The University of Alaska Anchorage welcomes a new leader for its 13-team athletics program in 2026-27 as Michael Bazemore takes over as Director of Athletics.
For the past five years, Bazemore had been the director of athletics at fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference institution Montana State Billings, where he oversaw 14 NCAA Division II varsity sports. Prior to that, he was the assistant director of Academic and Membership Affairs at the NCAA in Indianapolis.
Bazemore has held multiple positions in college athletics throughout his career, including at Metropolitan State University, Truman State University and the University of Sioux Falls. Throughout his career, Bazemore has been an advocate for student-athlete well-being, while working to ensure the success of his programs as a whole.
"Michael’s vision, leadership and breadth of experience at all levels of intercollegiate athletics make him an outstanding choice to lead Seawolf Athletics,” said UAA Chancellor Cheryl Siemers. “His familiarity with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and his deep expertise in compliance position him to make an immediate impact at UAA. As a former student-athlete, he understands firsthand what it takes to support our Seawolves in competition, in the classroom and beyond.”
Under Bazemore’s leadership at MSUB, the athletic department maintained an academic standard of a 3.2 departmental grade-point average while graduating upwards of 85 percent of eligible student-athletes annually. Along with unprecedented accomplishments by the Yellowjackets’ teams, he spearheaded facility upgrades that enhanced both MSUB’s soccer facility and primary basketball/volleyball gymnasium.
After serving a variety of roles during his first stint at MSUB from 2012-16, the Philadelphia native gained experience in both sport supervision and compliance at Truman State and MSU Denver. At the NCAA national office from 2018-21, he was responsible for bylaw interpretations for member institutions, processing legislative relief waivers, and was the primary contact for the Division II institutional performance program. He also served as an NCAA liaison to the D-II Membership Committee, D-II Championships Committee, and Division I Football Oversight Committee with primary oversight of the Student-Athlete Connection group.
Bazemore holds two bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University, where he was a defensive starter for the Spartans’ football team and an Academic All-Big Ten performer. He also holds a master of science in sport, recreation and fitness management from MSU Billings.
Bazemore and his wife Jaime are the parents of two children, daughter Maxi and son Major.
He is UAA's 10th athletic director since the institution gained NCAA member status in 1977.
