Evans: The new face of sports management at Viterbo

Viterbo University’s sports management program has a new chair, Dr. Jim Evans. Evans was chosen as the successor of Dr. David Waters, who retired last spring after a long career at Viterbo.

Evans, who is originally from Memphis, Tenn., received two undergraduate degrees from Louisiana State University in English and history. He then went to law school at the University of Alabama and practiced for three years back in Memphis.

His desire to work in sports led him to return to LSU to obtain his master’s degree in sports management. Evans then gained his Ph.D. at Ohio State before being hired for his current position at Viterbo.

So far, the move from Ohio to La Crosse has been going well. “I love this area,” Evans said adding that “it’s a fun city and all the people are really nice and helpful.” However, Evans noted that he is not used to the snow being on the ground this early in the year.

From a professional standpoint, the transition has also been successful. Evans says, “I come from a place where I taught classes of 35 to 40 students and here class sizes are usually 10-15, which is great,” and that “[he gets] to know students really well, which allows them to keep [him] accountable.”

As the new head of the sports management program, Evans has some changes in mind: “I am very interested in statistics and data analytics, and one of my goals is to establish a permanent elective in sports analytics.” He has also been connecting with sports leaders in the area to seek potential opportunities for the school and his students.

When asked about his favorite Viterbo athletics moment so far, Evans chose Viterbo Women’s Volleyball “revenge-win” over Bellevue, adding that “I definitely plan on attending more games over the course of the semester.”

When discussing what he wants students to know about him, Evans said that “the most important thing to know about me is my love for the LSU Tigers.” During game week, Evans likes to close his lectures by saying “go Tigers,” and on the last day of class each week, he represents his alma mater with a time-honored tradition: wearing an LSU polo that he has kept from his undergrad years.