BROWNWOOD, Texas — Howard Payne University has named Lonn Reisman as assistant to the president for special projects, a role he assumed at the beginning of June.
Reisman will provide leadership in the areas of athletics, fundraising and campus development.
HPU president, Dr. Cory Hines, said he looks forward to the benefits Reisman’s leadership will provide to the university.
“I am excited to welcome Lonn to our campus. He has a passionate desire to turn big dreams into reality,” Hines said. “His background, energy and leadership experience will be a tremendous blessing to our school. I look forward to all that we will accomplish together as we seek to enrich the student experience at Howard Payne.”
Reisman served at Tarleton State University for more than 30 years, including his most recent tenure as vice president for intercollegiate athletics. He also served as Tarleton’s head men’s basketball coach from 1988-2018. During his time at Tarleton State, he successfully led the university through two NCAA reclassifications, first out of NAIA into NCAA Division II in 1994, and most recently into NCAA Division I and FCS Division I football.
Reisman is the only documented athletic director in NCAA history to successfully lead one program through two such reclassifications. He is the longest-tenured athletic director in Tarleton's history and third-longest tenured AD across all of NCAA Division I.
Student-athletes under Reisman’s leadership also saw academic success during the reclassification with the highest NCAA academic progress rate scores by a reclassifying school since 2011. In addition to these accomplishments, he had great success in fundraising for strategic university objectives.
He also had tenures at Arkansas State University, Connors State Junior College, Fort Scott Community College and Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Reisman said an important objective is to have unified departments that support one another as they build momentum for the organization as a whole. He is excited about how HPU is moving forward in all areas and is grateful to participate in the Christ-centered focus of all that happens at the university.
“It’s an honor to work for Dr. Hines,” Reisman said. “His vision for the future of Howard Payne University is very exciting, and I’m extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of his leadership team.”
HPU’s Director of Athletics, Dr. Hunter Sims, expressed his excitement for Reisman joining HPU in this new role.
“Lonn brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to HPU,” Sims said. “With his expertise in college athletics and higher education, we are excited about our future progress.”
He holds a Bachelor of Science in education from Pittsburg State University and a Master of Science in education from Arkansas State University.
