Description
David M. Roberts was appointed interim director of athletics on September 9, 2019. He provides strategic direction and administrative oversight for the athletics department, including the university’s 21 women’s and men’s athletic teams.
Roberts previously served as USC’s first vice president for athletic compliance from 2010 to 2017. He was responsible for managing all aspects of USC’s athletics compliance with NCAA, Pac-12 and university rules and regulations, working closely with the director of athletics. During his tenure, USC’s compliance program received national recognition as one of the best in the country. He has been special advisor to the president on issues of athletic compliance since 2017.
Roberts has been a member of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions since 2015 and is currently the COI’s Vice-Chair. He has also served on numerous NCAA Working Groups, including the Enforcement Working Group, Rice Commission Enforcement/Infractions Working Group, and D-I Interpretive Process Working Group. The National Association for Athletics Compliance recognized Roberts with the 2017 Frank Kara Leadership Award, the highest honor awarded to compliance professionals.
Prior to his appointment at USC, Roberts practiced law as a litigator in complex commercial cases for more than 30 years. He was a partner with the law firm Paul Hastings LLP and the founding and managing partner of law firm Roberts, Raspe & Blanton LLP. He is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of California, the Federal District Courts in California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He began his career as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge A. Andrew Hauk.
Roberts received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Davis and his J.D. from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. While at UC Davis, he was named to the 1972 American Football Coaches Association Kodak Small College All- America Football Team. He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
