UW-Platteville Athletic Director Dies Unexpectedly at 39

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville and countless others are mourning the unexpected death of their athletic director, who passed away this weekend.

Dr. Kristina Navarro-Krupka, who served as both the school's athletic director and assistant chancellor, passed away during a pregnancy, per a statement from Chancellor Tammy Evetovich. She was only 39-years-old, and 11 days removed from her 40th birthday.

She was an enthusiastic champion for the entire University of Wisconsin-Platteville, especially our student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff. I offer my condolences to her husband Nick, her family, her friends and the many, many people she impacted during her time at UW-Platteville. She will be greatly missed. - Tammy Evetovich's statement on Dr. Kristina Navarro-Krupka's passing

I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Navarro-Krupka. Upon being introduced to her last fall, she did a weekly segment for our radio stations called the "UW-Platteville Sports Roundup," where she would recap all events/things related to various Pioneers teams. She was a sweet soul, who will be deeply missed by our Townsquare Media family.

Furthermore, Navarro-Krupka led the charge on various changes to the structure of how the UW-Platteville Athletics Department operated:

Navarro has led the charge to launch the Division of Athletics and Recreation's first ever annual fund campaign coined Pioneering Forward and developed a comprehensive Corporate Partnerships strategy for the Pioneers.  Together these revenue generation efforts have allowed the Pioneers to unveil a large Daktronics video board in Bo Ryan Court and Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.  Most recently, campus and athletics received a one million dollar gift to support renovations of Bo Ryan court and add a premium seating space for commencement, convocation and athletic events.  Externally the Pioneers continue to raise more than $450,000 annually in operational expenses and work to execute a facility branding plan to enhance recruitment via their branding and apparel partnership with Nike/BSN. - per Navarro-Krupka's bio on UW-Platteville's website

A visitation for Kristina Navarro-Krupka will be held at Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care in Madison, WI on November 26th followed by a mass of Christian burial and graveside services the following day. More information on the service can be found on Gunderson East Funeral's website.

Dr. Kristina Navarro-Krupka leaves behind a legion of friends, family, both her own and with UW-Platteville as well as Rutgers University, where she previously served as the senior associate athletic director for leadership development and strategic partnerships. For more information about Dr. Navarro-Krupka, visit Channel 3000's website.