story links
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University director of athletics Christian Spears on Wednesday announced a reshuffle of its executive team, including the creation of an executive committee and promotions among senior staff.
“We’ve spent the last five months learning about the people and policies that make us special,” Spears said. “We know we have an administrative team that can positively move us forward while ensuring we meet our goals of capitalizing on our great brand, honoring our fan base and maximizing the student-athlete experience.
“This community deserves a management team that expects success and genuinely wants to WIN. We can do that here; we’ve all experienced it at the highest level! So make us responsible for the work because WE ALL will take care of it together!
“Our entire administrative team strives to share ideas and initiatives that make us better, to inspire others to get involved and be a part of it, and to implement and complete projects, goals and events that we know will take us into the sun’s belt.
“Working in collegiate athletics at Marshall University isn’t a job — it’s a calling. Knowing that you represent something greater than your individual self, that you represent a historic program, and that you serve student-athletes who will be our future leaders, takes a selfless mindset and real commitment, and our administration team has that… I think we’re excited all of us to our future.”
The leadership team:
Debra Boughton, Executive Associate AD, Championship Planning and Resources
At Marshall, Boughton will serve as CFO, guiding our strategy behind revenue recovery, capital planning, administrative success and resource reallocation while serving as sports administrator for softball, volleyball and men’s soccer.
Beatrice Crane-Banford, Senior Associate AD, Olympic Sports/SWA
Crane-Banford has been promoted to Senior Associate AD. She will continue to serve as the SWA, handling sports administration responsibilities for women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis and women’s athletics programs.
John Sutherland, Senior Associate AD, Development and Managing Director of Big Green
Sutherland has been promoted to Senior Associate AD and will continue to oversee all aspects of athletic development for Marshall University’s Big Green Scholarship Foundation. Sutherland will also be the sports administrator for men’s golf and women’s golf.
Andrew Brown, Associate AD for Facilities and Events Operations
Brown was promoted to Associate AD for Facilities and Operations, having previously worked as an Assistant AD in the same department. He will be the sports administrator for baseball and cross country.
Arlin Vieira – Special Assistant to the Director of Athletics (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee – SAAC)
The 22-year-old joined the herd this summer and will be taking on responsibilities that include special projects focused on the student and athlete experience and serving as Executive Assistant to Spears as the lead administrator for our Student-Athlete Advisory Board.
Christian Spears, athletic director
Spears was unveiled as Marshall’s new athletic director on February 25 and officially took office on March 14. He will also serve as sports administrator for soccer and men’s basketball. Spears will continue to review Executive Associate AD applicants for outside operations and partnerships who will also work with football and men’s basketball; also active in the management and in senior staff.
The executives:
Ben Ashford – Assistant AD, Director of Sport Performance
Ashford joined the executive ranks on July 1 after being hired as Director of Sports Performance in 2021. Ben has been promoted to Assistant AD and will serve at the executive level overseeing all aspects of Marshall’s strength and conditioning program.
Sharrod Everett – Assistant AD for Football/Football Chief of Staff
The veteran football administrator officially joined Spears’ senior management team on July 1 and was promoted to Assistant AD. Everett joined Marshall in 2021 as part of Charles Huff’s founding staff. He has 16 years of administrative experience including at all levels of Division I football.
Rodney Kasey — AD Assistant for Digital Content and Brand Management
Kasey was introduced on July 1st. Kasey joins Marshall from Bluefield University, where he held the title of Assistant AD for Creative Media and Student Development. At Marshall, Kasey will lead the department’s renamed Media Relations division and serve on Spears’ senior staff.
Dawn Kirtner – AD Assistant for Business Operations
Kirtner was promoted to Assistant AD for Business Operations in July 2021 and was officially inducted into senior management in the athletic department a year later. Kirtner began working in the athletics business office in 1997 as a student.
Teddy Kluemper – Associate AD for Development
Kluemper first joined the sports department in 2010 and most recently worked as Assistant AD for Development. In addition to his promotion to Associate AD for Development, Kluemper was promoted to senior management in the athletic department this spring.
Chris Lapole – Assistant AD, Head Athletic Coach
The Huntington native was promoted to the AD’s senior staff on July 1. He serves as the head athletic coach for Marshall and is the athletic coach for the men’s basketball program. He was also promoted to Assistant AD.
Chuck McGill – Associate AD for External Engagement and Fan Experience
McGill will lead the marketing, broadcast and media relations teams and contribute to creative content (video, photos and graphics) while focusing on the in-game fan experience and social media, and he has also been promoted to Associate AD.
Shiv Patel – Assistant AD for Academics
Patel joined the Herd family in May 2022 as Assistant AD for Academics and officially joined the AD leadership ranks on July 1. Patel will mainly work with the football team.
Cedric Prowell – Assistant AD for Device Operations
Prowell joined Marshall Athletics in July 2022 and immediately joined Spears’ senior leadership team. Previously, Prowell was Equipment Operations Manager at Duke University.
Will Smith – Assistant AD, General Manager, LEARFIELD
A Marshall graduate and a Kenova native, Smith will oversee Thundering Herd Sports Properties. He has served at LEARFIELD, the Marshall University Foundation and the Marshall Athletics ticket office.
Sean Tuttle – Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance
Tuttle joined Thundering Herd in November 2021 as Associate AD for Compliance. He is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of Marshall’s Compliance Office and its staff.
Lisa Williamson – Associate AD for Academic Services
Williamson joined Marshall Athletics in 2016. She has over 25 years of experience at Marshall, most of which was spent as Director of Student Services at the College of Business.
Cole Woodrum – Assistant AD for ticket sales and operations
Woodrum, a son of Marshall, joined the Marshall Ticket Office in July 2014. He has held the positions of Research Assistant, Assistant Director of Ticketing, and Director of Ticketing. He recently expanded his portfolio to lead all ticket sales and operations.
—HerdZone.com—
Comments are closed.