There are many days that pass by as just another calendar year, and it seems like an average day for many. However, there’s a day that passed by in summer 2025 which holds significance for the future of Winona State University atheletics. May 15, 2025 held the announcement of the new Director of Athletics for the purple. Jen Flowers, an experienced alumnus of the university, has taken the role of position the Warriors for years to come. Winona State looks for somebody for the long-term future, and Flowers checks every box for the overseer of the athletic programs. With her first semester nearly complete in this role, she continues to look towards the potential adjustments she can make for the school.
Flowers’ connection to Winona State is much more than the job title. Her journey was forged as a student at the university where she earned all-conference honors for the volleyball team from 1999 to 2002. You can see her in the record books, as she is 14th for service aces and eighth in assists in Warrior volleyball history. After her collegiate career, Flowers returned to Winona State in athletic administration twice, both in 2006 and 2012. She continued to work her way up towards the bigger roles which lead her back towards the Warriors today. These roles include the Western College Hockey Association Commissioner and the Director of Athletics for Southwest Minnesota State University.
Flowers talked about the connection she felt coming back to her alma mater.
“But the core of Winona State, and the reason I came back has been the same every time I’ve been on this campus, which is the people and just the pride in this place and the level of excellence that I think we can achieve.”
Although Winona State has been in a solid position in athletics, Flowers’ long-term goal pushes the Warriors towards the top. She wants the university to be the envy of the Midwest, with the resources and qualities that make Winona lucrative to go to. Winona State establishes high expectations across the board. With these expectations comes the idea of setting up a standard, the “Warrior Way” to build the university as an academic and athletic beacon for future students to attend.
Flowers, discussing the selling points of the university, said, “It’s a beautiful campus. We’re beautifully located all the things that we can sell, and if we add to that, a department full of high energy, people with high expectations, high achieving.”
Now Winona State athletes are looking towards someone who looks towards developing the right traits for a strong collective of student athletes. Flowers not only pushes for the adjustments to improve the Warriors in the short term but perceives the necessary steps to take on the long-term effects of college athletes in division two. While it takes a significant amount of work, the future of university athletics will be guided by someone with all the experience and tools necessary to blossom Winona State as a premiere environment for success.
Flowers describes the emphasis of bringing the qualities of the school together.
“I would say is our student athletes are students first. So, all the movement towards energizing campus…we’re a big part of that too. We must really link in and hook into what campus is doing.”
