Cal Poly Names Uri Farkas Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development
2/27/2026 3:04:00 PM | General
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly Athletic Director Carter Henderson has named former Northern Arizona University Athletic Director Uri Farkas as its new Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development.
Farkas brings more than 20 years of experience working in collegiate athletics with him to San Luis Obispo. He spent the last eight years at NAU, including the past year as the school’s Director of Athletics. Farkas joined NAU Athletics in 2018 as Deputy Athletic Director. During his tenure, he played a key role in shaping the department's strategic direction, with a focus on record-setting fundraising, innovative revenue generation, and proactive preparation for the evolving revenue-sharing landscape in collegiate athletics. Under Farkas' leadership, NAU Athletics recorded a historic fundraising year exceeding $4 million, the highest single-year total in department history.
“I am thrilled to welcome Uri and the Farkas family to Cal Poly,” Henderson said. “Uri’s depth of experience as a successful fundraiser and a trusted college athletics administrator is profound, but what sets him apart is his passion for the student-athlete experience and his ability to develop meaningful and authentic relationships. He will be a trusted leader and an invaluable part of our strategic roadmap in the coming chapter of Cal Poly athletics, and I am confident that Mustang donors will thoroughly enjoy working with him."
Prior to his time at NAU, Farkas spent four years at Washington State as the Associate Athletic Director/Executive Director of the Cougar Athletic Fund. During that time, Farkas acted as the chief fundraiser for Washington State Athletics and its 17 intercollegiate athletic programs. He led Washington State to its largest fundraising year in history at $13.1 million in 2017 and was responsible for a 31-percent growth in generated annual revenue from 2015-17. Farkas increased the membership of the Cougar Athletic Fund 15 percent from the previous year and successfully secured capital gifts for facility projects including WSU's $60 million football operations headquarters, a $28 million indoor practice facility and $10 million baseball clubhouse.
“My sincere gratitude to President Armstrong, Carter Henderson, and Jackson Stava for the invitation to join their team,” Farkas said of being hired. “I’m humbled to serve a premiere public university with such a high value on academics and athletics.”
Before his stint in Pullman, Farkas held the title of Assistant Athletic Director for Development at the University of California-Berkeley. In addition to being a member of the senior staff, he supervised a team of major gift officers and led the collaborative efforts with University Relations and campus partners to develop numerous successful cross fundraising campaigns.
Farkas was responsible for a fundraising team that collected $8 million in committed pledges in 2014. He successfully managed a portfolio of over 150 high-rated donors and was the key liaison to Cal-Berkeley's premium sales unit that generated $2 million in in premium seat renewals for the 2015 football season.
Farkas began his career in intercollegiate athletics at the University of Oregon as the Associate Director of the Services of Student Athletes. He managed a staff of full-time employees including athletic advisors and learning specialists. He was also responsible for organizing and managing on-campus recruiting activities for the Oregon Ducks football program, including giving presentations at high-profile recruiting events.
Farkas earned his B.A. degree in Journalism at the University of Montana in 1998 and followed with an M.A degree in Sport Management from Ohio State University in 2000.
