Cherie Swarthout is the third person to lead Queens Athletics after being named the director of athletics in May of 2016. Swarthout was promoted to her new role after wrapping her 10th season with the Royals and serving as the interim athletic director during the spring semester of 2016. In the summer of 2020 Swarthout began serving as a member of the University's senior leadership team, and in May 2025, she was named one of 25 winners of the WFAE EQUALibrium Award.
As the department's leader, Swarthout has overseen sustained growth across all revenue areas—including individual philanthropy, corporate sponsorships, rental income, and the development of key partnerships that enhance the student-athlete and staff experience. This growth has consistently averaged 25% or more annually in recent years
Swarthout has encouraged her team of coaches to challenge their student-athletes to excel in the classroom, in the community, and in competition. With the importance of academics continually stressed, the Queens student-athletes have not wavered in their performance posting a 3.0 grade point average or higher for 14 consecutive seasons. The Royals posted a 3.45 grade point average during the 2023 fall semester to make it their best semester in the classroom to date and have consistently been above a 3.3 cumulative GPA since 2019. At the end of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, the Royals recorded a program best 3.45 GPA.
Additionally, Queens consistently invests back into its community in a variety of ways to make a consistent impact. “Not be served, but to serve,” is embraced by the Royals student-athletes as they bested their 7,000 hours in 2022-23 and recorded over 8,000 to set a new program record during the 2024-25 season.
Athletically, the Royals were recognized as an elite nationally recognized Division II athletic program. Queens finished in the top 10 of each Learfield Cup from 2016-2022 before making the jump to Division I ahead of the 2022-23 season.
2024-2025 Season
Following a successful 2024-25 season, Queens was notified by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors that it has been elected to active Division I status effective July 1, 2025, after successfully completing all reclassification requirements early.
The news from the Board was the highlight of a great year three in Division I that saw the Royals make 15 post-season appearances. Shining moments of the season included the men's basketball team advancing to their first post-season invitational as they competed in the CBI after reaching the semifinal round of the ASUN Championship tournament for the first time. Additionally, the men's swimming and diving team captured the department's first program ASUN Championship title while Queens' track and field program won eight individual ASUN championship titles across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Inside the classroom, 413 student-athletes held a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher and were named to the Royals Athletic Directors Honor Roll. Additionally, 346 student-athletes achieved the Athletic Gold Standard for earning a 3.7 GPA or higher for the academic year, and 65 student-athletes were named to The Athletic Royal Society for recording a perfect 4.0 GPA. Lastly, Queens Athletics saw 118 Royals receive their degrees at Commencement.
In the community, the Royals recorded nearly 7,500 hours of community service this past academic year. Multiple teams also ranked top 10 in the nation for community engagement in the Helper Helper end of year report.
2023-2024 Season
Year two in NCAA Division I proved to be yet another exciting year of growth for the Queens University of Charlotte Royals who continue to rise to the occasion. The Royals expanded their brand to new fan bases while also creating invaluable experiences for current fans, families, students, coaches, staff, and faculty within the Queens and Charlotte communities.
Queens saw 13 teams reach conference championships in their second year of DI competition as men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and softball advanced to post season play for the first time since the transition. Additionally, the Royals had three plays featured on ESPN’s “SportsCenter Top Ten” and earned their first ASUN Player and Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards. Finally, Dillon Lewis capped the year getting drafted and signed by the New York Yankees.
The Royals did not disappoint inside the classroom as they set a new benchmark in the fall semester recording a 3.45 GPA. The term GPA was the highest for the Royals since recording a 3.40 GPA in the 2020 fall semester.
One thing that did not change this season was their commitment to serving the community. Queens student-athletes recorded 8,296 hours with an 82% participation rate.
2022-23 Season
Queens competed in its first NCAA Division I season as a member of the ASUN Conference during the 2022-23 season after officially beginning the process of transition to DI on July 1, 2022.
"We celebrated many firsts in our transition from Division II to Division I," said Swarthout. "We watched the Royals rise athletically, while maintaining our academic excellence and elevating our community impact throughout the year. We have never lost focus on what is important, and our efforts are validated through our results in all three areas."
During the 2022-23 season, the Queens women's rugby team captured their first NIRA Championship while the Royals club triathlon team won their third straight USAT Collegiate Club National Championship. Altogether, the Royals made 14 appearances in postseason play, including eight appearances in the ASUN Championships. The men's swimming team captured the first DI conference championship for the Royals while also winning the CSCAA NIC. Additionally, Melanie Welsing won two ASUN Individual Championships in track & field.
In the classroom, 381 student-athletes were named to the Royals Athletic Director's Honor Roll for holding a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Of those recognized on the AD Honor Roll, 174 student-athletes achieved a 3.7 GPA or higher for the academic year giving them Athletic Gold Standard. Sixty-four student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA for the academic year earning a place in the Athletic Royal Society. Together, the Royals programs had 137 graduates walk across the stage at this spring's commencement ceremony.
In the community, the Royals logged nearly 7,000 hours of service which resulted in an economic impact of $215, 617.
2021-22 Season
The 2021-22 season was the Royals' final season competing at the NCAA Division II level as Queens officially began the reclassification process to Division I as a member of the ASUN Conference on July 1, 2022. The Royals were able to leave their mark on the Division II landscape finishing the year ranked fourth in the Learfield Directors' Cup Final Standings. It marked the fifth consecutive year that Queens had ranked in the top 10 of the standings and the second straight year that the Royals had reached the top five.
Additionally, the Royals saw one of their best years academically as the department posted a 3.39 GPA with 468 student-athletes earning a 3.0 or higher. In total, 376 student-athletes were named to the Royals Athletic Director's Honor Roll, holding a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Of those recognized on the AD Honor Roll, 184 student-athletes achieved a GPA of 3.7 or above for the academic year, giving 127 student-athletes Athletic Gold Standard recognition. Fifty-seven student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA for the academic year to earn a place in the Athletic Royal Society. The Royals also had 154 graduates walk across the stage at this spring's commencement ceremony. Additionally, the Royals ranked top five in the nation in D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards earned (234).
The Royals were active in the Charlotte community as well logging 3,416 hours which was over 11 times the number of hours from the previous season. Nationally, the Royals cracked the Helper Helper DII Top 25 for hours logged for the first time ever. The Royals also had a record economic impact of $97,505.
During the 2021-22 season, the Queens men's and women's swimming teams secured their seventh straight national championships while the women's triathlon team won its sixth national title. Additionally, the men's triathlon team repeated as national champions after having no championships for two seasons due to COVID-19. Queens also took home the combined triathlon title at the USAT Collegiate Club Championships for the second straight year.
For the year, the Royals captured 12 conference tournament championship titles and had 16 teams make NCAA Championship appearances.
2020-21 Season
For the second consecutive year, the Queens University of Charlotte student-athlete population has recorded above a 3.4 GPA posting a 3.42 for the 2020-21 season. It is also the 10th straight year that the department has recorded above a 3.0 GPA as 475 athletes earned a 3.0 or higher, displaying the Royals’ academic prowess despite the many obstacles faced during this unprecedented year for everyone.
In total, 387 student-athletes were named to the Royals Athletic Director's Honor Roll, sporting a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Of those recognized on the AD Honor Roll, 170 student-athletes achieved a GPA of 3.7 or above for the academic year to become Athletic Gold Standard honorees and 55 student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA for the academic year to earn a place in the Athletic Royal Society. The number of Athletic Royal Society members is the highest ever.
Individually, Queens’ Michael Fowler of the men’s basketball team and Jada Palmer of the women’s soccer team earned the South Atlantic Conference Elite 20 Award at their respective championship games. In addition, Martin Knauer of men’s track and field was recognized as the SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his sport while field hockey had 14 athletes recognized on the NFHCA DII National Academic Squad and four recognized as NFHCA DII Scholars of Distinction.
During the 2020-21 season, the Queens men’s and women’s swimming teams secured their sixth straight national championships while Melanie Welsing of the women’s track and field team won a national championship individually in the 100-meter hurdles. Additionally, the women’s lacrosse team made a historic run to reach the national championship game for the first time in program history and the women’s track team recorded their first top 10 team finish at the national championships.
For the year, Queens athletes earned 109 All-American honors while the Royals also captured five conference championship titles after competing for nine, and had nine teams make NCAA Championship appearances.
2019-20 Season
The Queens University of Charlotte Department of Athletics closed the fall season season ranked eighth in the Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup Final Fall Standings, the highest fall finish in department history. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was no final Learfield IMG College Directors' cup following the suspension of winter and spring sports.
During the 2019-20 season, 423 student-athletes were named to the Royals Athletic Director's Honor Roll, sporting a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher for the academic year. Of those recognized on the AD Honor Roll, 196 student-athletes achieved a GPA above 3.7 to reach Athletic Gold Standard and 42 student-athletes registered a perfect 4.0 GPA to earn a place in the Athletic Royal Society. All three groups set new benchmarks for the department and despite a COVID-19 interruption the Royals went on to record their best GPA in school history with a 3.43 to close out the 2019-20 campaign.
Individually and at the national level, nine Royals were honored on the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, while. three Royals were voted as Google Cloud Academic All-Americans. Additionally, Cross Country and Track & Field earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors, Tennis was honored as an ITA All-Academic Team, Swimming was recognized on the CSCAA Scholar Team list, and Women's Volleyball earned AVCA All-Acdemic Team honors.
At the conference level, Queens' Stephen Crotty of the men's track and field team earned the Elite 20 Award at the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Championships while Anthony Raftis was named SAC Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Allison Conn was the SAC Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season and Raftis was presented with the SAC Presidents Award the highest individual honor presented by the League.
Prior to NCAA winter championships being canceled along with spring seasons, the Royals secured eight conference championships and three regular season championships during the 2019-20 season. Queens also saw 10 teams make NCAA Championship appearances for the year while both women's triathlon and men's rugby brought home national championships in the fall. At the time COVID-19 shortened the season the Royals had six teams participating in winter NCAA Championships and had 11 number of teams ranked nationally including a No. 1 ranking from Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine by women's lacrosse.
2018-19 Season
During the 2018-19 season, a total of 325 student-athletes were named to the Royals Athletic Director Honor Roll, sporting a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher for the academic year. Of those recognized on the AD Honor Roll, 155 student-athletes achieved a GPA above 3.7 to reach the Athletic Gold Standard and 35 student-athletes registered a perfect 4.0 GPA to earn a place in the Athletic Royal Society.
Individually, four separate student-athletes were named South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year and Daniel Wallis of the men’s track and field and cross country team was also presented with the SAC Presidents Award the highest individual honor presented by the League. In addition, Kevin Barry and Allison Conn were awarded SAC Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Elite 20 Awards while Conn also earned the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Elite 90 Award.
Just as they shined in the classroom, Queens’ teams would shine in competition. After having a record setting 16 teams advance to their respective NCAA Championships, the Royals completed the year ranked fourth. It was Queens’ highest finish in program history and their fourth consecutive time completing the year in the top 10.
Highlighting the year on the field of competition was the Queens men's and women's swimming programs who each won their fifth consecutive NCAA Division II national titles after totaling 23 individual titles in the process.
Queens' triathlon program also saw repeated success as the women's team won the USAT DII National Championship for the fourth year in row. The men also won their first Collegiate Club National Championship in program history while the Royals took home the Combined Club National Championship as well as repeating as Mixed-Team Relay Champions in the process.
Track and field also found success bringing home two national titles as Felix Wammetsberger won the indoor mile championship and Ricko Meckes won the outdoor javelin throw championship.
In addition, the men's basketball team returned to the Elite 8 for the second straight year after winning back-to-back NCAA DII Southeast Regional Championships and women's lacrosse advanced to the Final Four for the first time in program history after reaching the Elite 8 three out of the last four years. The men's rugby team also made an appearance in the USA Rugby Final Four while the women competed in the Collegiate Rugby Championships.
The Royals also won 13 conference championships and had 103 all-American performances. Queens also received nine conference player of the year awards and three freshman of the year award.
2017-18 Season
For the third consecutive season, the Royals finished in the top 10 of the Learfield Directors' Cup Standings taking seventh place at the end of the season after ranking as high as third during the year. The 2017-18 season was one of the best in program history for the Royals as a record setting 14 teams made NCAA DII Championship appearances. Queens totaled a program best 668.5 points in the Standings.
The Royals men’s and women’s swimming teams won their fourth straight national titles while men’s basketball reached the national semifinals for the second time in program history and women's triathlon captured its third national title. Men’s cross country also grabbed its highest finish in program history at the championships taking sixth place, while Hannah Wolkenhauer placed the highest individually of any female from Queens at the cross country championships. Women’s soccer and softball returned to the championships for the first time in some years while men’s tennis advanced for the third straight season. Women’s tennis danced for the second time in three seasons and women’s volleyball made their second consecutive appearance. Track and field would round out the Royals’ NCAA Championship presence sending athletes to compete during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
In addition, the Royals won 13 conference championships and had 87 all-American and 106 all-region performances. Queens also received eight conference player of the year awards and had three conference freshmen of the year honorees.
Standing out in the classroom was Juan Carlos Carrillo of men’s soccer and Cammy Case of women’s lacrosse who were both named SAC Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Additionally, five Royals earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and Josh Brodowicz earned the SAC Elite 20 Award for men’s basketball.
The Department also saw 218 student-athletes named to the 2017-18 Royals Athletic Director Honor Roll while 21 were named to the Athletic Royal Society and 119 earned Athletic Gold Standard honors.
2016-17 Season
During the 2016-17 season, the Royals finished fifth in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings. The top-five finish was the highest ever for the department, and it solidified back-to-back top-10 rankings for the Royals helping Queens make its mark among NCAA Division II members.
Eleven of Queens’ teams made NCAA appearances during the 2016-17 season. Out of the group, the men’s and women’s swimming teams returned home with their third straight NCAA Championship titles. Additionally, men’s basketball advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003 and women’s volleyball advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever. Women’s lacrosse also reached the quarterfinal round of the championships for the second consecutive year. Queens also saw its women's triathlon team win its second consecutive national title.
In addition to performing at the national level, Queens saw eight of its teams win conference championships. The Royals have also had five student-athletes earn SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors over the past two seasons.
During the spring season of 2017, Queens announced the addition of baseball, men’s and women’s rugby, men’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling to bring the department total to 30 for varsity sports offered. Swarthout led the search to find several high-level coaches to lead the new programs and complement the existing coaching staff.
2015-16 Season
During the 2015-16 season, 13 teams reached the NCAA Championships. Queens’ men’s and women’s swim teams collected their second straight NCAA DII Swimming Championship titles, while Nikia Squire took the Individual 60-meter title at the NCAA DII Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Royals women's triathlon team also won a national championship in its first year of competition.
Additionally, nine teams captured conference championship titles, and Queens completed the season ranked ninth in the final NCAA DI Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings. The finish was the highest in program history at the time and the first time that the Royals had cracked the top-10.
Background
Swarthout joined the Queens Department of Athletics in 2006, spending a year as the sports information director and sports complex site coordinator. In a year’s time, she was promoted to assistant athletic director for external operations while still holding the sports complex site coordinator responsibilities. As the university and department grew, Swarthout shifted her leadership from the sports complex to the athletic communications department in 2007, serving as the assistant athletic director for external operations and athletic communications until 2014. In 2015, she was promoted to associate athletic director. Swarthout also served as the senior woman administrator from 2013 until being named the Director of Athletics in 2016.
Prior to joining the Royals, Swarthout was an assistant basketball coach at Illinois State University for 10 years working for the legendary Dr. Jill Hutchison in her first six. She also worked in private business during the time between leaving the Redbirds and joining the Royals.
Swarthout, a native of Climax, Mich., holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Michigan State University where she played basketball helping lead her team to the first NCAA tournament bid in school history her senior year. She has two master's degrees, one from Illinois State University in sports psychology and athletic administration; and a second from Queens in organizational development. Additionally, Swarthout holds an executive coaching certificate from Queens.
Swarthout has been engaged in community leadership roles throughout her tenure at Queens including board positions with the Charlotte Business Guild, Michigan State Alumni National Board, and Girls On The Run. In addition to having served as board chair with the local MSU Charlotte Alumni Club and Myers Park Baptist Through The Week School, she has served as a deacon at Myers Park Baptist Church, an at-large member of Elizabeth Community Association, and a member of the D2ADA Board of Directors. In 2015, she was a member of Leadership Charlotte Class of 37.
Swarthout has two daughters, Mattison and Zuri.
