Zechariah Dapaah serves as the Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) since July 2025.
In this role, he leads academic support initiatives for all UMES student-athletes, working collaboratively with coaches, faculty and support staff to ensure student-athletes meet academic eligibility, pursue graduation goals and develop holistically.
Prior to joining UMES, Dapaah served as the Director of Student-Athlete Development and Student-Athlete Success Coordinator at Grambling State University. While at Grambling, he supported academic and personal development for teams including 103 student-athletes for the baseball, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer and men’s basketball programs. He also helped launch initiatives focused on life skills, leadership and career readiness.
Dapaah brings over three years of experience in student-athlete support and development across the collegiate level. At the University of Florida, he was part of the Gator Experience team, a department focused on personal and professional development, as well as community engagement for over 500 student-athletes. There, he played a key role in organizing 11 targeted events aimed at supporting the student-athlete experience beyond competition.
A former Division I and Division II soccer student-athlete, Dapaah earned his Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Flagler College. He later completed his master’s in sport management at the University of Florida, specializing in athlete development with certification through PAADS (Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists). While in graduate school, he also served the Gainesville community as a certified personal trainer.
Originally from St. Augustine, Florida, Dapaah is a member of N4A (National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals) and is deeply committed to helping student-athletes succeed in the classroom, in competition and in life.
