May, the PEAR Department will host an on-campus celebration of Young's service to the College and his upcoming retirement. Campus members can find more information in an upcoming edition of Carleton Today.