ursus arctos horribilis
July 7th, 2021, 01:05 PM
WAC Commissioner Hurd to Step Down at End of 2021
DENVER - Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Jeff Hurd announced today he will step down from his position at the end of December. He will be concluding 10 years as Commissioner and 37 years overall with the WAC within a 50-year professional career.
“Jeff Hurd has done a remarkable job in leading the WAC to its current status. We are grateful to him for putting the WAC in the position of a very promising future as a conference,” said outgoing Chair of the WAC Board of Directors, Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. “The debt of gratitude to him of our thirteen member schools is immense. As we look to his successor as Commissioner, we will build on the legacy of what he has dedicated himself to over many years. His service to this conference is unparalleled.”
Hurd has been associated with the WAC for well more than half of its existence. He originally joined the staff in August of 1985 as the Director of Conference Relations and served in several capacities before he replaced former Commissioner Karl Benson on an interim basis in March 2012. A little more than one year later, Hurd was named Benson’s full-time replacement.
“The cliché is all good things come to an end,” said Hurd, “and this is no exception. I remember my first day in the office literally like it was yesterday and cannot fathom it was closer to four decades ago.”
“Commissioner Joe Kearney gave me the opportunity to come to the WAC, and I can’t begin to name all of those who have positively influenced me throughout my career. Success in anything also does not occur without the assistance of many others. I have been extremely fortunate to have had outstanding mentors, business counterparts, office staff and friends along with great support from my wife Cheri and our family.”
“I am extremely proud of what has been accomplished during my tenure, and the WAC always will be a part of me. I know the Conference is very well positioned to move forward.”
There have been several membership initiatives during Hurd’s tenure. Of the WAC’s 13 members in 2021-22, 11 have entered the conference under his leadership. Included are the addition of four institutions for 2021-22 (Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University) and a fifth (Southern Utah University) beginning in 2022-23. They join California Baptist University, Chicago State University, Dixie State University, Grand Canyon University, Tarleton State University, Utah Valley University and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as institutions that came into the WAC during his tenure. Only New Mexico State University and Seattle University did not.
Hurd currently is the Chair of the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP). He also completed a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, and he previously was a member and then chairman of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. Hurd served as the chair of two Collegiate Commissioners’ Association subgroups, and he is on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Hurd is a native of Minot, N.D., and graduated from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. He began his professional career as the Sports Editor of the Hannibal (Missouri) Courier-Post and also worked for the Tulsa Tribune. He was the Sports Information Director at the University of Tulsa and the Director of Public Relations for the Missouri Valley Conference prior to joining the WAC.
About Western Athletic Conference
The WAC was formed in 1962 and is comprised of 13 member institutions – Abilene Christian University; California Baptist University; Chicago State University; Dixie State University; Grand Canyon University; Lamar University; New Mexico State University; Sam Houston State University; Seattle University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Tarleton State University; The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; and Utah Valley University. Southern Utah University will join the league on July 1, 2022. The WAC crowns team and individual champions in 20 sports – 10 men's and 10 women's championships. The WAC office is in the Denver metropolitan area.
- WAC –
DENVER - Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Jeff Hurd announced today he will step down from his position at the end of December. He will be concluding 10 years as Commissioner and 37 years overall with the WAC within a 50-year professional career.
“Jeff Hurd has done a remarkable job in leading the WAC to its current status. We are grateful to him for putting the WAC in the position of a very promising future as a conference,” said outgoing Chair of the WAC Board of Directors, Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. “The debt of gratitude to him of our thirteen member schools is immense. As we look to his successor as Commissioner, we will build on the legacy of what he has dedicated himself to over many years. His service to this conference is unparalleled.”
Hurd has been associated with the WAC for well more than half of its existence. He originally joined the staff in August of 1985 as the Director of Conference Relations and served in several capacities before he replaced former Commissioner Karl Benson on an interim basis in March 2012. A little more than one year later, Hurd was named Benson’s full-time replacement.
“The cliché is all good things come to an end,” said Hurd, “and this is no exception. I remember my first day in the office literally like it was yesterday and cannot fathom it was closer to four decades ago.”
“Commissioner Joe Kearney gave me the opportunity to come to the WAC, and I can’t begin to name all of those who have positively influenced me throughout my career. Success in anything also does not occur without the assistance of many others. I have been extremely fortunate to have had outstanding mentors, business counterparts, office staff and friends along with great support from my wife Cheri and our family.”
“I am extremely proud of what has been accomplished during my tenure, and the WAC always will be a part of me. I know the Conference is very well positioned to move forward.”
There have been several membership initiatives during Hurd’s tenure. Of the WAC’s 13 members in 2021-22, 11 have entered the conference under his leadership. Included are the addition of four institutions for 2021-22 (Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University) and a fifth (Southern Utah University) beginning in 2022-23. They join California Baptist University, Chicago State University, Dixie State University, Grand Canyon University, Tarleton State University, Utah Valley University and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as institutions that came into the WAC during his tenure. Only New Mexico State University and Seattle University did not.
Hurd currently is the Chair of the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP). He also completed a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, and he previously was a member and then chairman of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. Hurd served as the chair of two Collegiate Commissioners’ Association subgroups, and he is on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Hurd is a native of Minot, N.D., and graduated from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. He began his professional career as the Sports Editor of the Hannibal (Missouri) Courier-Post and also worked for the Tulsa Tribune. He was the Sports Information Director at the University of Tulsa and the Director of Public Relations for the Missouri Valley Conference prior to joining the WAC.
About Western Athletic Conference
The WAC was formed in 1962 and is comprised of 13 member institutions – Abilene Christian University; California Baptist University; Chicago State University; Dixie State University; Grand Canyon University; Lamar University; New Mexico State University; Sam Houston State University; Seattle University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Tarleton State University; The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; and Utah Valley University. Southern Utah University will join the league on July 1, 2022. The WAC crowns team and individual champions in 20 sports – 10 men's and 10 women's championships. The WAC office is in the Denver metropolitan area.
- WAC –