Pamela Donnelly enters her 12th year as an athletics administrator at her alma mater in 2026-27. She was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) in July 2023.
In her current role at CPP, Donnelly provides leadership and oversight for a wide range of departmental operations that support the success of Cal Poly Pomona Athletics. She plays a key role in strategic planning, policy development, and departmental administration, with primary oversight of business and financial operations, budgeting, purchasing, contracts, personnel processes, game management, facilities, communications, and marketing. She is also the sport supervisor for men's and women's track and field, men's and women's cross country, and volleyball.Â
Donnelly serves as a liaison to campus partners while helping ensure compliance with NCAA, CCAA, CSU, and university policies. As Senior Woman Administrator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, she advocates for student-athlete welfare and gender equity initiatives, helping foster an environment that supports the academic, athletic, and personal success of Bronco student-athletes.
Beginning Sept. 1, 2026, Donnelly will serve a four-year term on the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee. In this national leadership role, she will help guide championship administration, policy discussions, and the continued growth of Division II track and field through Aug. 31, 2030. She also serves as the California Collegiate Athletic Association's sport liaison for men's and women's track and field and cross country.
Donnelly served as Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations beginning in October 2019 and was the acting SWA for much of the 2022-23 academic year. In that role, she coordinated the athletic department's business operations, including forecasting, budget management, purchasing, accounts payable, travel, inventory of goods, ticketing, and camps.
When she returned to Cal Poly Pomona professionally in 2015, Donnelly served as the interim Athletics Business Coordinator and an assistant coach for the Broncos' track and field program before later becoming the Operations Assistant. She entered her coaching role after spending five seasons as the assistant track and field coach at South Hills High School in West Covina, where she worked with the hurdlers. She coordinated and designed workouts while monitoring her athletes' progress and success throughout each season.
A former standout student-athlete at CPP, Donnelly (née Fortner) earned a place in the Cal Poly Pomona track and field record book. At one time, she ranked ninth in the 400-meter hurdles, 10th in the 4x100-meter relay, second in the 4x200-meter relay, and sixth in the 800-meter sprint medley relay.
Donnelly earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in retail marketing, from Cal Poly Pomona. She later completed her graduate work at the University of San Francisco, earning a Master of Arts in Sport and Fitness Management.
Donnelly and her husband, Eric, a fellow Cal Poly Pomona alumnus, have been married for 35 years. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Ally and Gabby, both of whom have built professional careers in sports. Ally is married to Greg Salvage, a former Cal Poly Pomona Athletics communications staff member, and the couple welcomed a son in September 2025. Gabby recently married Sam Beckenstein. Outside of work, Donnelly enjoys sports, reading, and spending time with her family.
