PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Yavapai College athletics department is excited to announce the hiring of Shaun McDonald to be the department's major gift officer. 

"I'm incredibly excited to have Shaun join the Roughrider family," Director of Athletics Brad Clifford said. "Having been a student-athlete, Shaun has a strong commitment to the success of the student-athlete and understands where we want to go as a department."

Yavapai College Foundation's Executive Director Mary Talosi mirrored the same praise as Clifford. 

"During the past two years, the Foundation and the Athletics department have developed a strong working relationship," said Talosi. "Having Shaun join us as the Major Gifts Officer for Athletics will help to foster a new level of enthusiasm to the college with his connections and passion for sports."

McDonald hails from Phoenix, Arizona, and emerged as a star football player at Shadow Mountain High School where he earned 1999 Honorable-Mention All-America honors by USA Today while also playing soccer and participating in track and field. 

After graduation, McDonald took his talents to Arizona State where he earned First Team All-Conference honors twice for the Pac-10 and Third-Team AP All-American honors. McDonald also earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies (education and family studies) from ASU in 2005. 

In the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams selected McDonald 106th overall, kicking off a seven-year playing career in the NFL for McDonald. 

After four seasons with the Rams that featured 106 catches for 1,215 yards and four touchdowns, McDonald joined the Lions for two seasons and enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2007. He led the Lions in catches in 2007 with 79 and finished with 943 yards and six touchdowns. 

Following a couple of seasons in Detroit, McDonald finished his NFL career in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

After retiring from the NFL, McDonald became a franchise owner of Subway from 2009-14. Overlapping with some of his time with Subway, McDonald was also the Head of Player Relations at Fulton Agency from 2011-16. 

At Fulton Agency (a management company for pro athletes seeking assistance on financial portfolio management), McDonald mentored college players during their pre-draft training and aided in their transition to the NFL. He primarily recruited athletes from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. 

Overlapping with his time at Fulton Agency, McDonald was also an assistant football coach at Shadow Mountain for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. 

"I'm very excited and grateful for the opportunity," said McDonald. "I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of our team and getting to work on helping our athletes grow academically and athletically. Go Roughriders!"