Neese is in year No. 30 as Director of Athletics at Hardin-Simmons, which is the longest anyone has held that post in the history of the school. He was promoted to Associate Vice-President for Athletics in 2023. He is also a member of the administrative council at HSU.
He started his career at HSU as the Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director a role he had from 1995-97 before taking over as the director of athletics. He spent eight years in the television industry prior to that.
Responsible for the athletic department that features 19 intercollegiate teams plus athletic training, HSU Spurs and HSU cheer. He has hired every coach currently on staff.
HSU has won 93 American Southwest Conference titles, far and away the most in the conference. During his tenure, HSU has had 76 teams appear in the NCAA Tournament.
Has had 35 cross country, track, golf and tennis players qualify as individuals for the NCAA Championship. The 2010 women’s soccer team became the first HSU team to win a national championship at the Division III level.
In 2017, he was named the Under Armor Division III Athletic Director of the Year.
The HSU student-athletes have held a collective 3.0 or better GPA for 41 of the last 43 semesters. HSU has had over 2,000 athletes earn all-ASC status and over 2,200 named academic all-ASC. Ashley Huston won the Honda Award as the top female student-athlete in Division III for the 2008-09 school year.
HSU has added softball, track and cross country and cycling programs under his watch.
He has long maintained the importance of top-notch facilities for the athletic programs. Recent updates include: covered benches and a press box at soccer, an indoor hitting facility for baseball, total renovation of the Sandefer Fieldhouse weight room for athletes with new equipment, new scoreboard at Ellis Field and a renovated meeting room in the Soccer Fieldhouse.
In his tenure, HSU has built: Grape Street Complex which includes softball, track and field and men's and women's soccer. There are two soccer fields, a fully-functional track and field complex and Lou Morton Ellis softball field along with two fieldhouses and a full sports medicine clinic. The Streich Tennis Center – a state of the art facility with covered seating and scoreboard. The Tommy Hale Short Game Center – a first of its kind in Division III in Texas.There have also been numerous upgrades to Shelton Stadium, Mabee Complex, John J. Hunter Field and Sandefer Fieldhouse. HSU has video boards at Shelton Stadium and in the Mabee Complex, home of HSU basketball and volleyball.
He has been an active member on three high-profile NCAA Committees. He was on the NCAA Division III Football Committee (started on the regional advisory committee and worked his way to the chair of the national committee in 2004), the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Committee (started on the regional advisory committee and worked his way to the chair of the national committee in 2010) and recently ended a four-year run on the NCAA Championships Committee.
He also has served or is currently serving as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, Meals on Wheels, Civic Abilene and the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame Committee.
He is married to the former Melissa Lohnes, who has two degrees from HSU. They have a daughter, Annabelle. Neese has three degrees from HSU – a bachelor’s in public communication, a master’s of education in counseling and human development and a doctorate of education in leadership.
