Louisiana Tech athletic director Jim Oakes will retire at the end of June, after 13 years in the position.

"It is a good time in my career to do something else for a while, and it is a good time for the athletic program to bring in someone new as athletic director," Oakes said in a statement released Wednesday by the university.

University president Dan Reneau, who hired Oakes in 1994, said he encouraged him to stay, calling him "a very positive factor in moving our athletic department to a different level."

Reneau said Oakes' accomplishments included moving Louisiana Tech into the Western Athletic Conference in 2001, two full certifications from the NCAA and 13 years without an NCAA sanction against any athletic program.

Louisiana Tech athletes had the highest graduation rate in the state of Louisiana and the Western Athletic Conference this year, Reneau said.

A search for Oakes' successor would begin as soon as feasible, Reneau said.

Before coming to Louisiana Tech, Oakes spent 13 years as chief of staff to J. Bennett Johnston, then Louisiana's senior U.S. senator.