Gavin Van Wagoner - Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Branding and External Engagement - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Gavin Van Wagoner

Title:
Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Branding and External Engagement
Email:
Phone:
801-585-6508

Gavin Van Wagoner is the Director of Major Gifts for Utah Athletics. His responsibilities include growing the athletics fundraising efforts by identifying, cultivating and maintaining major gift donor relationships, and ensuring that donors and fans have an amazing customer experience. Van Wagoner has worked on the $85 million Ken Garff Red Zone Rice-Eccles Stadium expansion, the $3 million Dave Layton Golf Academy, and other Utah fundraising initiatives.

Before joining Utah Athletics, Van Wagoner worked in the financial services industry as a creative business leader managing all aspects of product innovation, customer experience, strategy, and business development. Van Wagoner’s professional journey started as an entrepreneur, creating his first marketing company during his final year in college while working in the founder’s home office. Van Wagoner has been awarded six patents for his inventions.

Van Wagoner has always loved being around sports. He played college baseball for two years, and as a kid, Van Wagoner was a batboy for the Salt Lake City Trappers, a minor league baseball team.

Van Wagoner graduated from the University of Utah with a political science degree and an MBA from the David Eccles School of Business. He has also attended executive education courses focused on innovation and customer experience at Stanford’s d.School and Harvard Business School. Van Wagoner and his wife, Marianne, have 3 children.