Southeast Missouri Athletics has reached unprecedented success under the leadership of Brady Barke.
Barke, who was elevated to Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics on May 4, 2023, is in his 10th year leading SEMO’s Department of Athletics. He began his tenure in 2008 as Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance & Eligibility before being named Senior Associate to the President and Secretary to the SEMO Board of Governors in 2013 and then interim Director of Athletics in 2015.
Since 2019-2020, every SEMO program has earned at least one conference championship. In all, the Redhawks have won 37 Ohio Valley Conference titles, more than any school in the league over that stretch. In 2024-25, Redhawk teams combined for seven OVC championships. As a result of its competitive success, SEMO won its third OVC Commissioner's Cup in five years.
Academically, SEMO's Department of Athletics celebrated more success in 2024-25. The Redhawks recorded a department GPA of 3.44 in the fall semester and closed out the year with a 3.42 GPA during the spring term. All of SEMO's teams had a 3.0 or higher GPA in both semesters.
SEMO broke a school record with 47 OVC Medals of Honor and placed a record 202 student-athletes on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll a year ago, as well.
During the 2022-23 season, SEMO hoisted its second OVC Commissioner’s Cup trophy after winning eight conference championships.
In 2020-21, SEMO secured its first-ever OVC Commissioner’s Cup, the league’s ultimate symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships.
While competing in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic, the Redhawks won five OVC titles and one national championship. Women’s tennis (regular-season), softball (regular-season), women’s outdoor track & field and baseball (regular-season and tournament) all celebrated OVC championships, and gymnastics won the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championship.
All that success came after the Redhawks were on track to win the OVC Commissioner’s Cup the previous year. In 2019-20, SEMO was in first place following the winter championships before the remainder of the year was canceled and the honor was not awarded due to COVID.
SEMO completed its remarkable 2020-21 campaign with a 93-42-1 (.688) record in conference regular-season play for its highest OVC regular-season winning percentage in school history. The Redhawks were also the only OVC school that qualified for every conference championship event in 2020-21, the best season in SEMO’s NCAA Division I history.
Barke has built a culture that thrives on academics just as much as it does on competitive success.
Academically, SEMO’s athletic teams are strong every year under Barke's leadership.
Overall, SEMO student-athletes are graduating at a rate of 92%. Even more impressive is that every student-athlete which came to SEMO in 2019 left with a degree and at least one conference championship.
Redhawk student-athletes overcame an enormous amount of adversity and disruption brought on by a global COVID-19 pandemic to close out the 2019-20 academic year with a Department of Athletics record 3.53 spring grade point average.
That mark was the highest GPA of any semester for the Redhawks who had a total of 12 teams achieve a 3.21 or higher GPA in the spring term alone.
Also, five different programs, including gymnastics (3.82), women’s soccer (3.78), women’s basketball (3.42), men’s basketball (3.26) and football registered their highest semester GPAs ever.
The 2025-26 campaign marks SEMO’s eighth year with Under Armour. Barke reached a multi-year agreement with the Baltimore-based global leader in performance footwear, apparel and equipment that made Under Armour the official outfitter of SEMO Athletics on July 1, 2018.
As part of the multi-year agreement, Under Armour provides on-field and training gear for 15 sports. In addition, Under Armour outfits members of the athletic department including coaches and staff.
Barke secured bids to host SEMO’s first home football playoff games. He helped the University reach a collaborative partnership with Mercy Health (formerly SoutheastHEALTH). Under the agreement, Mercy Health orthopedic and sports medicine physicians provide orthopedic, primary medical care, athletic training and physical therapy services, and invest in the University by providing diagnostic equipment and athletic training supplies, as well as scholarships for students.
More recently, Barke has been the driving force behind the Houck Project, SEMO’s multi-million state-of-the-art renovation of Houck Field which has been an icon for over 90 years. Phase One of the Houck Project was completed prior to the 2023 season.
The completed first phase included the demolition of the original south grandstand structure and construction of a new south sideline, construction and replacement of the south sideline and grandstand of Houck Field as well as new seating, turf replacement, concession stands, restrooms, ADA access and associated HVAC, mechanical and other systems work.
Future phases of the project will include construction of a new central ticketing office and press box with working and premium seating areas. The North Sideline, where the walls of the limestone quarry will be uncovered to create a one-of-a-kind setting and fan experience that is uniquely Southeast Missouri, will eventually be complete with its own concessions, restrooms and fan amenities.
The full Houck Project will offer not only improved athletic facilities but also needed academic spaces. Construction of a building in the east end zone may include several laboratories as well as spaces for sports medicine and athletic training, football operations and premium seating areas for gameday.
New Formetco digital video scoreboards were installed at both Houck Field and the Southeast Softball Complex under Barke’s leadership.
A 4,000-square foot baseball training facility was completed prior to the 2020 season. The $400,000 indoor facility can fit up to four batting cages.
Barke's latest head coaching hires include Briley Palmer (women's basketball) and Steve Brooks (women's tennis) who joined the athletics staff in 2024-25. Meanwhile, the 2025-26 season will mark the first for John Klein who Barke named as the next head women's soccer coach.
Before that, he hired Brad Korn as the Redhawks head men’s basketball coach on Mar. 24, 2020, while navigating through the challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During his first year in 2016-17, Barke introduced Andy Sawyers as the Redhawks head baseball coach and worked tirelessly on two major renovation projects.
Nearly a month after Sawyers was hired, Southeast Missouri State and the City of Cape Girardeau officially broke ground on Capaha Field. New synthetic turf, new fencing and a digital scoreboard in the outfield were added as part of the $1.8 million project that was completed before SEMO’s season-opener.
Head Coach Ashley Lawson orchestrated a big turnaround in SEMO women’s gymnastics, while previous Women’s Tennis Coach Mary Beth Gunn was Barke’s other hire.
On Feb. 3, 2017, SEMO formally dedicated Holcomb Success Center. To honor the long-time service and philanthropy of Dr. John and Judy Holcomb, the University named the facility the Holcomb Success Center located in the Student Recreation Center-South. Indoor turf, weights, equipment and lifting platforms were added as part of the renovation at a cost of $500,000. The facility now has more space and equipment to handle SEMO’s larger teams or multiple teams training at the same time. Barke helped secure the Holcombs gift, the largest single cash gift in SEMO Athletics history. Major improvements were also made to the second floor of the building where athletic academic services are housed. This space provides student-athletes with places to study and features a computer lab with 30 work terminals and rooms for group meetings. Staff members assist student-athletes with life skills development, academic advising and academic progress toward degree requirements and NCAA eligibility.
Additional renovations have been made to the nutrition area that serves as a fueling station for SEMO student-athletes at the Holcomb Success Center.
Fundraising continues to increase under Barke’s direction.
The 2018-19 campaign marked the highest level of giving to the Redhawks Club general fund in 15 years.
Barke also worked with donors to establish two new endowed scholarships for student-athletes and raised over $60,000 to support the SEMO football program and summer school scholarships.
More than $300,000 in pledges for the Redhawks Club unrestricted booster fund has been raised with Barke as Director of Athletics.
Improved branding has been a priority. Redhawk banners, S-E! M-O! billboards, Welcome to Redhawk Country and Redhawks yard signs are prominently displayed all over Cape Girardeau.
On July 1, 2020, SEMO unveiled refreshed spirit marks, including a new primary logo, wordmark and variations for its 15 athletic programs. The new brand identity will allow SEMO’s athletic teams to display consistent logos, lettering and numerals, and is independent of the existing University marks.
A year later on July 1, 2021, SEMO partnered with Affinity Licensing to manage its trademark licensing program. As part of the agreement, Affinity Licensing will act as the exclusive agency to manage the University’s consumer products licensing relationships with manufacturers and retailers.
Barke helped develop the Redhawks Trivia Night & Auction, a sold out event that generated over $300,000 in net revenue over seven years. In addition, he launched the Redhawks BRIDGE program which provides student-athletes with both leadership and life skills experiences through interactive programming that will prepare them to be successful in life after athletics.
He previously worked as a governance intern with the NCAA national headquarters in Indianapolis, and as a law clerk with the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Department of Athletics Compliance Office.
Barke has served as a member of the National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), chaired the NAAC Education Committee, and was a member of the NAAC Board of Directors. He has facilitated the NCAA Regional Leadership Academy and served on both the NCAA Sports Wagering Task Force and the Olympic Sports Liaison Committee.
He has a juris doctorate degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law, an MBA from Southeast Missouri State University, and a bachelor of science degree in biology from Webster University. While a student at Webster, Barke was a member of both the basketball and golf teams and was inducted into the Webster Athletics Hall of Fame.
Barke won the 2021-22 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Cushman & Wakefield AD of the Year Award becoming only the second AD in the OVC to earn the prestigious honor.
He and his wife, Halley, are parents of three children, Mabrie, Jackson, and Kolbe.
