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Big Ten Conference Announces New Staff Addition and Three Promotions
July 7, 2006
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany today announced Andrea Williams as the conference's new Associate Commissioner for Branding, as well as three staff promotions. In addition to Williams' hire, Brad Traviolia has been promoted to Deputy Commissioner, while Chad Hawley and Mike McComiskey have been elevated to Assistant Commissioner, effective immediately. Williams will begin her tenure at the Big Ten on August 14. Williams rejoins the conference office after serving the past two years as the Director for the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. The San Antonio, Texas, native, who played two years of basketball and four seasons of volleyball at Texas A&M from 1992-95, served the Big Ten in a variety or roles following February 1998 when she began as the Robert Hammel Communications intern. Williams was named as a Sports Management Administrator in the winter of 1998 and held that position until she advanced to the role of Director of Promotions and Women's Basketball Operations in 2000. In 2003, she was promoted to Assistant Commissioner, a title she held until her departure for the NCAA in 2004. Her duties in the new position will include enhancing the conference's brand and image, serve as the women's basketball liaison and tournament director, and work closely with television administration and scheduling pertaining to the Big Ten Channel, which will launch nationally in August 2007. Traviolia begins serving as Deputy Commissioner after holding four positions with the conference over a 10-year span. The Syracuse, Ind., native joined the Big Ten in 1997 as the Assistant Director of Sports Management & Human Resource Manager and was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in 1999. Following a two-year stint, he was elevated to Associate Commissioner in 2001 and has been serving in his most recent role as the conference's Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer since 2003, handling the day-to-day operations, as well as legal and human resource duties for the office. A graduate of Northwestern, Traviolia was an All-Conference honoree and Big Ten wrestling champion in 1990. Hawley was assigned the title of Assistant Commissioner after serving as the Associate Director and then Director of Compliance this past year, while beginning as an Assistant Director from 2002-05. He has been involved in all Big Ten and NCAA compliance-related functions at the conference office and also serves as the men's and women's track and field and cross country coaches sport co-liaison. Prior to joining the Big Ten, the Lillington, N.C., native worked in compliance at the Mid-Continent Conference following stints at North Carolina State University and the Ivy Group. A 1998 graduate of Appalachian State University, where he was a member of the soccer program, Hawley recently graduated with his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University School of Law in May 2006. McComiskey was promoted to Assistant Commissioner after serving as the Director of Technology since joining the conference office in 2001. He has been responsible for overseeing all usage of technology from the conference office's perspective including the conference's website, bigten.org. He has also been heavily involved with the conference's pioneering football instant replay efforts as well as assisting in television administration. A native of Falmouth, Mass., McComiskey came to the Big Ten from Quokka Sports/Total Sports where he was the product manager for the NCAA's championship websites. McComiskey also worked at his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, for several years in the media relations office. TRANSACTIONS: Andrea Williams named Big Ten Associate Commissioner for Branding, Brad Traviolia named Big Ten Deputy Commissioner, Chad Hawley named Big Ten Assistant Commissioner; Mike McComiskey named Big Ten Assistant Commissioner.
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