Bob Beeman, who has been athletic director at Hamline University for the past four years, announced today he will be leaving the school at the end of the academic year.  

Beeman will become the athletic director at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas. Kinkaid is the oldest co-educational school in Houston, serving 1500 students in grades K-12. 

“I have family in Houston and am looking forward to being closer to them while staying involved in athletics,” Beeman said. “At the same time, it will be hard to leave here. What I will miss the most is the relationships with our coaches and athletes. 

“The coaching and support staff here is, top-to-bottom, the most dedicated and hard working group I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the 30 years I’ve been involved in athletics. And, the interaction I’ve been afforded with our student-athletes has been the most gratifying I’ve experienced during that same time frame.” 

During Beeman’s tenure, Hamline recorded a men’s hockey title and earned its first ever NCAA tournament victory last year. The baseball team won the MIAC postseason tournament and claimed its first NCAA tournament victory as well in 2011. The Pipers have also won three consecutive Men’s Cross Country Championships and appeared in the MIAC postseason tournaments in men’s and women’s basketball and softball. 

In addition, the school honored 10 members from its glorious basketball past with a “Row Of Honor” that now adorns part of Hutton Arena.  Beeman also oversaw a major renovation of Hutton, once a site of NBA games and the second oldest basketball arena in the state.  

The school will be accepting applications for the position through February 24 

Hamline University belongs to the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Hamline supports 19 intercollegiate athletic teams for men and women. 

Creativity and innovation in teaching and learning are the hallmark of Hamline University—home to nearly 5,000 undergraduate, graduate, and law students. At Hamline, students collaborate with professors invested in their success. They are challenged in and out of the classroom to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, while cultivating an ethic of civic responsibility, social justice, and inclusive leadership and service.  

Hamline is the top-ranked and only “Great Schools, Great Prices” university of its class in Minnesota, according to U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1854, Hamline also is Minnesota’s first university and among the first coeducational institutions in the nation.