By Walker Tompkins

Thu, Jul 20

ARLINGTON, Texas – Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Commissioner Brian Thornton announced that Russell Warren has been hired as senior associate commissioner. Warren will officially begin his role at the conference office on August 1.

“We are excited for Russell to join our conference office staff,” said Thornton. “Not only is he an extremely hard worker but he also has built-in relationships with our membership. His working knowledge of the league and his external expertise will prove valuable in our continued quest to be a premier conference.”

Warren arrives at the WAC conference office after spending the past nine years at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he originally joined the athletics department in February of 2014 as senior associate director for marketing and tickets and was promoted to deputy director of athletics in September of 2017. Warren oversaw all external athletics operations at UT Arlington, including marketing and promotions, communications and broadcast, facilities and game operations, development event activation, as well as oversight of the multimedia rights contractual execution. In addition, Warren had sport administration oversight for men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and volleyball.

“I am extremely excited and honored to join the Western Athletic Conference leadership team under Commissioner Thornton’s passionate, respected and dynamic leadership,” said Warren. “I look forward to working alongside Brian, his talented staff of associates, and the visionary and impactful campus administrative teams that comprise the storied and tradition-rich WAC.”

Prior to working at UT Arlington, Warren was the chief operating officer and director of WNBA business operations for Spurs Sports & Entertainment from 2006-13, where he managed business operations including ticket sales and service, marketing and promotions, sponsorship sales, community and public relations for the WNBA ventures of the San Antonio Silver Stars. Warren also previously served as an assistant athletics director at Texas Tech University from 1996-2006, director of marketing and special events at the Southwest Conference from 1994-96, director of ticket operations at Baylor University in 1993-94 and spent time on the athletics ticketing staff at Southern Methodist University (1990-93) and as a marketing representative for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys (1989-90).

A Texas native originally hailing from Plains, Warren graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations with minors in speech and business from Texas Tech.

–WAC–

COURTESY WAC COMMUNICATIONS