Troy University announced late Wednesday that Senior Executive Associate Athletic Director John Hartwell will be named Troy's director of athletics on Friday.

Hartwell will replace Steve Dennis, who announced his resignation, effective September 30, in July.

Below is the release from the Troy athletics department.

TROY, Ala. - John Hartwell will be named the new Troy University director of athletics by TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., in a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. in the Rane Auditorium in the Tine Davis Fieldhouse.

Hartwell, a native of Mobile, comes to Troy following nine years at the University of Mississippi where he was the senior executive associate athletics director, serving as the number two administrator in athletics

"John Hartwell exemplifies all of the characteristics that the selection committee and I were looking for as TROY's next director of athletics," Chancellor Hawkins said. "We had a deep and talented pool of applicants to choose from and that is a key indicator of how our athletics program at TROY has grown over the past decade. John is an experienced leader who has the perfect combination of experience, qualifications and enthusiasm to lead TROY into a new era of athletic competition."

John Hartwell is in his ninth year with the Ole Miss Athletics Department and his third year as Senior Executive Associate AD. He functions as the No. 2 administrator in Athletics and assumes the duties of the AD in his absence.

Hartwell serves as the Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer of the UMAA Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) organization that generates over $17M annually for Athletics through priority seating and major gifts. He has day-to-day oversight of Football, Men's Basketball and Baseball, along with sport oversight of Men's and Women's Track and Cross Country and Softball. He also oversees the business office, the ticket office, the equipment room, merchandise sales, concessions and football scheduling.

Hartwell has managed the growth of the Athletics budget from $26 million in FY03 to over $47 million in FY12. He also chaired the search to hire head men's basketball coach Andy Kennedy in 2006. He is heavily involved in contract negotiations for Athletics and has increased revenues with contracts for apparel and footwear (Nike), merchandise sales (Sports Avenue/LIDS), concessions (Centerplate), wireless provider (C Spire) and video boards (Daktronics). He currently serves on the SEC Ticket Committee, and is a leader of the annual SEC CFO's Forum.

A 1987 graduate of The Citadel, Hartwell spent four plus years as a CPA with Ernst & Young before returning to his alma mater to serve as the Director of Internal Audit in 1991. In his three years working at The Citadel, Hartwell also was the basketball color commentator for the Citadel Network. From 1994 to 1997, he was in private business as the Chief Financial Officer for a $36 million (annual sales) beverage distributor on the South Carolina coast.

Hartwell's direct experience in athletics administration began as Assistant AD for Business at Georgia State in 1997. He was promoted to Associate AD for Internal Affairs in 1999, and his responsibilities expanded to include sport supervision for Baseball, Men's & Women's Golf, and Men's & Women's Track and Cross Country. He also had oversight of athletics facilities and game Management, in addition to his previous responsibilities of all financial aspects of the department. He also was the color analyst for men's basketball on the Georgia State Radio Network for the first three years he was at Georgia State. While at Georgia State, Hartwell earned a Master's Degree in Sports Administration.

Athletics has always been a big part of Hartwell's life, starting in high school where he was an All-State selection at UMS-Wright in Mobile, Ala. The 6-foot-7 forward played alongside current N.C. State Head Coach Mark Gottfried in high school. Hartwell went on to play collegiately at The Citadel, where he was a three-year starter, a four-year letterman, and captain of the team as a senior in 1987. Current Tulane Head Coach Ed Conroy was a collegiate teammate of Hartwell's at The Citadel.

Hartwell is married to Dr. Heather Seale Hartwell, and they have a daughter Lauren, who is three years old, and are expecting their second child this summer. Hartwell also has a 20-year old son, Hunter, who is a sophomore at Vanderbilt.