Chris McFarlane joined UCF Athletics in January 2021 as Deputy Athletics Director for External Relations and Business Development and was promoted to Deputy AD for Strategy & Competitive Success in November 2024.
In his role McFarlane will lead a new strategic competitiveness unit aimed at guiding UCF through the evolving intercollegiate athletics landscape, including key issues like revenue sharing, NIL, and the transfer portal. He is also responsible for developing and implementing strategies to establish UCF Athletics as a leader in recruitment and competitive success.
An Orlando native, McFarlane works closely with Vice President and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir as a thought partner and strategic manager, collaborating with other administrators and coaches to drive impactful results and influence core priorities for the Knights. As a key member of Mohajir’s executive leadership team, McFarlane oversees sport administration, leadership development, and annual planning.
McFarlane also oversees the UCF Convocation Corporation, a $20 million annual operations entity that includes student housing, retail spaces, Addition Financial Arena, and The Venue. Additionally, McFarlane serves as the sport administrator for men's soccer, volleyball, and women's basketball, and secondary administrator for football and men’s basketball. He also represents the Knights in Big 12 and NCAA initiatives focused on impact and inclusion.
Before joining UCF, McFarlane spent two and a half years as Executive Associate Athletics Director for Philanthropy and Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh, where he led all fundraising efforts, including a $300 million capital campaign, and managed a team of 13 professionals.
A member of the executive leadership team at Pitt, McFarlane played a key role in high-level strategic decision making for the department of athletics and its 750 student-athletes, band and spirit squads. Having dual reporting roles to both Athletics and the University Foundation, McFarlane oversaw all aspects of planning, implementation and execution of a comprehensive, coordinated, and successful fundraising program at Pitt.
Before heading to Pittsburgh, McFarlane spent five previous years at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. where he served as Associate AD for major gifts and had oversight and strategic direction of all major gifts activity and staff during a $500-plus million athletics campaign. Carrying a full portfolio of major and principal gift donors and prospects, he also served in a leadership role for all campaign and department-wide priorities as a member of the department’s senior administrative staff. Promoted three separate times during his tenure in Evanston, McFarlane also led stewardship and parent partners programming for the Wildcats. He served as a sport administrator for the men’s soccer and women’s tennis programs.
Prior to Northwestern, McFarlane led the athletics development offices at both Mount St. Mary's University (Emmitsburg, Maryland) and Loyola University Maryland (Baltimore, Maryland), bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience into his role in Evanston. He previously held the position of Senior Director of Athletics Development at Mount St. Mary's. During his tenure at The Mount, McFarlane managed all major gift, annual fund, corporate partnership and capital project initiatives to extraordinary levels of success.
A 2003 graduate of Florida State University, McFarlane holds a master’s degree in Sports Business Management as well as his MBA from UCF’s DeVos Sport Business Management program, and completed a certificate program in leadership from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management in 2016.