University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Names Oberhelman As Associate AD
1/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss Names Oberhelman As Associate AD
Oberhelman comes to Southern Miss after serving as the Education Coordinator for the Athletic Compliance Office at Texas A&M University for the past three and a half years. He replaces Mike Moleta, who left Southern Miss in December to become the Director for Compliance at the University of Northern Arizona.
?We are excited Don will join our administrative staff at Southern Miss?, Giannini said. ?He has gained great experience at Florida State and Texas A&M, and his recommendations were outstanding. Texas A&M is known nationally for its model compliance program, and he will bring a wealth of knowledge to our staff.?
As the Associate Director of Athletics/Athletic and Academic Compliance at Southern Miss, Oberhelman will oversee the areas of academic support and student-athlete eligibility. He serves as the liaison between Southern Miss, Conference USA and the NCAA on all issues regarding compliance.
Oberhelman will also administrate the athletic department?s education program for student-athletes, coaches, staff, fans, boosters and administration for all issues regarding NCAA compliance. He will also work in conjunction with the recruiting of student-athletes and in assisting coaches in determining levels of financial aid, particularly in the equivalency sports.
?I am excited about the opportunity to work at a great place like Southern Miss," Oberhelman said. "Leaving Texas A&M was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, however, I have always said that it would take the perfect situation for me to leave. Southern Miss presented me with that situation.
"Richard Giannini and his staff do an outstanding job and are very well respected across the country. I am looking forward to joining the team and doing my part to ensure that Southern Miss continues to be successful at the highest level.?
At Texas A&M, Oberhelman administrated a comprehensive education program for its student-athletes, coaches, administrators, boosters and fans, educating them on NCAA, institutional and Big XII rules. He also handled a vast amount of responsibilities including eligibility issues, monitoring recruiting, submitting secondary infractions to the Big XII Conference and NCAA, determining countable financial aid and employment earnings, filing NCAA and conference waivers and preparing publications relating to all areas of compliance. He also maintained one of the most comprehensive compliance web sites in the country.
Prior to his stint at Texas A&M, he served as the Compliance Assistant at Florida State for two and a half years. He administered an education program for student athletes dealing with sports agents, implemented a professional sport agent registration program and tracked sport agent contacts with the student-athletes. He also monitored schedules, dealing with playing and practice seasons, provided pre-approval for official visits and designed and maintained a compliance website.
Oberhelman completed the 2001 Texas A&M leadership institute, taught several classes and has been a guest presenter at numerous conferences on issues dealing with academics and compliance. He has held a graduate advisory chair and is a member of the Professional Sports Counseling Panel.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in human resource management from Kansas State University in 1993, obtained his master's degree in athletic administration with an emphasis in compliance and institutional control from Florida State in 1996 and finished his course work toward his doctorate of philosophy in education with a concentration in compliance and institutional control, also from Florida State.
