The University of Mississippi Athletics
Long-Time Administrator David Wells To Retire
4/8/2011 | Athletics
April 8, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. - After 37 years of devotion to Ole Miss as a player, coach and administrator, David Wells will retire from his post as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Student Services, effective May 31.
"The senior compliance officer has one of the toughest jobs in collegiate athletics," said Pete Boone, Ole Miss Director of Athletics. "Rules are complex and the interpretations change over time. Education, training and interpretation of rules for coaches and staff are a tedious and relentless responsibility. David currently is a member of the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement committee which hears all eligibility appeals. He is most highly regarded within the staffs of the SEC and NCAA organizations.
"David Wells has excelled in his chosen field of work because of his commitment to Ole Miss and to collegiate athletics. Spending most of his career in the compliance department has enabled him to parlay his experience into an unparalleled wisdom of the NCAA and SEC rules. We will miss him both personally and professionally."
Wells spent the past three decades serving the needs of Ole Miss student-athletes, managing academic support services for 13 years before directing the compliance office for the last 17.
"Ole Miss has provided me with some wonderful opportunities for which I am grateful," Wells said. "I appreciate all those who have supported me personally and contributed so much to the development of this great institution. I look forward to serving in other capacities so that future generations of students will have similar opportunities."
Wells began his association at Ole Miss as a student-athlete, lettering with the football team 1963-65. He was a member of the Rebels' 1963 SEC Championship football team and participated in three bowl games, including the 1964 Sugar Bowl in which he was the team's leading receiver. As a senior, Wells was selected to the All-SEC Academic team.
After a brief stint in the NFL, Wells returned to Oxford to help coach the Rebel freshman football team for two seasons, before serving two years with the U.S. Army. Upon his discharge, he coached for two successful years in his hometown of Madisonville, Ky., before joining the staff at the University of Kentucky. In 1976, the Wildcats were SEC Co-Champions and Peach Bowl Champions.
Wells returned to Ole Miss as an assistant coach in 1977, the year the Rebels upset eventual National Champion Notre Dame. In 1981, Wells became the director of the academic support, and in 1991, he was selected as the University's Outstanding Staff Member in the administrative/management category.
In 1994, Wells assumed his latest position of compliance director. He was presented the Outstanding Assistant A.D. Award by the All-American Football Foundation in 2002.
Wells holds both a B.A.Ed. and a M.S.S. in history from Ole Miss. He is a retired Lt. Colonel (Army Reserve) and has been inducted into the Ole Miss Army ROTC Hall of Fame. He has served as an advisor to the M-Club for the past three decades.
He is married to the former Keren Everett (BA '67) of Greenwood and they have four children, Warren, Ashley, Matt, and Jason, three of whom have graduated from Ole Miss.