Stephen Dolan is in his ninth full year with the Big South Conference in 2025-26, and fourth as Associate Commissioner for Compliance & Student Services. He joined the staff in March 2017 from league member Gardner-Webb University.
Dolan oversees all compliance activities related to the NCAA and Big South Conference, provides day-to-day governance and legislative services to the conference membership, and researches and interprets NCAA and Big South rules and regulations. He assists with the implementation and initiatives of the conference’s strategic plan, with a focus on areas related to academic centrality, student-athlete experience and membership. Dolan is also involved with the league’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as well as organizes the Big South’s annual Student-Athlete Leadership Conference and SAAC meetings, Academic Consortium, and serves as the conference administrator for football, men's soccer, eSports and the athletic trainers.
Prior to joining the Big South, Dolan spent the nine years at Gardner-Webb where he served as Assistant Athletics Director. In that role, he directed the Compliance Department for GWU’s 22 athletic teams, provided rules education for university administration, athletics department staff, coaches, student-athletes, faculty, boosters and the local community. Dolan enforced all aspects of rules compliance, including the areas of recruiting, financial aid, eligibility, playing and practice seasons, camps and clinics, amateurism and Division I membership, in addition to monitoring and reporting any violations of NCAA, Big South Conference or institutional rules and regulations. He authored NCAA Bylaw 15.5.4.1.2 pertaining to financial aid increases for baseball, and was an inaugural member of the Big South Legislative Committee.
In addition, Dolan was Gardner-Webb’s athletic representative on the Faculty Athletics Committee, Eligibility Certification Committee, Institutional Review Board, and the President’s Taskforce for Athletic Progress. He was the lead official for all NCAA Financial Reports and Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) reporting, served as the sport administrator for six Division I teams, served as the Championship Director for five Big South Championships hosted at Gardner-Webb, and was the Big South’s elected representative in the FCS ADA Young Administrator’s Program at the 2010 NACDA Convention.
Prior to his time at Gardner-Webb, Dolan served as Compliance Coordinator at North Carolina State as well as a Compliance Intern at UNC Wilmington. He earned both his Bachelor of Science degree (May 2006) and Master’s Degree (May 2008) in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from N.C. State.
A native of Raleigh, N.C., Dolan and his wife, the former Abby Baker, reside in Gastonia, N.C., with sons Carter and Caleb.