Virginia Athletics Foundation Welcomes Allie Ware and Stuart Sutton to Leadership Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) announced today (July 28) the hiring of Allie Ware as Chief of Staff and Stuart Sutton as Chief Operating Officer. These two strategic appointments further strengthen VAF for continued growth and innovation in support of Virginia Athletics.
Allie Ware will begin her role on Monday, July 28, bringing over a decade of experience in college athletics development to VAF. Most recently serving as Deputy Athletic Director for Development at Georgia Southern University. A member of the Athletic Department’s Executive Staff, Ware supervised all athletic fundraising activity and led a team of eight, overseeing major gifts, premium seating, planned giving, annual fund programs, and served as a sport administrator for multiple sports. She led the Athletic Foundation to a record-setting fiscal year in 2025.
Before joining Georgia Southern, Ware held leadership roles at Mississippi State, Yale, the University of Richmond, and Mercer University. At each institution, she led successful capital projects, launched stewardship and alumni engagement initiatives, and significantly increased donor acquisition across multiple platforms. While at Yale, she co-founded the Yale Women’s Athletic Network and helped raise $5 million for women’s athletics endowments. At Mercer, she created the Mercer Women’s Athletic Endowment, an initiative that became the first endowment of its kind in the Southern Conference and one of the first in college athletics.
Ware earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Richmond, where she was captain on the women’s lacrosse team. She also holds a master’s degree in Higher Educational Leadership from Mercer University and a Sports Industry Essentials Certificate from Columbia University. In 2017, she was the first female from her high school (Milton, Ga.) to be inducted into its Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the US Lacrosse Georgia Chapter Hall of Fame in 2021. As Chief of Staff, she will serve on the VAF Executive Team and lead the Foundation’s stewardship strategy, manage the VAF Board of Trustees, and oversee cross-functional engagement and programmatic initiatives to support VAF’s evolving business needs.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Virginia Athletics Foundation in this critical role as Chief of Staff. From the moment I spoke with Kevin, the Board of Trustees, and other leaders throughout UVA about the role, it was clear this is a team I want to be a part of. I am thankful for Carla Williams, the VAF Executive team, our shared vision, and their trust in me as we take the next step in advancing the VAF.”
Stuart Sutton, Ph.D., will join the VAF as Chief Operating Officer on Monday, August 4, following his time as Associate Athletic Director for Development and External Sales at Syracuse University Athletics. During his tenure at Syracuse, Sutton led a 14 person Sales & Service team through a five-sport re-seat in the newly renovated JMA Wireless Dome, growing ticketing, premium seating, donations, and hospitality revenue year over year. As a part of the ’Cuse Athletics Fund leadership team, overall fundraising exceeded $50M with consecutive record-breaking years. The momentum was spearheaded by successfully closing out a $1.5 billion Forever Orange campus campaign in December 2024 with Athletics leading all campus units. In February 2025, Sutton helped launch a three-year $50M Champion Cuse campaign aimed at fielding championship-caliber teams and winning championships in the revenue share era.
Sutton brings over 15 years of experience in college athletics, including roles at Wisconsin Athletics, Ole Miss Athletics, Alabama Athletics, and Illinois Athletics. At Wisconsin, he played a pivotal role in executing capital campaigns for two major football projects totaling $350 million and a $40 million basketball project. He was instrumental in the successful launch and sell-through of a new multi-level football south end zone premium seat expansion and helped Wisconsin Athletics break its all-time fundraising record in 2022 ($62.3M).
Sutton holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s in Sports Management from the University of Alabama, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Mississippi. A former varsity baseball player at Illinois State, he also holds a private pilot’s license.
Sutton succeeds Todd Kersey, who departed the Foundation in early July after 11 years of service. As Chief Operating Officer, Sutton will oversee internal operations, integration across fundraising and engagement functions, and strategic execution to ensure alignment with VAF’s mission and goals.
“I want to thank Kevin Miller, the VAF Executive Team, and the VAF Board for this incredible opportunity. To serve the Virginia Athletics Foundation and the athletic department in this capacity is beyond meaningful. I have a very deep respect for Carla William’s core values and relentless pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. I also believe in connective growth that promotes elite athletic performance while at the same time tethering to and advancing the broader University ideals. I am eager to join the talented VAF staff on Grounds, while we propel the rich history of the Virginia Cavaliers forward!”
“As we enter this pivotal era in college athletics, I am excited to welcome Allie and Stuart to the Virginia Athletics Foundation leadership team. Their combined experience across 10 institutions will be invaluable as we navigate the evolving college athletics landscape and strive to position VAF as the premier athletics fundraising organization in the country, ensuring we can meet the rising demands and costs of competing in this new era. Their expertise and leadership will build upon the strong foundation of success established by our donors and staff over VAF’s 77-year history.”
To learn more about the VAF, please visit VirginiaAthleticsFoundation.com.