Assistant Commissioner, Communications & Branding

The Sun Belt Conference is accepting applications for the role of Assistant Commissioner, Communications & Branding. This position will report to the Senior Associate Commissioner, Chief Communications & Branding Officer for the conference, headquartered in New Orleans, La., at the Superdome. The Sun Belt Conference follows a hybrid work schedule, with three days in the office and two days work from home per week.

A conference on the rise, the new-look 14-member Sun Belt has been a multi-bid league in eight different sports over the past four seasons, including leading the non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation in each of the past four campaigns.

Coinciding with this on-field success, the Sun Belt Communications & Branding staff has produced a 1202 percent increase in social media engagements and a 175 percent increase in social media following over the past four seasons.

Via the ongoing Sun Belt Rising marketing campaign, the Sun Belt brand has been featured on billboards nationwide—from inside the conference’s contiguous regional footprint to Times Square in New York City leading up to one of the conference’s three ESPN College GameDay appearances over the past six seasons and Miami during the College Football Playoff following the conference’s first-ever CFP appearance in 2025.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Assistant Commissioner, Communications & Branding, is the primary contact for Women’s Basketball and additional Olympic sports (2-4) as assigned. Areas of focus will include, but are not limited to, writing press releases, drafting social media posts, overseeing statistics, and maintaining record books for assigned sports to help increase conference brand awareness and encourage fan engagement.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the primary conference communications contact for Women’s Basketball and additional Olympic sports (2-4) as assigned. Assist with Football communications if so desired.
• Draft copy and creative for conference press releases, social media posts, publications, and marketing materials.
• Maintain and regularly update conference statistics and records.
• Oversee conference preseason, weekly, and postseason awards processes.
• Assist with the management of the conference website, including, but not limited to, writing content, updating schedules and scores, and maintaining championship pages.
• Create and implement season-long social media plans to market assigned sports via Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
• Serve as the point of contact for NCAA committee members in promoting assigned sports for postseason opportunities.
• Assist with the marketing and promotion of Sun Belt Conference championship events and media days.
• Work with Communications & Branding staff to develop strong brand identities for assigned sports and conference championship events.
• Cultivate positive working relationships with coaches, administrators, and communications directors at Sun Belt Conference member institutions.
• Maintain conference relationship with neutral-site championship hosts, particularly Pensacola for the Sun Belt Basketball Championships.
• Travel to Sun Belt Conference championship events for Women’s Basketball and additional Olympic sports as assigned to serve as the primary or secondary communications contact.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

SKILLS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 3-5 years of related experience.
• Experience in collegiate or professional sports preferred.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite—InDesign, Photoshop & Premiere, Microsoft Office, and current statistical technology.
• Ability to adapt to quickly changing priorities and manage concurrent projects.
• Excellent communications skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to uphold a high degree of discretion dealing with confidential information.
• Willingness to travel and work extended hours (nights and weekends) as necessary.=

APPLICATIONS

Applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, list of references and two writing samples (one game recap and one feature story). All applications should be emailed to:

sam@sunbeltsports.org

Sam Knehans

Senior Associate Commissioner, Chief Communications & Branding Officer

Sun Belt Conference

Subject: Assistant Commissioner, Communications & Branding