SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Amy Hankelman has been named acting Director of Athletics at Dominican University of California. Henkelman, who currently serves as Associate Director of Athletics and Compliance Officer, replaces Brandon Leimbach, who is returning to his Colorado roots to join Buffalo Sports Properties (BSP), a property of Learfield Sports, as the senior account executive. BSP is the official media rights holder for the University of Colorado Athletics.

"Brandon Leimbach has been a dynamic leader as Dominican Athletics continues to grow in strength and quality. We were fortunate to benefit from his enthusiasm, and wish him and his family well," said Dominican President Mary B. Marcy. "We are also fortunate to have an individual of Amy Henkelman's professionalism and dedication ready to step in and lead the program. Dominican Athletics is improving on all fronts, and Amy is the right person to continue that trajectory."

Leimbach joined Dominican in 2013 from Colorado School of Mines (CSM), where he served as Associate Director of Athletics. Not long after he arrived at Dominican, Leimbach recruited Henkelman from CSM, where she had served as Assistant Director of Athletics for recreational sports since January 2011.

"To think of all the work that our team has accomplished in the past two years at Dominican is incredible and it's going to be hard to leave such a great team," Leimbach said. "When the opportunity came about to work for Learfield Sports on a Pac-12 campus in Colorado at an institution I've always admired, I knew it was something that I had to do both professionally and for my family. I'm grateful for my time at Dominican and wish everyone there the best of luck."

Prior to joining CSM, Henkelman held a number of positions over the span of eight years at Indiana University South Bend, including Assistant Director of Athletics and interim Director of Athletics. Since joining Dominican, Henkelman has supervised Dominican's 11 intercollegiate sports programs and directed the day-to-day operations of the University's athletics and recreational facilities.

"I am excited to take this leadership role and will continue to improve Dominican Athletics," Henkelman said. "We have a great administrative team and coaching staff in place and I look forward to leading the Penguins to new heights."

While at Dominican, Leimbach launched initiatives to move the athletics program forward in NCAA Division II and the PacWest Conference while retaining the program's emphasis on aligning academic and athletic excellence. Under his leadership, Dominican's student athletes won a record-setting fifth consecutive PacWest Academic Achievement award. In 2013-2014, Dominican athletics posted the highest GPA in program history. Leimbach led an outstanding 2013-2014 campaign as the Penguins experienced their best season since becoming members of Division II, with eight teams having their best-ever finish. Leimbach also oversaw a number of key improvements to athletics facilities, including the construction of Penguin Field, Dominican's new softball field, and the renovation of the Conlan Center's weight room.

Henkelman's duties at CSM included supervision and leadership of full-time staff members as well as 200 student employees; management of the department's financial operations; direction and scheduling of student recreation programming and facilities; and coordination of game day event management for men's and women's basketball and volleyball.  Henkelman also served as facility director for the 2012 Men's Basketball NCAA Central Regional Championships, and assisted with several Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship tournaments. Her efforts were an integral part in CSM garnering its first RMAC All-Sports Competition Cup title in 2011–12.

At IU South Bend, Henkelman was responsible for everything from compliance to club sports to the University's Student-Athlete Mentor Program and Life Skills program. An active NACDA member, Henkelman earned her BS in Psychology from University of Wisconsin-Stout and an MA in Sports Administration from Central Michigan University. While attending Central Michigan, Henkelman worked in the University Recreation department. She also interned at Byron High School in Byron Center, Michigan, where she oversaw facility scheduling and game operations and management. 

Located in San Rafael, California, 11 miles north of San Francisco, Dominican sponsors 11 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports that compete in the PacWest Conference — men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer, and women's softball, tennis, and volleyball — plus men's lacrosse (MCLA). The Penguins have won the Pacific West Conference Academic Achievement Award for five consecutive years.