ST. DAVIDS, Pa.—Nate Stewart will be the Eastern University Eagles' next athletic director and director of athletic development, Vice President for Student Development Dr. Bettie Ann Brigham announced on Thursday.

Stewart has been the head coach for Eastern Men's Basketball for four seasons and has also served the last two seasons as the assistant athletic director for advancement.

"We are very pleased that through our exhaustive national search, in the end, Nate Stewart emerged as our number one candidate,” Brigham said. “His enthusiasm and skill set as well as his understanding and commitment to the EU mission and the role athletics plays in that mission will serve us well as we move into a very exciting time in the life of the university.”

Stewart moves into the role of AD immediately and has hit the ground running as the lead on major athletics developments like the new fitness center and the addition of track & field. Stewart now has oversight of Eastern's 20 NCAA Division III teams.

“I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working together with our talented and dedicated staff as we strive to win championships on the fields and courts and most importantly to succeed in the classroom,” Stewart said.

"I'd like to thank Dr. Bettie Ann Brigham, Lisa Titus, Daryl Hawkins and everyone involved in the search process for this tremendous opportunity to lead the athletic department," he said. "I would also like to thank Heidi Birtwistle who served as interim AD for all her hard work during the summer, and I would be remiss if I didn't thank Nate Davis for giving me the opportunity to be an assistant AD the past two years."

The Division III model of athletics is no stranger to Stewart who played basketball as a student-athlete at Roanoke College. At Roanoke, Stewart earned his bachelor's degree in health and human performance. From there, Stewart earned his master's degree in athletic administration from Marshall University as a graduate assistant coach. In addition to Marshall, Stewart was also an assistant coach at two other Division I colleges, Radford University and University of Maryland Baltimore County, prior to arriving at Eastern in 2011. 

Stewart lives in Conshohocken, Pa., with his wife Lauren and son Noah.