Mary Chris Finnigan - Director of Academics - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Mary Chris Finnigan

Title:
Director of Academics
Email:
Phone:
801-381-6240

A native of Salt Lake City, Mary Chris Finnigan joined the Utah Athletics family in August 2012 and was named to her current role of Director of Academics in July 2018. Previously, she had held the positions of Learning Specialist, Academic Advisor and Assistant Director of Academic Services. She supports student-athletes in becoming independent learners, while also ensuring that a positive student-athlete experience is the primary objective.

In addition to her responsibilities as director, Finnigan serves as the day-to-day academic advisor for Utah baseball, golf, men’s basketball, volleyball and beach volleyball.

For all of Utah’s recent success in competition, Utes student-athletes have exceled just as well in the classroom. Every team on campus earned a 3.0 GPA or higher in the Spring 2023 semester; it was the 34^th straight semester in which Utah Athletics as a whole finished at 3.0 or higher.

Before coming to the U, Finnigan spent 13 years as a counselor at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, including the last eight as Director of Counseling. She also served as head girls basketball coach from 1999-2005 and led Judge to the state final in her first year, earning USHAA Coach of the Year.

In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors, watching sports and spending time with her children, family and dog. In 2011, her and her husband founded Race Swami, a USA Swim program for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged youth in Salt Lake City.

Finnigan holds a Bachelor’s in psychology from UC Santa Barbara as well as a Master’s in educational psychology from the University of Utah. She is a member of the N4A and NACDA professional associations.