University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Looking to the Future with Erin Punter Spence, Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance/Senior Woman Administrator
04.10.2023 | General
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Our Turn to Play is an annual event hosted by UNC Asheville Athletics with the mission of fundraising for female student-athlete scholarships. We aim to highlight achievements for women in sports as well as their impact on others in their community. This year we will be recognizing Stacey Enos as our Trailblazer and JoAn Scott as our Keynote Speaker. Scott currently oversees the Men's Basketball Final Four Tournament in Houston as well as previous work with Nike Marketing in the Olympics. Tickets and table sponsorships are sold out for this event. If you would like to make an impact through a donation please see this link and under the designation please select Our Turn to Play. Â
Erin Punter Spence serves as Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance and Senior Woman Administrator. She is the Senior Compliance Administrator for the department and is the advisor to the Student-Advisory Committee, as well as sport supervisor for the UNC Asheville Swimming and Diving program. Spence came to Asheville from the University of Arkansas where she earned her Master's Degree in Sport Management in 2004, while serving as a Graduate Assistant for Marketing. Prior to Arkansas, Spence was the Marketing Assistant at Xavier University. Spence received her Bachelor's Degree from the Indiana University in Sport Marketing and Management in 2001. She was a member of the inaugural women's rowing team and twice earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Erin has been with UNC Asheville working in the Marketing, Licensing, and Promotional departments before joining Compliance in 2017. Spence has been active in the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) and was a member of the Communications Committee from 2018 to 2022. While working in external affairs, Spence was a member of NACMA, serving as a member of the organization's strategic communications committee from 2013-2017 and leading a session on marketing at Division I non-football schools at the national convention in 2015. Spence also served as a member of the membership committee for Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly known as NACWAA) during the 2015-2016 school year.
What is a piece of advice that you would give your past self in terms of navigating athletics as a female? Never be afraid to reach out for help. Seeking guidance and advice is a great way to build connections and start to build a network of people who you trust, and make sure to put in the effort to keep those connections.
 What area of women's athletics do you see most impacted by Title IX? The amount of opportunities that have been made available to women is unbelievable. I am a bit younger and don't remember a time when I would have not been allowed to participate because of my gender. However, my generation reaped many of the benefits of what those women were fighting for. I was able to be a member of the inaugural women's rowing team at Indiana University because of Title IX. I have friends who were on their school's first field hockey or women's soccer team. That is truly a blessing, and we were impacted for the better because of Title IX.
What do you hope to see in the future for women in sports administration roles? We are making progress in hiring women into top leadership roles, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.  We need to help, not only women, but all administrators get to a place where they can feel comfortable bringing their whole self to work and understanding that our work is just one piece of all the people that we see around us. When people are able to be their authentic self and leave room for all parts of their life, we will all be better off.
How do you see the future of UNC Asheville Athletics? The future of UNC Asheville Athletics is so bright. Just looking back at all the upgrades and improvements that have happened over my time in Asheville is amazing. Additionally, I believe that UNC Asheville is on the forefront of student athlete experience for our peer institutions. Our programming continues to bring experiences and life skills that will propel the student athletes to success when their time in athletics is done.
As we look to the future of college athletics, what is the biggest change you have seen that you hope to see sustainable growth in? I hope to see continued improvement in the support for women's athletics. With Janet Cone in leadership at UNC Asheville, she has always been committed to equality between the men's and women's teams. In the past year, the NCAA has taken steps toward creating a more balanced experience between men's and women's champions, while there has been growth in the viewership and attendance at women's games and championships. I am excited for the future as we work for more equality in budgets, salaries and experiences of all our student athletes.
Who is a female in athletics that you look up to? I look up to women like Dawn Rogers, Tracey Stehlik and Kim Record. These women have been able to balance very successful careers in athletics while raising children, and when things get really messy and challenging, I see a path where I can do that as well because I have been able to watch and learn from these women as leaders, co-workers, administrators, and mentors.
