Memorial Maniacs Relaunching Ahead Of 2023-24 Vandy Basketball Season

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Memorial Maniacs. Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

The Memorial Maniacs are relaunching as the official student section of Vanderbilt basketball as part of the athletic department’s initiative to give Vandy students the opportunity to directly affect the game day atmosphere at Memorial Gymnasium.

With a rich history and tradition of making Memorial Gymnasium one of the toughest places to play, the Vanderbilt student section has been a catalyst for the game environment for years. The original Memorial Maniacs helped provide the Commodores a distinct home court advantage throughout the 2000s as the official student section of Vanderbilt basketball.

Beginning Wednesday, Vanderbilt University students will have one week to submit their vote for their favorite logo of the four options to be selected as the official Memorial Maniacs logo. Students will receive an email with information on voting and how to cast their vote. Voting will close on Sept. 13 at 11:59 p.m.

Beginning next week, applications for the Memorial Maniacs Student Leadership Group will officially open. A core group of students will be selected to assist the marketing department in providing the best experience for students and Memorial Maniacs at Vanderbilt basketball games this season. The Vanderbilt athletic department found success in its pilot program of the student leadership group during the 2022-23 season and will expand the group’s influence and input beginning with the 2023-24 season.

Students will meet throughout the year to discuss marketing and student experience elements including having direct input on student giveaways, themes, game atmosphere elements and promotions. The leadership group will work in partnership with Vandy Fanatics to help shape the full student experience at Vanderbilt basketball games.

Students are encouraged to check their inboxes for the weekly student email which will include information on how to submit an application to be part of the leadership group.

Vanderbilt Releases Men’s & Women’s Basketball Schedule

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Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Both Vanderbilt Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams have dropped their much anticipated non-conference schedules ahead of the 2023-2024 seasons.

The men’s team are one of four in the inaugural ESPN Events Vegas Showdown Nov. 23-24, and are set to take on NC State in the first semifinal on the opening night of the tournament. They will face either Arizona State or Brigham Young the second night, with the event scheduled to be held at the Michelob Ultra Arena.

This will mark the Dores’ third consecutive season competing in an ESPN event in front of a national television audience. Vandy went 2-0 at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii in 2021, and 1-1 in the Wooden Legacy in California in 2022. They have excelled in neutral-site competition over the last two seasons, including a 4-2 mark in SEC Tournament action over that time.

“We believe that we have constructed a challenging schedule with competition that can prepare our team for success in the SEC and postseason,” says Jerry Stackhouse, Head Coach and reigning SEC Co-Coach of the Year. “Our program will face multiple NCAA Tournament-caliber opponents throughout the non-conference schedule. These contests are beneficial to the development of our team, and in addition they provide significant postseason resume building opportunities. This schedule also provides our student-athletes with multiple home games, TV exposure and unique travel that showcases our program nationally. We are ready to get started and continue building on the momentum that was on display in Memorial last season.”

The Commodores will return home to play host to Boston College on Nov. 29 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, and will also face Texas Tech as part of the USLBM Coast to Coast Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 16.

Eight other home contests are on the Dores’ non-conference slate, including four in a row to open the season against Presbyterian (Nov. 7), USC Upstate (Nov. 10), UNC Greensboro (Nov. 14) and Central Arkansas (Nov. 17). Vanderbilt will also play host to Alabama A&M (Dec. 2), San Francisco (Dec. 6), Western Carolina (Dec. 19) and Dartmouth (Dec. 30).

In their last game prior to Christmas break, the Commodores will visit Memphis on Dec. 23 in a battle of two of the state’s marquee programs. Vandy is 8-6 in the all-time series versus the Tigers, who earned an NCAA Tournament bid a year ago.

The women’s team is slated to play a total of 14 non-conference games prior to the start of SEC action this season.

Vandy will host a total of nine non-conference games at Memorial Gymnasium, with the season-opening contest taking place Nov. 6 against Kennesaw State. After a trip to UT Martin on Nov. 9, Vanderbilt opens a three-game homestand at Memorial, beginning Nov. 12 with matchup against Fairfield. The mid-November homestand continues Nov. 15 against Western Kentucky, and concludes Nov. 20 with Alabama State.

“My staff has worked hard to make sure the level of competition we face will not only prepare us for a grueling SEC season, but also helps showcase our talented student-athletes against varying styles of play,” says Head Coach Shea Ralph. “We will visit historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and face familiar and competitive programs in the South Point Shootout and ACC/SEC Challenge. Most importantly, we will spend a lot of time in front of Commodore Nation here in Nashville. After an amazing summer with our team and an unforgettable foreign tour in Italy, I could not be more excited to see this group in action. This will be a special year for the growth of Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball.”

The Commodores close out the month of November with three contests outside of the Music City. Vanderbilt will head to Las Vegas during the week of Thanksgiving to play in the 2023 South Point Thanksgiving Shootout. The Dores begin their Sin City trip with a matchup against Iowa State on Nov. 24, before taking on Northern Iowa the following day. All games at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout will be played at South Point Casino and Spa. After the Las Vegas trip, Vanderbilt will head to North Carolina to take on NC State on Nov. 29 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Ralph’s squad opens the final month of 2023 with a home contest against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 3. The last road trip of the 2023-2024 non-conference slate will take place Dec. 7, as the Commodores head to Indianapolis to take on Butler.

Vanderbilt closes out their non-conference schedule with four-straight home games in December. The Dores begin the homestand Dec. 17 against Lipscomb, and will host Dayton for a Dec. 20 contest. Fairleigh Dickinson makes a visit to Memorial Gymnasium on Dec. 29, before the Commodores wrap with a home game against Radford set on Dec. 31.

Lipscomb Men’s Basketball Drops Rigorous 2023-2024 Schedule

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Photo: Courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics

Lipscomb Men’s Basketball has released their 2023-2024 schedule, one of the toughest non-conference schedules in all of mid-major basketball, with the Bisons facing Drake, Wichita State, Arkansas and more.

Head Coach Lennie Acuff is gearing up for his fifth season at the helm of the Lipscomb program, and was able to put together a non-conference schedule that even most Power-5 schools would be afraid of.

“As we worked throughout the offseason to put together our 2023-2024 schedule, it became obvious that our team would be tested at an extremely high level,” says Acuff. “Entering our fifth year at Lipscomb, this is by far the most difficult schedule we have taken on.”

The campaign consists of 31 games, including a 16-game ASUN Conference slate and 15 non-conference matchups. The Purple and Gold will host five non-conference games and eight ASUN games in Allen Arena. The non-conference set is highlighted by three games in Montreal, Canada as part of the Northern Classic on Nov. 24-26.

The Bisons kick off the season on Nov. 6 with a visit to Wichita State before heading to Des Moines, Iowa to play 2023 MVC Champion Drake. Lipscomb’s home opener will take place on Nov. 11 against Asbury. From there, the Bisons will face Tennessee Tech before heading to the Northern Classic in Montreal to play Dartmouth, UNC Asheville and Western Kentucky.

“We realize competing against quality opponents prepares us for ASUN play and that it is necessary as we aim to be at our best against one of the most improved leagues in Division I basketball. Our team and staff look forward to getting preseason workouts started and making every effort to be the best team we can be,” says Acuff.

Lipscomb ends November by hosting Chattanooga on Nov. 29. The team then travels to Orlando, Florida in early December to face UCF. Next, the Bisons head down Belmont Boulevard to face Belmont in the Battle of the Boulevard at the Curb Event Center on Dec. 6.

The final four games of 2023 aren’t any easier for Lipscomb as they plan to face Tennessee State, Arkansas, Bryan College and Florida State.

The Bisons begin their ASUN campaign on Jan. 4 against Eastern Kentucky. They then host Austin Peay for their ASUN home opener on Jan. 13.

College Corner: Lipscomb Soccer, Tennessee Basketball, Blue Raiders Hall Of Fame

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Lipscomb Men’s Soccer Ranked No. 25 In Preseason Poll

Photo: Courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics

Lipscomb Men’s Soccer is starting off the 2023 season ranked at No. 25 in the College Soccer News Preseason Top-30 Poll.

The recognition comes after a season that saw the Bisons ranked in the Top-25 all last season, climbing as high as No. 10 and earning the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lipscomb finished last season 14-3-2, losing just one game at home while winning eight. In the ASUN championship game, they defeated No. 2 seeded Central Arkansas 6-2, capping off their historic season. They fell to Western Michigan 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bisons will kickoff its regular season on Thursday, Aug. 25 against FAU. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at Lipscomb Soccer Complex.

 

 

 

Tennessee & Food City Partner On 10-Year Basketball Arena Naming-Rights Deal

Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White announced a multi-year naming-rights agreement with longtime Tennessee Athletics corporate champion Food City that rebrands UT’s on-campus arena as Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

The agreement with Food City was negotiated by Tennessee Athletics’ multimedia rights partner, LEARFIELD/The Vol Network. Food City’s overall commitment to Tennessee Athletics will allow the University to invest in excess of $20 million over the next 10 years and will aid new and needed renovations of the arena and upgrades to the facility’s interior and exterior. These improvements will significantly enhance the fan experience while attending any Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center event on the UT campus

Among the planned additions to the venue will include new club amenities, updates to the Ray Mears Room and a state-of-the-art center-hung video board. The exterior façade of the facility will be modernized and the look will be more in line with Tennessee’s other athletics venues.

Complete details of the enhancements to the venue will be announced at a later date.

“We are thrilled to partner with Food City on this transformative naming rights opportunity, the first of its kind for Tennessee Athletics,” says White. “Food City is a neighborhood partner who knows our state and region extremely well and has been a key partner for Tennessee Athletics for nearly 30 years. Food City is a valued member of our community and bleeds orange, and we look forward to taking this partnership to another level. I want to thank the Smith family, as well as the Food City team for this long-term partnership.”

Opened in the Fall of 1987, Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center is home to Tennessee’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball programs. The arena is named for the late B. Ray Thompson and former UT President Dr. Edward J. Boling.

In addition to delivering an incredible homecourt advantage for the Vols and Lady Vols, the facility hosts dozens of highly attended events annually, including concerts featuring world-famous recording artists, professional wrestling showcases, monster truck and professional bull-riding competitions, conferences and more.

 

 

 

Blue Raider Sports Hall Of Fame Induction Set For Sept. 22, Open To The Public

Middle Tennessee Athletics has opened the induction of the Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 to the public on Friday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Murphy Center Auxiliary Gymnasium.

The induction ceremony will take place on Friday evening again prior to the weekend’s football game on Saturday, to allow this year’s induction class to partake in all of the Homecoming festivities set for the weekend. The induction ceremony, as always, will be open to the public and will feature refreshments after the ceremony.

The Class of 2023 features Blue Raiders from four different decades of Middle Tennessee Athletics, with inductees recognized for their on-the-field achievements and for being outstanding representatives of the MTSU community. The Class of 2023 includes:

  • Anne Marie (Lanning) Brentz was an integral part of one of the greatest eras in Lady Raider basketball, helping lead the team to four postseason appearances, including three straight NCAA Regionals. Brentz is a member of the program’s 1,000-point club, and after her career, ranked second for 3-point field goal percentage, third for 3-pointers made, and second for games played.
  • Anthony DeLuise is another great in a long line of Middle Tennessee tennis players. The highly decorated netter earned All-American status in 1996 when he was also the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. DeLuise made six singles appearances in Collegiate Grand Slam events, tying for the most in program history, and capped his career ranked in the Top 10 of all five career categories.
  • LaRon Dendy makes history as he becomes the only Blue Raider ever to be inducted into the hall after playing just one season. Dendy led a resurgence in the men’s basketball program in 2011-12 when he was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and a Lou Henson Award Finalist and was also a Portsmouth Invitational participant. Dendy’s dominant play led the Blue Raiders to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title.
  • Melanie (Manley) Durham was the rock for MTSU’s first softball championship in 2000. The hard-nosed catcher was a pioneer for MTSU softball and continues to be one of the top performers of all time as evidenced by her standing in the career record books. More than 20 years following the completion of her career, Melanie continues to rank in the Top 10 of 12 all-time categories. She was the 1998 OVC Medal of Honor recipient.
  • Jeff Littlejohn was a defensive force for the Blue Raider football team in the early to mid-2000s. Littlejohn was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, becoming one of just five Middle Tennessee conference players of the year at that time. He was a force at defensive tackle leading one of the top run defenses in the nation in 2005.
  • Janet Ross helped lay the championship foundation for Middle Tennessee women’s basketball as its point guard in the mid-1980s. Ross was the court general for Lady Raider basketball teams that captured four Ohio Valley Conference Championships and three NCAA Tournament berths. Ross still ranks among career leaders for assists and 3-point field goal percentage. She would go on to become a Lady Raider assistant following her decorated playing career.

Lady Raiders Announce Four-Game Series Against Lady Volunteers

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Middle Tennessee and the University of Tennessee women’s basketball programs have agreed to a four-game series over the next four years.

The first of four meetings between the Lady Raiders and Lady Vols are scheduled for December 6, 2023, in Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the site of the 2023-24 Conference USA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, followed by a pair of matchups in Knoxville in 2024 and 2026, and one in Murfreesboro in 2025.

“With the Conference USA Tournament in Huntsville this year, we wanted to introduce our fans to this great city and thanks to Tennessee, we are able to create a terrific showcase for women’s basketball,” says Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. “It gives our women’s team a meaningful game in the same arena as our conference tournament.”

This year’s game will mark the 16th meeting in series history between Middle Tennessee and Tennessee. The Lady Vols took the last meeting in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The last time the two squads met during the regular season was in 2013.

“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase the talent and passion for women’s basketball in the State of Tennessee,” says Head Coach Rick Insell. “Year in and year out, these are two of the top programs in the country and the most devoted fanbases in our state. I want to thank Kellie Harper for renewing this rivalry.”

The Lady Raiders are coming off one of their best seasons ever, finishing 18-2 in conference, winning the Conference USA tournament, and being ranked at No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25.

Fans can secure their spot at the highly anticipated matchup in Huntsville through the purchase of a Middle Tennessee women’s basketball season ticket package. Single-game tickets will also be available for $20 each. Beginning Monday, September 4 at 10 a.m. CT, fans can conveniently make their purchases online through Ticketmaster.com via the Von Braun Center.

Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Adds Three New Staffers

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Featured L-R: Donald Williams, Thomas Gray, Dan Dardarian. Photos: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt men’s basketball Head Coach Jerry Stackhouse announced the hiring of three staff members: Donald Williams (Director of Player Personnel), Thomas Gray (Director of Recruiting) and Dan Dardarian (Assistant Director of Basketball Operations).

The three veterans of the coaching industry have a wealth of experience at all levels of basketball.

A national champion as a student-athlete at North Carolina, Williams brings his extensive experience as a player and coach to Vanderbilt.

“Donald Williams is going to be an impactful addition to our basketball program,” Stackhouse says. “He is an extremely accomplished player and has had a successful coaching career at both the high school and grassroots levels. As an NCAA national champion, Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and former professional, Donald has a unique and valuable perspective. Those experiences are aligned with the goals of our student-athletes and I am excited to see him share his knowledge and mentor throughout our program.”

Williams was a four-time letterwinner for the UNC basketball program and earned Most Outstanding Player for the 1993 NCAA Tournament after leading the Tar Heels to the National Championship.

He went on to enjoy a long pro career playing both in the U.S. and overseas in Europe and Asia. Throughout his pro career, he also founded the Donald Williams Basketball Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, which included basketball camps, an AAU team and private lessons to the youth in his home state.

Throughout his coaching career, he served as Head Coach for the boys’ programs at Northwood High School in North Carolina, as well as a stint as the Head Coach of Denmark Tech Community College in South Carolina.

On the girls’ basketball side, Williams has served as the Head Coach at Raleigh Charter High School, St. Mary’s High School and Wakefield High School in Raleigh. During his time at Wakefield, Williams was named conference Coach of the Year twice while leading the team to the No. 1 ranking in North Carolina and No. 12 nationally according to USA Today.

Gray will take on the Director of Recruiting role at Vandy after spending the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons at McNeese State as an assistant coach. He has SEC experience, spending three seasons as the Ole Miss Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Operations from 2018-2021.

“Thomas Gray is an experienced college basketball coach with ties to the Southeast at various levels, including a previous stint in the SEC,” Stackhouse says. “His understanding of the region and the recruiting landscape of our conference will help us continue to be efficient in our identification of the right type of student-athletes who will excel at Vanderbilt. Thomas is highly organized and his basketball collegiate administrative experience will be a key contribution to our program.”

As the Head Coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College from 2014-2018, Gray compiled a 61-39 record over his four seasons. He guided the Bears to the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals in each of his final two seasons. During his tenure, Gray coached 15 players that went on to earn NCAA Division I scholarships, the most of any Region 23 team over that four-year span. Student-athletes excelled on and off the court under Gray’s tutelage with all but two holding grade-point averages that exceeded 3.0 throughout his time as Southwest’s Head Coach.

Gray led the Bears to their third-consecutive season of at least 17 wins, the first time Southwest accomplished that feat in three decades. During the 2016-17 campaign, Southwest finished runner-up in the MACJC South Division, the highest division finish since 2001, with an 18-9 record.

His team was named the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Academic Team of the Year for the second consecutive year with a team GPA of 3.59, the second-highest cumulative GPA in the history of NJCAA Men’s Basketball. The Bears became the first MACJC men’s basketball team to ever win the award in 2015-2016, boasting a 3.42 GPA. In just his second season as Southwest head coach, Gray led the Bears to a MACJC state championship for the first time in 53 years.

Dardarian makes his way to Vandy following two seasons as the Director of Video & Scouting for the SMU women’s basketball program.

“Dan Dardarian is coming to our program with extensive experience in video, scouting, and basketball analytics,” says Stackhouse. “He has worked for successful programs on both the men’s and women’s side and always found opportunities to bring value to their operational goals. We are excited about his ability to help our program.”

Prior to his time in Dallas at SMU, Dardarian spent three seasons with the Michigan women’s basketball program as the Video Coordinator. During his tenure, which included filming and analysis, the Wolverines advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Prior to joining the staff in Ann Arbor, Dardarian became the first video coordinator at IMG Academy in Florida. In addition to managing a video database of more than 400 games per season, he coordinated schedules and assisted with pro days. In 2017, IMG featured a player in the boys’ and girls’ McDonalds’ All-America Game, becoming the first school in history represented in both games.

A native of Michigan, Dardarian earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Oakland in 2008 and earned a Master’s in sports administration from Wayne State in 2011. While at Oakland, he worked as a student assistant for the men’s basketball program under long-time Head Coach Greg Kampe. His duties included film exchange and video breakdown, while assisting the coaching staff during the program’s transition to NCAA Division I.

Greg Walter Named OVC Associate Commissioner For Football, Basketball & Baseball

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Greg Walter. Photo: Courtesy of the OVC

Greg Walter has been named the Ohio Valley Conference’s (OVC) Associate Commissioner for football, basketball and baseball, as announced by Commissioner Beth DeBauche.

In this role, Walter will serve as a member of the OVC’s Senior Leadership Team and will be the primary administrator for the sports of football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball. His duties will include serving as the Tournament Director for the OVC Basketball and Baseball Championships, overseeing the officiating programs and developing playing schedules.

“I have followed Greg’s career for years and know he is a thoughtful, diligent and committed administrator who has made the organizations with which he has been affiliated better,” says DeBauche. “I have enjoyed working with Greg on matters and am delighted he has agreed to join our staff. Given his vast and varied experience and tremendous leadership skills, I know he will serve the OVC members well as we move the conference forward.”

Walter has served as an Associate Commissioner for the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) since 2012 and an Associate Commissioner with the Pioneer Football League (PFL) since 2013.

In his role with the PFL, he has overseen regulatory matters, developed league schedules and conducted a comprehensive study of the league’s financial aid policies.

In his tenure with the MVFC, Walter has been involved in all strategic initiatives and governance groups, overseen negotiation of the league’s next television agreement and developed a six-year scheduling and policy framework following recent membership changes.

From 2012 to 2021, he fulfilled the role of Associate Commissioner for the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), where he was involved with all levels of governance and strategic decision-making. Walter co-led the development and implementation of the MVC’s 2015 strategic plan as well as benchmarking and goal-setting initiatives conducted by governance bodies and coaches’ groups across all sports.

He also served as Assistant Commissioner of the Summit League (2008-2011), Associate Director of Compliance for the Big Ten (2005-2007) and a compliance officer at the University of Utah (2004-2005).

Walter has served on the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee (2020-2021), the Division I Council (2017-2019), the Division I Legislative Committee (2017-2020), the Division I Interpretations Committee (2016-2020) and the Enforcement Interpretations Process Working Group (2019-2020).

Walter received a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 2000 and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003.

Vanderbilt Promotes Two Within The Men’s Basketball Program

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Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt men’s basketball head coach Jerry Stackhouse has promoted Ian Thom and CJ Preston to serve as director of basketball operations and to director of basketball research & special projects respectively.

Thom is elevating to his new position after spending the last two seasons on Stackhouse’s staff as a graduate assistant for the Commodores.

“We are thrilled to promote Ian Thom to a full-time position for the 2023-24 season,” Stackhouse says. “He has been an important and valuable piece to our success the past two seasons. He is a tremendous worker with great energy and organizational skills. Ian has a bright future in coaching and we are excited about his ability to continue helping our program as our director of basketball operations.”

As a graduate assistant, Thom was a consistent part of the individual improvement of players such as Scotty Pippen Jr., Liam Robbins and Rodney Chatman through on-court individual skill sessions. In his new position, Thom will coordinate team travel and handle day-to-day logistics for the program, in addition to other duties.

Thom began his coaching career as an assistant at Mount Saint Mary College in New York during the 2018-19 season. He moved on to coach at Gulf Shores High School in Alabama for two seasons.

Thom earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in economics from Birmingham-Southern in 2017. He continued his education by earning his master’s degree in marketing from the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland in 2018 and another master’s degree in leadership and organizational performance from Vanderbilt in 2023.

Preston has been promoted from assistant video coordinator to the director of basketball research & special projects. The 2023-24 season is his fourth overall on Stackhouse’s staff.

“CJ Preston has been an essential part of our program and coaching staff for the past three seasons,” Stackhouse says. “He has excelled within our video department and we are excited for him to leverage his knowledge of Vanderbilt and Nashville in his new expanded role. As the landscape of college basketball continues to evolve, CJ’s skillset and relationship building abilities will be extremely valuable in this new position.”

In his new role – among other duties – Preston will oversee alumni relations for the program, serve as the student-athlete career development liaison, and research trends across the college basketball landscape including NIL and the transfer portal to keep Vanderbilt ahead of the curve.

A Vanderbilt Man, Preston was previously elevated to the assistant video coordinator position before the 2022-23 season after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant for the program.

Preston has been a mainstay with Vanderbilt athletics since he arrived on campus in 2014 as an undergrad. He was a student manager for the men’s basketball program from 2014-18. He went on to serve as an intern for the communications and marketing departments for Vanderbilt athletics during the 2019-20 academic year before becoming a graduate assistant for men’s basketball in 2020.

He is a two-time graduate of Vanderbilt, earning his bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development in 2018 before completing his master’s in leadership and organizational performance in 2022. He was a member of the Dean’s List three semesters as an undergrad.