Without Compromise

Director of athletics at Queens University of Charlotte and a former Spartan hoops star Cherie Swarthout, ’92 knows a thing or two about collegiate athletics

March 18, 2025

“Being a Spartan is the greatest connection point that you can have in this world,” said Cherie Swarthout, ’92. “There's not a Spartan out there that doesn't want to help you be successful.”

Swarthout knows a thing or two about success. During MSU's 1990-91 historic women's basketball season, she started all 29 games and, behind an average of 13 points and 6 rebounds per game, helped lead the program to its first NCAA Division I Tournament berth.                                                                                               

At the time, the tournament field was made up of 48 teams. As a 4-seed, MSU earned a first-round bye, and the opportunity to host their game—versus Oklahoma State—at Breslin Center. Those plans were foiled by a previously scheduled event at the arena.

“I believe it was a monster truck show,” said Swarthout. “So, we had to go out there and play. But it was a phenomenal back and forth. It felt like there was just one awesome play after another.”

The game required three rounds of extra time. In the end, the Cowgirls beat the Spartans 96-94 in the waning seconds of the third overtime.

After receiving her degree in physical education and exercise science, Swarthout went on to play professionally in Denmark. Soon, an opportunity to work with hall-of-fame coach Jill Hutchinson landed her at Illinois State University. She coached at ISU for 10 years, six  under Hutchinson.

“She's a legend,” said Swarthout. “And so is Illinois State's athletic department. If you look at their commitment to women in sports, the success they've had overall, it’s foundational. And I was there to experience that, day in and day out.”

After a short stint in the insurance industry, Swarthout found herself missing athletics. In 2006, she accepted a position as director of sports information at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina and hasn’t looked back.

Today, Swarthout is director of athletics at Queens, where she’s tapping into lessons learned on the court and off.

“My family were farmers, and there's a lot of correlation between being a farmer and being an athletic director,” she said. “What we do is hard, and you have to be persistent. You have to be resilient. You have to stay the course. That's what we do here.”

Swarthout believes in building the whole person. That is, nurturing the student, the athlete and the character of everyone who passes through her department. These days, that’s roughly 650 student-athletes—up from 200 when she arrived in 2006.

“I've always said you can be great at both,” she said. “You can be great in athletics. You can be great in academics—you do not have to compromise one for the other.”

This academic year, student-athlete GPAs averaged 3.44. And with a further commitment to community outreach and engagement, Queens athletes receive a well-rounded college experience.

Since joining, Swarthout has seen the university grow and expand in meaningful ways. “When I got here, we had 12 or 13 programs. Now we have 30,” she said. “Our staff was less than 20 people. We have about 115 now. We've got a lot of foundational building blocks that have been laid by many committed staff and students over the years—it is a catalyst for us to keep leveling up.”

Thanks to their growth and success, including a string of top 10 finishes in the Learfield Directors’ Cup, a national award that recognizes outstanding college athletic departments, the Queens Royals recently transitioned from NCAA Division II to Division I.

“This move to Division I gives us a different platform to tell our story and to tell it more broadly,” said Swarthout.

The transition was a big undertaking, but one Swarthout leaned into with vigor. That’s just how she lives her life. When she moved to Charlotte in 2003, she linked up with the local MSU alumni group. “I went to an event, and there were about three people there,” she said. “I knew we could do better. So, me and a lot of other really invested folks—who are still invested to this day—helped transform and re-launch the Charlotte Piedmont Alumni Club.”

Years later, when the club launched an endowment scholarship awarded to students from North or South Carolina, the group gave it a worthy name: the Swarthout Alumni Scholarship of the Carolinas. “They really surprised me by giving it my name because it did not set out to happen that way.”

After finding success at multiple universities, it’s clear that Swarthout is a Spartan for life. “The Spartan network is powerful,” she said. “Wherever you are, any place in this world, find that connection with another Spartan and your world will open up.”

 

Author: Tim Cerullo, '08