On the heels of this year’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) basketball tournament, the organization formally announced Ben Baxter as its assistant commissioner for strategic communications.
The Charlotte native brings experience working at the conference level. He spent three years with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) reaching the role of assistant commissioner for communications, new media and marketing.
“Ben joined the CIAA at a very busy time of year and has already made an immediate impact,” says Suzette McQueen, senior associate commissioner for external relations and strategic marketing. “His varied experiences at the conference level as well as in ticket and customer management give him a unique perspective that will be a great asset for us.”
Baxter will help manage the conference’s public, media and community relations efforts, including branding, marketing/sponsorships and licensing. Additionally, he’ll oversee the communications strategy for the 14 CIAA championship sports, meaning Baxter will be integral in messaging as the conference prepares to transition its popular basketball tournament to Baltimore beginning in 2021.
Baxter joins the CIAA staff from his most recent stint with the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center where he served on the junior management team as a ticketing operations supervisor. Prior, he served in a similar role at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in sports, event and entertainment management from Johnson & Wales University with a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University.
