Dear Campus Community:

The search committee for Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports has selected three finalists to campus for a second round of interviews and a campus meet and greet: Allan “Cooper” Jones of China Spring, Texas, Marcus Manning of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jane Teixeira of Ladera Ranch, California. We will host a meet and greet for all finalists, open to faculty, staff, students, and the community.

 Cooper Jones (resume)
Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 
4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
The Great Hall 

Marcus Manning (resume)
Monday, Feb. 10, 2020
4:15 - 5:30 p.m. 
The Great Hall 

Jane Teixeira (resume)
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020
3:15 - 4:30 p.m.
The Great Hall

During the meet and greet, each candidate will interact with the various stakeholders, share their vision for Lumberjack Athletics and take questions. After each presentation, we encourage the campus community to submit feedback through the Director of Athletics Candidate Input Form.

Cooper Jones has 20 years of experience in sports and intercollegiate athletics. Currently, Jones serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Prior to his role at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Jones worked at Arizona State University, University of North Texas, University of Louisville, University of Maryland, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University. 

Marcus Manning has over 17 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics. He is currently the Director of Athletics at Centenary College. Prior to his role at Centenary College, Manning worked at Maryville University, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Indiana University South Bend and University of California Irvine. Manning received his bachelor’s degree in business management at Quincy University. He earned his master’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  

Jane Teixeira has 25 years of experience in higher education as an administrator, coach, student-athlete, and leader. Teixeira currently serves as the Senior Associate Commissioner and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at The PacWest Athletic Conference. Prior to the role at the PacWest Athletic Conference, Teixeira worked at the University of Southern California (USC), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and Texas A&M International University. Teixeira received her bachelor’s degree in applied learning and development/sport management with a minor in communication at the University of Texas-Austin. She earned a Master’s of Education from Southwest Texas State University in physical education with a concentration in physical education/sports administration. In addition, Jane has earned a Juris Doctor from University of Oklahoma. 

We expect that the newly hired Athletic Director will begin work this semester to facilitate an orderly transition from Jill Willson, Interim Director of Athletics.  

We look forward to welcoming the finalists to the campus and community and to seeing you at the meet and greets. 

Sincerely,

Sherie Cornish Gordon
Chair, Search Committee