DAYTON, Ohio — Neil Sullivan was finishing up his master's degree in business administration at Robert Morris University in 2003 when he got a call from Penn State.

There was a “glorified internship opportunity” available with the Big 10 and the school wanted to know if Sullivan was interested.

“A week later, I was living in Chicago,” said Sullivan, who is a 1999 Mars High School graduate. “You do what you have to do. I slept on an air mattress and rented a room in someone else's apartment for 18 months.”

Sullivan, 35, earned a lot of valuable experience and kept climbing.

Last Friday, Sullivan was named the University of Dayton's vice president and director of athletics.

Sullivan has worked in Dayton's athletic department since 2006.

He's the youngest person to take the position at Dayton since Tom Frericks was hired at the age of 32 in 1964.

“Neil has demonstrated he has the skills and experience to build on our positive momentum in athletics and take us to even greater success,” Dayton President Daniel J. Curran said in a press release. “He is also committed to the values and mission of the university and knows that our student-athletes are students first.”

The Flyers have 16 Division I athletic programs, which mostly compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Dayton's football program, which is part of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA), plays in the Pioneer Football League.

Since landing in the Flyers' athletic department, Sullivan has served as the associate director of athletics, assistant director of athletics and director of compliance.

Becoming athletic director wasn't something he planned on.

“You never know what you want to do when you're young,” Sullivan said. “I like business, sports and education. This was a good combination.”

Sullivan also helped manage Dayton's bid for the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, helping Dayton earn hosting rights to the First Four through 2018.

“It's a collective community effort,” Sullivan said. “You have to have the financial support, ticket support, be able to host the teams and provide a championship atmosphere. It's similar to cities bidding on the Olympics on a smaller scale.”

Sullivan, who played football, baseball and basketball for the Planets, earned an undergraduate degree in exercise science from Penn State in 2002.

Sullivan likes being close to home.

His wife, Crystal, is also from Mars and they have three sons.

Sullivan feels like they found a good fit with Dayton.

“Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, the University of Dayton isn't on the top of your mind,” Sullivan said. “When you get into business, I was trying to find a school that fit a balance professionally and personally. Dayton fits that balance.”