Bio

Dino L. Pollock, Esq. was hired as the Director of Athletics and Recreation on January 3, 2023. Pollock will be responsible for all aspects of Western New England University Athletics and Recreational Sports. 

Pollock is native of Chicago, Illinois and holds a bachelors degree in Political Science with an interdisciplinary minor in African American Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (May 1999). He also earned his M.S. in Sports Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (May 2001) and Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law (2008). Pollock was also a Big Ten varsity football player and letterman for the University of Illinois football team from 1986-90 where he played wide receiver and was a member of two major college football bowl teams, (All-American Bowl, 1988 in Birmingham, AL; Florida Citrus Bowl, 1990 in Orlando FL.) 

After completing his graduate degree in 2001, Pollock accepted a position with Octagon Marketing & Athlete Representation, one of the elite sports management firms in the world. In his capacity as a Regional Account Executive, Pollock created, developed, implemented, evaluated and measured integrated event marketing activities for client BMW of North America, LLC. While based in Chicago, Pollock used his expertise to consult BMW’s Central and Western Regions and BMW retail dealers on event marketing, strategic partnerships, and sponsorships. Pollock developed several innovative event marketing programs for BMW including the Ultimate Mountain Drive in Denver, CO; BMW X3 Launch Concert at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH; and the Regional Ultimate Driving Experience in several Midwest markets. In addition, Pollock was responsible for managing the BMW Central Region’s corporate hospitality sponsorship of the 2003 U.S. Open Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Pollock left Octagon to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an attorney by enrolling at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana. 

Pollock graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law on May 17, 2008 in the top half of his class, earning his Juris Doctor degree. He also received a pro bono commendation with his degree for performing over fifty hours of free legal services to the community. During the 2007-2008 academic year, Pollock served as president of the VUSL chapter of the American Constitution Society. As president of ACS, Pollock co-hosted a student forum with United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia during his visit to VUSL in October 2007. In April 2008, Pollock was one of three students awarded the Corpus Juris Secundum Award by the dean and faculty of the law school for the most significant overall contributions to the law school during their tenure as students. After graduation, Pollock served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Robert D. Rucker, Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Indiana in Indianapolis for two years where he drafted majority opinions, legal memoranda and conducted legal research for Justice Rucker. Pollock was admitted to the practice of law on October, 17, 2008 after passing the Indiana Bar Exam. Pollock was named a “Next Generation Leader” by the American Constitution Society at their 6th annual national convention in Washington D.C. The designation is awarded to twenty-five graduating law students from around the country who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in their law school chapters. He was an executive board member of the Indianapolis Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society from 2008-2010. Pollock helped to organize several ACS events in Indianapolis including a stellar panel discussion of state supreme court chief justices and an outstanding panel discussion of scholars and jurists on the legacies of Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall held in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom, the transcript of which was published in the Indiana Law Journal. Pollock was a founding member of the inaugural Summer Legal Institute in Indianapolis in 2010. Founded by the Just The Beginning Foundation in Chicago, the program is a pipeline effort to encourage disadvantaged high school students and students of color to pursue careers in the legal profession. Pollock chaired the steering committee and did much of the fundraising from the Indianapolis legal, philanthropic, and corporate communities. While in Indianapolis, Pollock was an active member of the Indiana State Bar Association as a member of the Ethics and Diversity committees. He was also an active member of the Indianapolis Sagamore American Inn of Court. He also volunteered his time with such organizations as Reach for Youth’s Teen Court program, and the We the People and Project Citizen programs of the Indiana Bar Foundation. 

After his tenure in Indianapolis, Pollock moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Charles N. Clevert, Jr., Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Milwaukee. While in Milwaukee, Pollock was an active member of the Milwaukee Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, the Thomas Fairchild American Inn of Court, the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Seventh Circuit Bar Association. After relocating back to his residence in Valparaiso after the conclusion of his clerkship in Milwaukee, Pollock maintained his high level of activity in the Chicagoland area as Vice Chair of the Chicago Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and a volunteer assistant football coach for Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., where he helped coach the Ramblers to an undefeated state championship season and national ranking in 2015. He is also a mentor/sponsor for a talented African American high school student at St. Rita High School through The Link Unlimited organization in Chicago. In July 2012, Pollock accepted a position as Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Indiana Attorney General in Indianapolis, Ind. He practiced in the Civil Litigation Section of the Litigation Division where he litigated several high profile cases while defending the State of Indiana and its executive and judicial officers and agencies. Pollock was selected to be one of 25 lawyers within the state of Indiana by the Indiana State Bar Association to participate in its second class of the Leadership Development Academy (Class II). 

Pollock left the Indiana Attorney General’s Office in January 2015 to join the NCAA Office of the Committees on Infractions (“OCOI”) as an Associate Director at the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis. In his role at the NCAA he drafted infractions decisions and appeals responses for the three divisional committees on infractions responsible for adjudicating major rules violations among the NCAA membership. Pollock also prepared bench memos for committee members to prepare them for infractions hearings and attended infractions hearings and appeals. While at the OCOI he spearheaded the Division I COI’s court technology improvement project which incorporated modern hearing technology into the NCAA administrative hearings. These improvements included dual monitors and docking stations for committee members, real-time transcription during the hearings, and a much improved case management system. Pollock also started the OCOI legal externship program partnering with several Midwest law schools to recruit talented third year law students interested in sports law to serve as legal externs in the OCOI. These externs assisted OCOI staff review and approve institutional probation reports and assisted in proofreading infractions decisions. Pollock was also active in the People of Color Employee Resource Group and helped lead Black History Month efforts while at the national office, including an event with historic track and field athlete and 1968 Olympian John Carlos. He also was appointed to the President’s Award Committee responsible for selecting NCAA staff members at the national office who best exemplify the NCAA’s core values. In 2016 Pollock was selected to participate in the prestigious NCAA Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute and the NCAA Campus Connect program in 2017. Pollock has also completed other prestigious NCAA leadership programs including the Division III Institute for Administrative Advancement and the Leadership Academy Workshop and regularly serves as a mentor in the annual NCAA Division III Immersion Program mentoring student athletes at the NCAA Convention. 

In 2017, Pollock joined the leadership team of the University of California, Santa Cruz Banana Slugs as an Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance and Eligibility. UC Santa Cruz is an NCAA Division III member. Pollock was responsible for all aspects of the Banana Slugs’ NCAA compliance and eligibility program ensuring compliance with all NCAA and institutional eligibility standards for more than 320 student athletes. Within eight months, Pollock was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics where he oversaw sports information, sports medicine, and external relations in addition to his compliance duties. Pollock was in charge of the athletics department when the Director of Athletics is out of the office or unavailable. Pollock served the Banana Slugs in many different capacities, including the review of departmental contracts and agreements in conjunction with campus counsel, initiating and completing an agreement with a new supervising team physician, and has led over a dozen coaching and staff searches for the department. He also led the effort for Slug Athletics’ first online apparel store to benefit the Athletics department. He has negotiated current agreements with BSN Sports, Presto Sports, Spry NIL portal, Kaiser Permanente Arena, and manages the Under Armour contract for the department. He spearheaded the Banana Slugs conference affiliation efforts in 2018-19 resulting in the institution joining the American Collegiate Athletic Association (“ACAA”) in fall 2019 and the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference in 2021 (“C2C”). Since joining the ACAA and subsequently the C2C, UC Santa Cruz has won four conference championships and made two NCAA postseason appearances. Overall since Pollock joined UC Santa Cruz in 2017, the Banana Slugs have won nine conference championships and teams and individuals have made 13 NCAA postseason appearances with Men’s Volleyball finishing as the national championship runner-up in 2019. Several Banana Slugs student athletes have been named All-Americans, All-District, All Conference and Academic All-Conference since 2017. 

Pollock will begin his tenure as the new Director of Athletics and Recreation at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts on January 3, 2023, where he will be the Golden Bears’ first African American athletic director in the institution’s 103-year old history.