The entire Point Loma community is mourning the tragic passing of Athletic Director Ethan Hamilton.
The longtime PLNU athletics director passed away on July 4, 2024, after a quick battle with cancer. He was 48 years old.
Hamilton made a lasting impact on The Point, having served on campus for the past 19 years.
A PLNU alumnus, Hamilton graduated from Point Loma in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education before returning to his alma mater in 2005 as associate athletic director and men’s basketball associate head coach.
He was then elevated to men’s basketball head coach ahead of the 2008-09 campaign, a role he held for three seasons, before being promoted to athletic director in 2009-10.
During his 15-year tenure as athletic director, he successfully led Point Loma from NAIA to NCAA Division II. PLNU has become a premier Division II athletics department since becoming full-time NCAA members in 2014.
“Ethan was one of the most effective leaders I have worked with,” Dr. Bob Brower, recently retired PLNU president, said. “His vision and work at PLNU created a great team of coaches and staff who continue to achieve great success with our student-athletes. Ethan’s work extended beyond PLNU to influence the PacWest Conference and the NCAA.”
“Ethan was one of the most effective leaders I have worked with.”
— Dr. Bob Brower
Under Hamilton’s guidance, all 11 Sea Lions squads have competed in the NCAA postseason. Point Loma has made a total of 45 NCAA postseason appearances and has won 21 PacWest championships.
This past year, PLNU set school records with five teams claiming PacWest titles and eight reaching the NCAA postseason.
That included PLNU Women’s Soccer winning the school’s first NCAA DII national championship in December and PLNU Baseball making a second trip to the NCAA DII World Series in three years.
Additionally, men’s basketball finished as national runner-up in 2018-19, as did baseball in 2022.
Not only has Point Loma found tremendous success athletically during Hamilton’s tenure, but also academically, having earned the NCAA Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence in all 10 years of eligibility, including in 2016 and 2017 when PLNU led the nation in Academic Success Rate at 99 percent.
The Sea Lions have also won the PacWest Academic Achievement Award on three occasions, including in each of the past two years, with student athletes consistently achieving higher academic marks than the general student body.
Point Loma also previously captured several other awards from the conference, including the PacWest’s Diversity Award (2013), Make-AWish Award (2014) and Community Engagement Award (2015, 2017).
As athletic director, Hamilton created the Loma Athletic Fund and has led several capital projects on campus that have improved athletic facilities.
Those capital improvements included the construction of PLNU Athletics offices, renovation of the seating and entryway to Golden Gym, addition of new seating to Carroll B. Land Stadium, a newly installed track, resurfaced tennis courts, and re-sodded baseball and soccer fields, among others.
In addition, he oversaw the redesign of the PLNU Athletics logo and color scheme, along with partnerships with Nike and BSN Sports.
His service in athletics has gone far beyond Point Loma, as Hamilton was one of 12 athletic director mentors in the NCAA Mentoring Program for aspiring athletic directors.
A member of the Division II Athletic Director Association, Hamilton also served as the chair of the PacWest Membership and Scheduling Committee and was a member of the NCAA Division II West Regional Advisory Committee for Men’s Basketball, Baseball and Women’s Volleyball.
Ethan is survived by his wife, Andrea, and children, Lily and Eli.
“Ethan will be greatly missed as a friend and colleague,” Brower said. “Our prayers continue for his wife and children.”
