Dr. Sarah Tuohy was a member of the Cal State Bakersfield Athletics Department from Spring of 2023 until Fall of 2026. She initially came to CSUB as the Associate Athletics Director for Development before being named Acting Director of Athletics in September of 2025.
In her role with Development, Tuohy oversaw CSUB Athletics' fundraising efforts, including fostering donor relations, major gifts, and the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund. She also had sport supervision responsibilities for some of CSUB’s teams. As the Acting Director of Athletics, Tuohy helped Cal State Bakersfield recover from a turbulent period and her tireless work sparked notable reform in Department policies and procedures.
As the Acting Director of Athletics, Tuohy oversaw all operations of the Athletics Department and aided the `Runners in a transition period that saw 70% of coaches and 60% of staff newly-hired or moved into new roles. Her hires included, to name a few, Head Men's Basketball Coach Todd Lee, Head Women's Basketball Coach Ray Alvarado, Head Volleyball Coach Kristen Wright, and three members of the Athletics Department Executive Staff.
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Tuohy came to Bakersfield following two years at UTEP, where she served as the Assistant Athletic Director/Annual Fund. In her time with the Miners, Tuohy helped increase the department’s total donor number to its highest mark in over five years. She also catalyzed a 20-percent increase in philanthropic giving while helping UTEP post its highest revenue year in four years.
Prior to her time in El Paso, Tuohy served as the Athletic Advancement Officer at the University of Evansville for two years. While at Evansville, she managed a portfolio of 150 prospects and cultivated major gifts of $25,000 or higher for athletic and university capital projects. She launched a COVID-19 relief fundraising initiative to recover lost athletics revenue as well as a #SupportYourSport giving campaign that increased total Giving Day dollars by 112 percent and total donors by 433 percent.
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Before her arrival to Evansville, Tuohy held the role of Assistant Director, Athletic Events and Donor Engagement at Boston College where her efforts helped amass $7.5 million to the annual fund in 2019, setting a BC Athletics record. She served as the development liaison to the men's and women's cross country and track & field teams and the Spirit program, helping with sport-specific fundraising. Her efforts included creating and executing a fundraising plan for locker room renovations totaling $450,000.Â
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Tuohy also served as a graduate assistant for The Rams Club at the University of North Carolina, where she worked directly with the annual fund team focusing on membership growth, selling football and basketball tickets, prospecting new donors, and helping execute the Tar Heel Tour series. She also oversaw the Student Rams Club and increased membership by 29% in one year.
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In her first stint at the University of Evansville in the 2015-16 academic year, Tuohy served as an Athletics External Affairs Intern where she worked full time with the ticket office and marketing team.
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Tuohy received a bachelor of science in applied physiology and sports management, and a bachelor of arts in psychology in 2015 from SMU. In 2018, she earned a master of arts in sport administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. She completed her PhD in Performance Psychology from Grand Canyon University in 2024.
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A native of Northville, Mich., Tuohy currently resides in Bakersfield, Calif. and enjoys running, cycling, and practicing hot yoga in her free time.
