Entering her 25th season with George Mason Athletics, Nena Rogers most recently served as the university’s Interim Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate during the 2022-23 season. Mason President Gregory Washington announced Rogers’ appointment on October 13, 2022, and Rogers successfully served in this leadership position until July 1, 2023.
Rogers, who also continued to direct the department’s academic services, was selected by Washington because of her impeccable track record of helping students thrive as both outstanding students and athletes. Washington recognized Rogers as a trusted steward during a time of transition. She was promoted in July 2023 to Deputy Athletics Director, Student Services and Performance and the Patriots' Senior Woman's Administrator (SWA).
"Nena Rogers embodies everything you want in a leader for our athletics department," said Lewis. "She's fiercely committed to and passionate about the holistic student-athlete experience that we strive to foster at Mason. It's evident from my conversations with university leaders, coaches, student-athletes, and community supporters, how much Nena is respected by so many at our University."
Rogers’ student-centered approach guided Mason Athletics to unparallel success in 2022-23. Under her direction, three different programs won Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in the spring of 2023: outdoor women’s track and field, softball and baseball. It marked the first time that three different programs celebrated championships in the same calendar year since 2014 – Masons’ inaugural year in the A-10. Softball won its first-ever conference championship, defeating Loyola-Chicago in back-to-back games, to advance to the NCAA Regional for the first time in school history under Justin Walker. Mason baseball followed – by winning the A-10 Championship for the first time since 2014 under first-year coach Shawn Camp. The baseball program reached the Regional Final for the first time in program history after impressive wins over Northeastern and Maryland – marking the first time Mason won a pair of NCAA Tournament games in school history. Additionally, the 36 totals win in a season marked the most for the baseball program since 2009. Outdoor women’s track & field, under the steady leadership of head coach Andrew Gerard, won its fifth overall championship and its first since 2019.
Rogers’ professional career has focused on the holistic approach of the student-athlete experience. In 2022-23, Mason had 20 athletics programs boast a cumulative grade point average of more than 3.0. Overall, Mason student-athletes concluded the year with a cumulative grade point average of 3.28 – better than the accumulative average of the Mason student body – whom finished with an average of a 3.17 grade point average.
Under Rogers’ direction, Mason can proudly boast 51 student-athletes who earned George Mason Provost Scholar honors in 2022-23. The award recognizes the student-athletes who have earned at least 38 credit hours and have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or better. Since Rogers was tapped to lead Mason Athletics’ academic services in 2016, 418 student-athletes have achieved Provost Scholar Athlete Award. Rogers also was the driving force behind the development of Intercollegiate Athletics’ life skills program, which focuses on student-athlete welfare by coaching students on personal growth, career development, and commitment to community service.
The former Patriots National Champion is the sports supervisor of four athletics programs: women's basketball, women's lacrosse, women's volleyball, and wrestling. Rogers serves as our athletic department's liaison at University and Atlantic 10 meetings and functions. She also manages the athletics department’s Dr. Frank Pettrone Center for Sports Performance and the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
In addition, Rogers serves as the chair of Mason Athletics’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has been newly appointed to a position on the President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence. In spring 2021, Mason was named one of just 10 Division I athletic departments to post a perfect score of 100 on Athlete Ally's Athletic Equality Index.
After graduating in 1988, Rogers returned to Mason in 1998 as the assistant coach for jumps and sprints for the women’s track and field program. In 2000, she transitioned to athletics administration.
A standout student-athlete in track and field, Rogers was a 1988 NCAA champion and Olympic qualifier in long jump. She also earned four All-America honors competing in the long jump and triple jump for Mason.
Rogers is a double-degree holder from Mason, earning her bachelor’s degree in education in 1988 and later a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in higher education.
A Virginia native, Rogers lives in Woodbridge with her husband, Dennis, and has two daughters, Maya and Kia.
