Concordia University Chicago Athletics

Concordia University Chicago and Cougar Athletics are pleased to welcome John Jaramillo as Director of Athletics beginning on August 13, 2025.

"It is one of the great honors and blessings of my life to be welcomed to the Concordia University Chicago community and entrusted to serve as the Director of Athletics," Jaramillo said. "I am deeply grateful to Vice President Kathy Gebhardt and every member of the search committee for their thoroughness, thoughtfulness, extensive work, and belief throughout the process. I am so thankful to President Russell Dawn, Dr. Chad Kendall, and the Concordia athletics staff for their involvement, excellent insight, and energy when I visited with them and learned from them. I give all glory and gratitude to God for this opportunity to serve and will do so every day to honor this blessing. I thank my family, friends, mentors and colleagues for their unwavering support and guidance in preparing me for this opportunity and keeping my faith strong.
 
"I want to give a special thank you to the Concordia Student-Athlete Advisory Committee leadership, namely Kyle Schultz, Jacob Garrison, Haley Gulsby, Arissa Santos, and Linley Southern, during my meeting with them," Jaramillo continued. "Their involvement during the process confirmed to me that Concordia attracts and cultivates student-athletes with the highest levels of character, competitiveness, compassion, and care for this amazing institution. I am looking forward to working with them and every CUC student on making their experience the best it can be."

A visionary and battle-tested leader in intercollegiate athletics, Jaramillo brings more than two decades of experience across athletic administration, strategic communications, enrollment growth, and student development. He carries a deep passion for student-athlete development, a commitment to servant leadership, and a proven track record of advancing athletic programs and building winning cultures through collaboration, character, and faith.

Jaramillo most recently served as a business and communications consultant, guiding organizations through high-stakes challenges by creating strategic content, marketing plans, and community-building campaigns – a skill set that will directly translate to the development of Cougar Athletics.

Prior to that, he led a transformational tenure as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Roosevelt University for six years where he oversaw a historic merger between Roosevelt and Robert Morris University. He managed 36 athletic programs and a population of nearly 700 students and staff members while increasing athletic enrollment by 233%, annual revenue by $8 million, and elevating the department from NAIA to NCAA Division II, securing membership in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). 

He was named CCAC Athletic Director of the Year in 2021 for his leadership in executing a safe and successful COVID-19 return-to-play plan, and for orchestrating the Roosevelt-Robert Morris athletic merger within the same year. During this year, 80 student-athletes earned CCAC all-academic honors, 11 earned Mid-States Football Assocation academic honors, and numerous earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete status under his leadership -- a record number of academic accolades in a single year for Roosevelt. 

Previously, Jaramillo held roles as Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations and External Affairs at Roosevelt and Communications Director for the American Heart Association in Chicago, where he drove national-level media impact and managed hundreds of community events. With a steady background in communications including Director of Athletic Communications at University of Illinois at Chicago, Communications and Event Management with the Chicago White Sox, and Communications and Event Management for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Jaramillo brings a well-rounded understanding of the inner workings of athletics.

 "My vision for Concordia Chicago Athletics is for every program to achieve sustained success, Jaramillo noted. "We are going to set high standards and big goals, and we will work toward those standards and goals every day. We are going to have accountability across the board, where our actions and our words match, and our department will be aligned with the mission, spirit, and priorities of the entire university."

Jaramillo holds a Master of Science in Management and a Bachelor of Science in Media Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an active member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and College Sports Communicators (CSC) among other national athletic associations. A resident of Oak Park, Illinois, he continues to mentor future leaders in sport, service, and storytelling.

"We are going to compete, we are going to win, and we are going to be true to who we are as individuals and as one strong, close-knit community at CUC," Jaramillo said. "I am excited to get to work with everyone."