Previously, Mr. Cole served as Mercer’s Senior Associate Director of Athletics for External Affairs, heading up the Mercer Athletics Foundation while also working in private business. In 2003, Mr. Cole was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served until 2010.

A native of Augusta, Mr. Cole came to Mercer as a student-athlete and graduated in 1993 before being drafted as a pitcher by the Milwaukee Brewers. He returned to Mercer in 1997 to earn his M.B.A. while serving as a graduate assistant and pitching coach for the baseball team.

Mr. Cole has served as the 8th Congressional District Representative on the State Board of Transportation and is a board member for local chapters of the Salvation Army and Methodist Children’s Home. He and his wife, Gaylyn, have two children.