BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins University Director of Athletics and Recreation Jennifer Baker has announced the appointment of Jake Olkkola as Senior Associate Director of Athletics.  Olkkola, who is currently the Harold Alfond Director of Athletics at Colby College, will begin his tenure at Johns Hopkins on November 18.  He will join a 24-sport athletic program that finished second in the 2018-19 Learfield Directors' Cup Standings with 20 of its 24 teams competing in NCAA Championship competition.
 
"I am thrilled to welcome Jake to Johns Hopkins," Baker stated.  "His record of success at Colby is remarkable, and he is a proven leader who will have an immediate impact on our staff, students, and student-athletes.  We will benefit greatly from the depth and breadth of his professional experience and I am excited to partner with him in advancing our strategic priorities."
 
As the Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Olkkola will oversee the day-to-day operations of the department and will work closely with Baker to define, shape and advance the Department of Athletics and Recreation.  He will serve as the main sport administrator for several of Johns Hopkins' 24 varsity athletic programs, provide oversight for a number of internal areas within the department and be the primary liaison with  many of the departments and offices on campus that work closely with athletics and recreation.
 
Olkkola has served as the Director of Athletics at Colby since 2017. There, he has managed a successful 32-sport athletic program that features more than 650 student-athletes and 21 head coaches.  He has been actively involved in Colby's "Dare Northward" campaign that has earmarked $200 million to athletics; the focal point of the commitment to athletics is a state-of-the-art 350,000-square-foot athletic center that is scheduled to open in 2020.
 
Under his direction, Colby jumped 67 spots in the Learfield Directors' Cup Standings in just two years, advanced to the Frozen Four in men's ice hockey and produced a national champion in track and field.  In addition, he collaborated with Colby's Office of Advancement on a campaign that resulted in the endowment of three head coaching positions.
 
Prior to his time at Colby, Olkkola spent seven years at the University of Delaware (2010-17), where he worked for five years as the Associate Director of Athletics before being promoted to Senior Associate Director in 2015.  He was the sport administrator for six of Delaware's 21 Division I athletic programs and managed a $25 million renovation of one of Delaware's main athletic facilities.  When promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics, he served as the department's chief financial officer and oversaw an operating budget of $30 million while serving as the liaison with a number of on-campus partners.
 
Olkkola had previously spent five years as the Director of Recreation at Harvard, where he was the lead project planner for a $16 million renovation of the Malkin Athletic Center and managed the scheduling, staffing and budgeting for selected athletic and recreation facilities.  He also led a club sports program that featured more than 30 programs and 900 participants.
 
A 2001 graduate of New Hampshire College with a degree in sports management, Olkkola earned his master's in organizational leadership from Wilmington University in 2019.  He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Caroline and Josie, and one son, Jed.