Holly Sheilley, executive director of athletics, is the latest guest on the Inside UMSL podcast.

Holly Sheilley’s greatest cheerleader growing up was her mother, who encouraged her interest in athletics from a young age. 

“Even though I didn’t know it at the time, later I learned how very special it was to have a mother who wanted me to do the things that I wanted to do,” Sheilley said.

That support was instrumental for Sheilley. She was a three-sport athlete at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, and after her playing days, Sheilley built a wide-ranging career in college athletics that’s spanned more than two decades.

Sheilley accepted the position of executive director of athletics at the University of Missouri–St. Louis in August 2024 after serving as vice president for athletics and director of athletics at the University of Transylvania in Lexington, Kentucky.

On the latest episode of the Inside UMSL podcast, Sheilley joined host Nate Fleming to discuss UMSL Athletics, the importance of student-athletes being well-rounded community members and the university’s role in preparing them for the future.

“I really think the purpose of education is to be a student and to be an athlete,” Sheilley said. “Secondarily, really, athletics is co-curricular. It’s an opportunity to learn all those skills that help to promote you in life – leadership, communications, community. I mean, if we look over history and the times that student-athletes have stood up for something, it actually has ripple effects across our nation.”

As a first-generation college student herself, Sheilley is keenly aware of the opportunity before UMSL’s student-athletes and is working to help them make the most of it. Luckily, she is surrounded by UMSL faculty and staff members who are dedicated to transforming lives.

“We’re really blessed to have the staff that we have,” she said. “If you’re looking for an institution where the coach will care for you and the athletic department will care about your success, not just as an athlete but a student, I think UMSL is a really good fit.”

A joint initiative of the Office of Admissions and University Marketing and Communications, the Inside UMSL podcast launched earlier this year and features interviews covering innovative teaching, groundbreaking research, exciting extracurricular opportunities, athletics and other campus initiatives.

New episodes of the podcast are available monthly on the Inside UMSL podcast page or wherever you listen to podcasts.