Grace was named the department's Deputy Athletic Director for Compliance and NCAA Governance, May 17, 2021.
Possessing an extensive background built from all facets of intercollegiate compliance, Grace's career includes more than 15 years in the law profession, six years in NCAA Division I compliance in the Big East and Big Ten conferences, as well as NCAA National office experience as a post-graduate intern with enforcement.
Grace joined Mason after serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance for Villanova since July 2017. In this role, he managed NCAA, Big East Conference, and University rules compliance for coaches, staff, student-athletes, and stakeholders for the men's basketball, women's basketball and women's soccer programs. Additionally, he served as the sport administrator for the Wildcats' women's soccer program.
A leader in the athletic department, Grace took on additional committee roles. He was the executive director for Villanova's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and served on Villanova's Professional Sports Career Counseling Panel, managing procedures for student-athletes entering the professional drafts for the NBA, NFL, MLS and WPSL leagues.
The Columbia, Maryland, native is a five-year member of the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) Legislative and Governance Subcommittee, which conducts in-depth reviews of annual legislative proposals and provides feedback to the NCAA. A two-year member of the NCAA Transfer Portal Advisory Group, Grace advises NCAA staff on operations and enhancements to make the application more effective, efficient for the student-athletes and coaches.
Before Villanova, Grace was the Director of Compliance for two years at Rutgers University. Grace was the lead compliance contact for six varsity Scarlet Knight athletic teams including women's basketball, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, gymnastics, softball and men's track & field.
Grace began his career in compliance at the NCAA national office as a Post-Graduate Intern for Enforcement from June, 2014 until April, 2015. During this internship, he investigated and processed Level I, II, and III infractions of NCAA bylaws at Division I, II, and III institutions.
Before getting involved in college athletics, Grace worked for 15 years as a lawyer, congressional counsel, and lobbyist in Washington, D.C. His last seven years in D.C., were as Vice-President & General Counsel at a prominent lobbyist firm.
Grace earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Syracuse University in May, 1994. In addition to being a Dean's List student, he was a four-year member of the men's soccer team and served as a team captain as a senior in 1993. He went on to earn a Law Degree from Syracuse in 1997.
