WORCESTER — After conducting a nationwide search, Holy Cross has a new athletic director.

On Dec. 6, Holy Cross’ President Vincent Rougeau announced the college hired Christopher ‘Kit’ Hughes as their new athletic director. Hughes is a longtime athletic administrator and a former student-athlete at Bowdoin College, where he was a member of the 2001 lacrosse team that won the ECAC Championship.

Hughes is presently the deputy athletic director at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is slated to start working at Holy Cross in January.

“Throughout our national search process, it was apparent that Kit understood and embraced our Jesuit mission and the significant role athletics plays at Holy Cross,” Holy Cross’ President Vincent Rougeau said in a statement. “As a former student-athlete, coach and administrator, he brings broad and relevant experience to his new role. His principled leadership, commitment to academic excellence and integrity, and deep experience in creating the strategic vision and structures that enable success stood out to the search committee, and make him an outstanding fit for the College.”

According to a release from Holy Cross, while Hughes was a Bowling Green, he managed the day-to-day operations of the university’s athletic department and served as the administrator of the men’s basketball and football teams. Prior to his position at Bowling Green, Hughes worked for seven years at North Carolina State University.

Hughes, 42, is a father of four who hails from Massachusetts. He has an undergraduate degree in sociology from Bowdoin College and a master’s in higher education from Boston College.

“My family and I are thrilled to join what we know to be a very special community at Holy Cross. It is an honor to be selected by President Rougeau and the search committee to represent the proud tradition and passionate alumni of Crusader athletics,” said Hughes. “I look forward to working side-by-side with our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff as we relentlessly pursue excellence in all areas of the Holy Cross experience.”

Hughes will be taking over for former Holy Cross Athletic Director Marcus Blossom, who left the college this fall for a job at Creighton University. Creighton University is a private, Jesuit university in Omaha, Nebraska.