Yvonne Wade is Nevada State University’s first Director of Athletics. Prior to joining Nevada State, she served as the Director of Athletics at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) from July 2023, following her tenure as Assistant Athletic Director from 2021 to 2023. Prior to her leadership role at CSN, she spent 14 years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where she served as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country beginning in 2007. During her time at UNLV, she was a three-time Mountain West Coach of the Year, guiding her teams to multiple conference championships and helping numerous student-athletes compete at the NCAA Championships, Olympic Trials, and Olympic Games. Her programs consistently excelled both on the track and in the classroom, earning All-Academic honors, maintaining high team GPAs, and achieving strong graduation rates.
As an athlete, Wade was a standout at the University of Colorado, where she won multiple Big Eight Conference championships and NCAA All-American status. She was inducted into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Internationally, she represented Japan at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games and was an eight-time national champion in the 100-meter hurdles. She held the Japanese national record in the event for more than 20 years, originally set in 1996.
With a lifelong passion for mentorship, leadership, and empowering young people, Yvonne Wade continues to champion causes and initiatives that provide opportunities and support for the next generation of student-athletes.
She and her husband, Larry Wade, have two sons, Jordan and Brandon.
