General | January 22, 2024

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle University Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Ashwin Puri has announced the following changes to his administrative staff.

Phil Snead, who had previously served as Associate Director of Athletics for Business Strategy and Analytics, will shift into a newly created role of Chief Athletics Operating Officer. Replacing Snead in his prior post and also joining as Senior Woman Administrator is Krystle Higgins, who most recently spent over two years as Assistant Athletic Director for Finance and Strategy at Villanova. In addition to Puri, Higgins, and Snead, Brian Frankowski, Killian Kueny, Dan Lobacz and Christine Pereira comprise the department's Senior Leadership Team.

"After reflecting on my first seven months at La Salle, it was clear that we have an incredibly passionate and talented team," Puri said. "I am thankful for the current group's efforts during a successful fall semester and I am excited to welcome our new teammates to 20^th and Olney. Together, we will support our student-athletes, coaches and staff to advance La Salle Athletics."

Snead, who began his 18th year at La Salle this fall, will now oversee facilities & operations, equipment, ticket office, and serve as liaison with University human resources and legal. He has held various roles within the department throughout his tenure. In addition to overseeing all business-related activities, Snead oversaw the facilities, equipment, and ticketing offices. He has also served as sport administrator for numerous programs.

From 2005-16, Snead served as Director of Athletic Facilities and Operations. In that role, he oversaw all the department's facilities, including Tom Gola Arena (formerly Hayman Center), DeVincent Field, McCarthy Stadium, Belfield Tennis Courts, Kirk Pool, and the West Campus Softball Field. Snead was also charged with all aspects of game management for athletic contests, from field set-up to security. 

He graduated from Temple in 2003 with his Bachelor's Degree in Sport and Recreation Management.

Higgins, who will oversee business operations and strategy, intramurals, recreation, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the department, comes to La Salle following a stint at Villanova where she supported senior administration with strategic planning and resource allocation. She managed the department's annual budget as well as the planning and forecasting process. She also assisted in the preparation and management of monthly reconciliation of revenues and expenses at the sport and departmental level, as well as the NCAA & EADA reports. 

She also sat on the UNITAS Executive Leadership Team, a group that developed a framework to build a welcoming and supportive athletic department by creating safe spaces for constructive dialogs, educational programming, and community engagement. Higgins also served as the advisor for the 13 Percent student-athlete group.

Prior to Villanova, Higgins served as the Assistant AD for Budget at Howard University, preceded by a stint as Business Coordinator at American University.

Higgins earned a bachelor's degree in business with a minor in human development from Boston College in 2013. She was a four-year member of the Eagles' volleyball team. Higgins also completed a master's degree in sports industry management at Georgetown University in 2015.