Jennifer Heppel was appointed as the League's fifth Commissioner on June 8, 2015 and officially took over her duties on August 1, 2015. Since being appointed, Heppel has advanced the League’s visibility through the renegotiation of its media and marketing rights, and has prioritized the League’s focus on the student-athlete experience through engagement and student-athlete health and welfare initiatives.
Heppel is a leader in national governance, representing the Patriot League within the NCAA governance structure. She currently serves on the NCAA Committee on Academics, NCAA Div. I Council, and NCAA Div. I Legislative Committee. She also has been appointed to NCAA working groups, including the NCAA Standardized Test Score Task Force (2021), Officiating Steering Committee (2019-2021), the NCAA Div. I Working Group on Transfers (2020-21), and the Div. I Interpretative Process Review Working Group (2019). Heppel serves within the Collegiate Commissioners’ Association (CCA), including as Chair of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Commissioners’ group (2020-22) and the CCA22 (FCS and Div. I subdivisions) Commissioners’ group (2021-22). She served as the FCS commissioner representative to the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel from 2017-21.
Under her leadership, the League signed a 10-year marketing rights agreement with JMI Sports in January 2020 that aligns sponsorship opportunities with the values of the League, and provides exceptional student-athlete experiences and support for the League’s 24 NCAA Div. I sponsored sports. In June 2020, Heppel led the transition of the League’s digital media rights to ESPN+, reaching a multi-year agreement that makes ESPN+ the exclusive digital home for live and archived Patriot League sporting events.
Heppel has prioritized the student-athlete voice within the League governance structure, leading a successful initiative to include student-athlete representation on the League’s Sport Management Committee. Heppel restructured the League office in order to commit a full-time staff member to promote and oversee all League student-athlete engagements and initiatives, including enhanced support of the Student-Athlete Advisory Commission, as well as the creation and support of the Student-Athletes of Color Leadership Council.
Heppel guided a collaborative initiative between League coaches, student-athletes and administrators, to announce the formation of the Patriot League Anti-Racism Commission in July 2020. The Commission will allow for a partnership across generations to assist in bridging the gap between their experiences, and enhance the understanding of the student experiences on League campuses and communities. In January 2022, the League announced a partnership with The Inclusion Playbook, a sports justice consulting group, to continue to advance the goals of the Commission.
Heppel also guided the League in its partnership with the NCAA Sports Science Institute and the United States Military Academy to host the Second Annual NCAA-U.S. Department of Defense Grand Alliance Concussion Conference in April 2018.
She came to the Patriot League after working as the Associate Commissioner for Governance at the Big Ten from 2010-2015. In that role, Heppel worked directly with the presidents/chancellors, faculty representatives and administrators in implementing the policy initiatives of the conference. She played a leading role nationally in the recent restructuring of the NCAA Division I governance system, and held the position of Secretary of the conference. Heppel also oversaw all aspects of Big Ten men's ice hockey, including representing the Big Ten on the boards of the Hockey Commissioners' Association and College Hockey, Inc.
She was first employed at the Big Ten from 1998-2005, including the last four (2001-2005) as the Associate Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement. In addition to her responsibilities in those areas, she was a member of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament management team, served as the tournament director of the 2005 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, and was the primary liaison to multiple coaches' and administrative groups, including the Big Ten Administrators Council.
Between her roles at the Big Ten, Heppel was the Associate Athletics Director for Administration at Georgetown University (2005-10) where she served on the Department's senior staff and provided employee services in the areas of staff recruiting, hiring, compensation, gender-equity analysis, performance management, and orientation. She was a member of the BIG EAST Conference Championship and Competition Committee (2006-2010) and NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee (2008-2010). Heppel also was lead sport administrator for seven teams, working closely with the head coaches to create and manage an environment conducive to both academic and competitive success, and served as the tournament manager for the 2006 and 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament games, hosted by Georgetown at the Verizon Center, in Washington, D.C.
Earlier in her career, she worked at the NCAA National Office as a Membership Services Representative and began her professional career as an assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator at the University of Hartford.
Heppel received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., where she was a member of the women's ice hockey team. Later, she earned an MBA from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pa.