University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Jackson Returns As Deputy AD for Philanthropy & Engagement
1/6/2026 10:44:00 AM | General
PITTSBURGH – Pitt Athletic Director Allen Greene announced the hire of Leon Jackson III as Deputy Athletics Director for Philanthropy & Engagement on Tuesday. Jackson, who previously worked at Pittsburgh from 2019-22 as Associate Athletics Director for Major Gifts, will begin his duties on Monday, January 12.
"The Panther Club has a responsibility to harness the passion of Pitt alumni and supporters everywhere and encourage them to lean in, invest boldly and help us build on the foundation of Pitt's illustrious past," Greene said. "This elite organization requires an equally elite leader with an aggressive vision for the future, and Leon is the right leader to drive that charge. He knows Pitt, he understands the national landscape, and he brings the vision, experience and energy to help us expand our reach and accelerate our impact. On behalf of the entire Pitt Athletics family, I'm excited to welcome Leon, his wife Nicole, and their three children back to Pittsburgh."
Jackson returns to Pitt after serving as Deputy AD/Assistant Vice Chancellor for Philanthropy & Strategic Initiatives at the University of Colorado since 2022. In his dual role, Jackson served on both the Colorado Athletics executive team and CU Boulder's advancement leadership team.
"Nicole, Josiah, Kyndal, Isaac and I are thrilled to return to the city of Pittsburgh and rejoin the Pitt Panther Family," Jackson said. "We are in the midst of one of the most dynamic times in collegiate sports. I fervently believe the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt Athletics is poised to lead the industry in this new landscape.
"Under the visionary leadership of Allen Greene, our Panther Club team will work diligently to develop authentic and fruitful relationships with the passionate donors, alums and fans of Pitt Athletics. Their investments into our student-athletes, coaches and staff will be the catalyst for the next great era here at Pitt. H2P!"
At Colorado, Jackson oversaw all athletic advancement efforts, including annual fund solicitation strategy, budgeting, athletics campaign planning and strategy, campaign management, goal setting, letterwinners association (Alumni C Club), marketing, premium seat sales, principal and major gift donor strategy, revenue-generation strategy and operations, signature events and stewardship through the Buff Club. In addition, he served as sport administrator for the men's basketball program.
Under Jackson's leadership, the Buff Club reached unprecedented heights, aided by a revamped annual fund, the introduction of a new leadership giving initiative the Flatirons Society, and the restructuring of his unit's organizational makeup, over $115 million in cash and pledges was raised since 2022. Moreover, his team has set four of the top seven fundraising totals in the 45+ year history of the Buff Club (including a record-setting $28 million given in 2023 and $35+ million given in 2025).
Prior to his first stint at Pitt, Jackson spent the previous four years (2015-19) at Kansas State University as the Director of Annual Giving for K-State's Ahearn Fund, overseeing the department's $18.3 million annual giving unit. He directed all premium seat sale efforts (to 97 percent capacity), and managed a major gift portfolio of 90 donors in support of a near record-setting $44.4 million in giving toward KSU athletics and in support of its 450 student-athletes. For his first three years in Manhattan, he was a member on K-State's expanded senior athletic staff as the director of ticket services. In that role, Jackson led a record-setting ticketing unit and was the direct contact for football and men's basketball.
Jackson lettered four years as a quarterback and punter (2004-07) at Utah State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 2007. After two years of playing professionally in Europe, he returned to his alma mater where he joined the football staff in 2010, earned his Master of Education in 2012 and then held several different positions in the Aggies' athletic department before moving on to Kansas State in 2015.
Jackson enjoyed a solid playing career at Utah State. As a senior in 2007, he completed 65.4 percent of his passes which set a then school single-season record; he threw for 1,576 yards and nine touchdowns with only four interceptions, while rushing for 338 net yards on 142 carries and 6 touchdowns. That year, he earned second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors as a punter, averaging 41.3 yards per punt with 16 inside-the-20.
Following his collegiate career, Jackson completed a five-month internship as a legislative intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He then spent two seasons playing professional football overseas in France and Austria in the European Football League.
After he retired from football, he returned to the United States and Logan, Utah at his alma mater, where he first served as an offensive administrative assistant for Utah State's football team in 2010, and then as an external operations graduate assistant for the 2011-12 academic and athletic year. His first full time job came the next year, when he was promoted to director of events/internal operations for the athletic department in July 2012. The following June, he transitioned into ticketing as the assistant director of ticketing and customer service, and after one year in that role, he was quickly elevated to the department's senior staff as the director in that same area, overseeing the entire ticket office staff of 17 when the Aggies set a then-record of 10,700 season tickets.
A native of Los Angeles, he was an all-CIF performer at Long Beach Poly High School, which was ranked second in the nation his senior year when he was his league's Most Valuable Player. He is married to the former Nicki Felley, a four-year letterwinner on Utah State's gymnastics team and the couple has three children, Josiah, Kyndal, and Isaac.
