Rachel Fineberg was hired as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations / Senior Woman Administrator on July 1, 2025.
Previously, she served in numerous roles at Nova Southeastern University for nearly eight years, including as the Assistant AD for Academic Services, the SWA and Title IX Coordinator and the Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Support Services. In her role at NSU, she oversaw areas related to student-athlete academic success, student-athlete development, NCAA compliance, diversity, equity and inclusion and worked closely with many campus partners to allow for a seamless student-athlete experience. Additionally, Fineberg acted as the sport administrator for multiple programs.
Under her leadership, Fineberg restructured academic support systems and Shark student-athletes achieved record breaking GPAs each year of her tenure, with improved graduation rates and an increase in academic accolades. She also implemented numerous career development programs for student-athletes, oversaw the annual Sharky’s Awards show, the Student-Athlete Welcome Back programming and created the New Student-Athlete Orientation. In addition, she revamped NSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), ultimately being recognized by the NCAA in 2023 with the D2 Award of Excellence for community engagement and student-athlete leadership.
During her time as a member of the executive leadership team and sport administrator for the athletic department, Shark student-athletes also reached new heights in the field of play, winning multiple NCAA Division I I national championships, regional championships and conference championships.
She joined the Sharks after spending the three years prior in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University, where she sharpened her skill set in a pair of key roles. Most recently, Fineberg took on the opportunity to work more closely with a team as the Director of Operations & Player Development for the Owls’ men's basketball program.
Fineberg’s tenure at FAU began in January 2015 as the Associate Director for the Student-Athlete Center for Academic Excellence, assisting with the management of all facets of FAU’s comprehensive academic support and life skills program, while aiding in the daily operation of the center as a member of the executive team. Her teams at FAU earned Conference USA and National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence honors, while one of her student-athletes was also selected for CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition.
Prior to arriving at FAU, she served as an Assistant Director of Student Services for Athletes at the University of Delaware, working with the men's basketball, baseball and softball programs and coordinating student-athlete development programming. She has also held positions at Florida State as the Assistant Director of Educational Services, working directly with the football program, and Georgia State as a Student-Athlete Development Advisor and Tutorial Coordinator.
Fineberg is an active member both The National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) and Women Leaders in College Sports (WLCS), completing the N4A Professional Development Institute for Leaders / Managers in 2014 and the WLCS Institute for Administrative Advancement in 2018.
A native of State College, Pa., Fineberg began her career as an educator teaching mathematics after earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State in Mathematics and her Master’s from Tennessee in Sport Management.
