Executive Associate Athletic Director (Retired)

University of Michigan

Fritz Seyferth has a long and distinguished career both in collegiate athletics and the corporate environment with a proven track record of demonstrating his passion for maximizing potential.  Mr. Seyferth offers a unique mix of athletic and business expertise that has been gained in work with his clients, his collegiate and professional football experiences, Industrial/Operations Engineering and MBA degrees, consulting careers with BF Goodrich and Arthur Young & Company, 21 years in leadership with the University of Michigan Athletic Department, and leadership positions in industry.  Mr. Seyferth has demonstrated resourcefulness and creativity in the start up of five departments, and three companies.  All of these start-ups surpassed goals, while bringing together non-traditional resources to realize potential, at the same time making the successes an enjoyable experience.  Mr. Seyferth brings a passion for focusing on individuals and organizations realizing their potential. 

Mr. Seyferth spent 21 years with the University of Michigan athletic department, of which he spent his final seven years as the executive associate athletic director within the athletic department responsible for the Department’s $47 million budget, strategic planning, and operation. 

During his distinguished tenure at Michigan, Mr. Seyferth served as chief financial officer, sports administrator, facility administrator/ticket operations, director of development, external relations, and corporate sponsorship as well as director of football operations and recruiting.  Mr. Seyferth was responsible for all corporate marketing and promotions; ticketing operations; alumni relations; information technology; football academic support and budgetary/staffing responsibilities for nine varsity sports.

Among his many accomplishments at Michigan, Mr. Seyferth was responsible for the incubation of an internet software company that spun out of athletics into its own business entity.  Mr. Seyferth implemented a “zero-based” budgeting system for all departments in order to gain control of expenses and plan for revenues.  Mr. Seyferth was instrumental in fundraising and development at Michigan, where he developed a new annual giving program and raised gifts and pledges by $45 million in eight years, as well as raising $27.8 million in facility improvements for five separate campaigns.

Other accomplishments include development of UM’s comprehensive marketing and promotions program; creation of football recruiting program and implementing an enhanced academic support system and mentoring program for the football program.

Mr. Seyferth, a three-year letter-winner in football at Michigan with a degree in industrial and operations engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Connecticut begin his corporate career with the B.F. Goodrich Company.  In developing “fast track” personnel development program at B.F. Goodrich, Mr. Seyferth created their first cooperative education program, developed multi-million dollar plant expansions throughout North America, and developed a computer-based maintenance planning and scheduling system.  Following his tenure at B.F. Goodrich, Mr. Seyferth worked at Arthur Young & Company, leading CFO executive search for their corporate clients, conducting Fortune 500 operational audits, and assisting in writing Management by Objectives with Donald Law.

Mr. Seyferth has been an active member of the Ann Arbor community, serving on the board of directors for the Ann Arbor Commerce Bank and Libralter Plastics, Inc., as well as director of the Ann Arbor Convention & Visitors Bureau and Ann Arbor Rotary Club.  Mr. Seyferth, who earned the Spirit Award from the Spectrum Prevention & Treatment Services Community Citizen and Distinguished Alumni Award from the Greater Detroit Alumni Club, and is a member of the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor. 

Following his tenure at Michigan, Mr. Seyferth founded Innovative Leather Technologies a state-of-the-art leather finishing company, lead a $100 million fundraising effort with the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center as its director of development and founded Fritz Seyferth & Associates a corporate consulting company.

Mr. Seyferth and his wife Lynn, a registered physical therapist, have three children, Sean a stockbroker in Chicago; Courtney a personal trainer in Chicago and Nicholas, a custom home builder in Ann Arbor.