Jill Bodensteiner

Vice President and Director of Athletics, Saint Joseph’s University

Jill Bodensteiner is in her seventh year as Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia after serving for 20 years at her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. She is leading the Hawks’ nearly 500 student-athletes who compete in 21 NCAA Division I sports and the Campus Recreation Department. During her time on Hawk Hill, Bodensteiner has developed a holistic approach to college athletics with a comprehensive focus on the field, in the classroom, on campus, and as an industry leader.

Under her guidance, Bodensteiner has built a foundation that has led to competitive excellence. During 2021-2022, a school record three teams advanced to their respective NCAA Championships – field hockey, women’s lacrosse, and men’s lacrosse (earned its second NCAA bid in 2024). In 2022-23, field hockey won its first NCAA tournament game, and baseball won its first regular season conference championship since 1974. In 2023-24, the men’s and women’s basketball teams swept the Big 5 Championships, going undefeated against city foes. Both teams also participated in the postseason, with the men receiving an invitation to the NIT and the women to the inaugural WBIT. In 2024-25, the field hockey team capped an amazing postseason run to become the first team in any sport in St. Joe’s history to compete in the national championship game.

Bodensteiner has helped lead an $80 million transformation of the recreation and athletic facilities on Hawk Hill, including a comprehensive renovation of the O’Pake Fitness & Recreation Center; the opening of the Maguire Athletic Center, including a new basketball training facility; a new turf field at Ellen Ryan Field; and new lights at Sweeney Field.

Bodensteiner joined the Hawks after a 20-year career at her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. After spending her first 10 years as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel, Bodensteiner moved into Notre Dame Athletics in July 2009, where she was responsible for governance, legal issues, and the department’s sport administration program. Bodensteiner served as the sport administrator for Notre Dame women’s basketball program, which reached six final fours in her nine years with the program.

Bodensteiner has provided significant leadership within intercollegiate athletics. She is currently a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and the Committee on Academics. Bodensteiner’s previous service includes the NCAA’s Federal and State Legislative Working Group, the Committee on Women’s Athletics, and the Board of Directors of Women Leaders in College Sports. Bodensteiner is a sought after speaker on legal issues in intercollegiate athletics, and was one of two athletic directors in the country invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in an October 2023 hearing on the future of college sports. Bodensteiner was appointed to the Valparaiso University Board of Trustees in January 2025.

Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, Bodensteiner received her undergraduate degree and her MBA from Notre Dame, and her JD from Washington University in St. Louis.