Sonia Hahn Named Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Operating Officer for CSUN Athletics

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - CSUN Director of Athletics Shawn Chin-Farrell has announced the hiring of Sonia Hahn as Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Operating Officer. Hahn will also serve as CSUN's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) with oversight of several sport programs in addition to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, among other duties.

"We are thrilled to have Sonia Hahn join the Matador team," Chin-Farrell said. "We got better today. She brings to CSUN a wealth of experience and knowledge of the college athletics landscape, and her presence on campus will strengthen our student-athletes, staff, faculty and community."

Hahn comes to CSUN from Southern Utah University, where she most recently served as Thunderbirds' Deputy Athletic Director for Competitive Excellence/Senior Woman Administrator/Chief Diversity Officer. Initially hired to be the Associate Athletics Director for Sports Administration Hahn was promoted in 2019 to her most recent position.

In her role, Hahn served as the athletics representative for the Title IX committee, Equity and Inclusion Executive Committee, and the Clery Advisory Compliance Committee on campus. In addition, she was the direct sports administrator for Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Volleyball, Softball, and Track & Field/Cross Country.

Additionally, she had oversight of the Southern Utah strength and conditioning performance center, and the media/marketing/communications department.
 
"Words cannot express how thankful I am to Shawn for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to build an awesome culture that supports the well-being and the positive experience of our student-athletes," said Hahn. "I knew from my first phone conversation with Shawn that his vision and leadership for the student-athletes was the perfect fit for me and that was confirmed when I stepped on campus and met all the awesome CSUN Athletics staff. The support and camaraderie everyone has for each other are overwhelmingly evident, and I look forward to working with everyone in athletics and on the campus side of CSUN."

A former tennis student-athlete at the University of Kentucky, Hahn earned ITA All-America honors in both singles and doubles in 1987 and 1988. Hahn's career highlights include the 1987 ITA National Indoors Champion in singles, 1987 SEC Singles Champion and conference player of the year, 1987 University of Kentucky female athlete of the year, 1987 Gold medalist at the Pan American Games, and 1987 Bronze medalist at the World University Games.

Following her outstanding career as a student-athlete, Hahn became the Co-Head Women's Tennis Coach at the University of Tennessee, a position she held from 1997 to 2016. During her time at the helm of the Volunteers' program, she was named the ITA National Coach of the Year and SEC Co-Head Coach of the Year in 2002, in addition to earning the title of Ohio Valley Region Co-Head Coach of the Year.

Hahn led the Vols to NCAA tournament appearances in 16 of her 19 years with the program, including Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four finishes.

After her time at Tennessee, Hahn was named the head coach of the women's tennis program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2016. Hahn had a highly successful run with the Vaqueros that included a Western Athletic Championship in 2018 in a season where she was named Coach of the Year for the conference.

"Sonia has the unique experience of being a student-athlete, a coach, and an administrator at the collegiate level," added Chin-Farrell. "She has mentored hundreds of student-athletes throughout her coaching and administrative career, and we can't wait for Sonia to get started at CSUN and for our student-athletes, coaches and staff to be the beneficiaries of her commitment, expertise, and energy."

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Hahn received her bachelor of arts degree in communications in 1989. 

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