University President Morton Schapiro on Monday named James Phillips the new vice president for athletics and recreation.

Phillips was previously the director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation.

“I’m deeply honored and humbled to be named a vice president at Northwestern,” Phillips said in a University news release. “This is a world-class university that excels in so many ways.”

During Phillips’ four-year tenure as athletic director, Northwestern entered a multi-year partnership with Under Armour, developed renovation and expansion plans for campus athletic facilities and rebranded NU as “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.”

Since Phillips started in 2008, NU has seen increased participation in club and intramural sports, as well as a rise in student-athlete academic achievement, according to the release. The number of students named Academic All-Big Ten has exceeded 200 for the past two years.

“Jim’s position carries University-wide responsibilities, so it is appropriate that he now has a University title that recognizes this,” Schapiro said in the release.

Phillips previously served as athletic director at Northern Illinois University and as an associate athletics director at the University of Notre Dame.