UIS Athletics
Daniel Newton, Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications
SPRINGFIELD – Former University of Illinois Springfield softball player BriAnna Edgar has returned to the Prairie Stars Athletics Department. Edgar recently started her new position at UIS as an Academic Advisor for Athletics.
“I am very excited and grateful to be back at UIS in this new position,” Edgar said. “I would like to thank Director of Athletics Peyton Deterding, Nicole Hager, and Tarah Sweeting-Trotter for this amazing opportunity. I always envisioned myself coming back to my alma mater and paying it forward to the University that gave me so much when I was a student-athlete. I look forward to working with the athletics and university staff, coaches, and student-athletes to create a positive academic and athletic experience.”
Edgar has worked at UIS since September 2019 as an Office Support Specialist in the Learning Hub. Among her duties was advising undergraduate freshmen, managing the day-to-day operations of the Learning Hub, and supervising undergraduate student workers in the Office of Advising Services, Information, and Support.
During the 2018-19 school year, Edgar was a Development Graduate Assistant for the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club. She was involved in event planning for athletics contests and special events, managed a portfolio of over 25 donors, and assisted in the department increasing their scholarship dollars by seven percent. Edgar was also an intern in the UIS Athletics Department in the Summer of 2016, assisting mostly in external affairs.
As a student at UIS, Edgar was a four-year letterwinner on the UIS softball team. She appeared in 140 games during her career, and had 66 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 43 runs, and 26 RBI. As a junior, she earned the team’s Most Improved Player and Best Defensive Player of the Year awards, and a senior received the Team Leadership honor. She helped the Prairie Stars win 114 games over her career, and advanced to three GLVC Tournaments.
Edgar was a two-time member of the GLVC Academic All-Conference team, and she also served a member of the UIS Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She graduated from UIS in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical/Counseling Psychology. Edgar earned her Masters from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2019 in Kinesiology.