PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe today announced the hiring of Mark Atuaia as an assistant to the athletic director for student services. Prior to joining the athletics department, Atuaia had been serving as the assistant to the dean of Student Life at BYU.
“We are excited to have Mark join our staff. He has a lot of passion for BYU and will be a great asset to our program,” Holmoe said. “He will work closely with me to increase our community outreach, mentor our student-athletes and champion several internal projects.”
In his new role in athletics, Atuaia will serve as a mentor and liaison for student-athletes and coaches. He will also assist as an internal and external liaison, serving actively in the community to build relationships and strengthening ties to BYU Athletics.
“I’m very excited for this new opportunity to work closely with the student-athletes and coaches at BYU. I have a real love for BYU and the athletic program,” Atuaia said. “I appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to be mentored by Vern Heperi in Student Life and look forward to working closely with Tom Holmoe.”
Atuaia played football at BYU in 1991 and 1994-96. From 1992-93 he served a fulltime church mission to Tucson, Arizona. Atuaia earned a bachelors degree from BYU-Hawaii in 2003 and later went on to earn a masters degree in public administration from BYU in 2009 and a doctor of jurisprudence from the BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2011.
Atuaia brings a wealth of diversified work experience to the job. He is also an accomplished recording artist, with a No. 1 selling CD in Hawaii. Atuaia currently resides in Provo, Utah, with his wife, Elizabeth, who is also an accomplished recording artist and was the lead singer for the 1980s pop group The Jets. The Atuaias have six children.