BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Brad Walker, the Ohio Valley Conference's associate commissioner for operations/chief operating officer, has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee.
Walker and Wisconsin senior associate athletic director Terry Gawlik are the new additions to the 10-person committee. This year's chair is Carolayne Henry, associate commissioner of compliance at the Mountain West Conference.
Walker's term officially begins in September and will last for five years.
"I'm truly excited to be selected and to have the opportunity to serve on the Division I Women's Basketball Committee," said Walker. "I look forward to serving with the other nine committee members in addressing ways to continue the advancement of women's basketball and the experience for participating student athletes."
The mission of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee is to administer the women's basketball championship with the highest level of integrity. The committee's actions are guided by its commitment to a fair and equitable championship while embracing sportsmanship, diversity, student-athlete welfare and education. The continued enhancement of the championship experience for student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans shall be preeminent.
The appointment process for the committee is coordinated through conference offices. The committee is composed of 10 members, with at least from each region (East, Mideast, Midwest, West) and six at-large members. The NCAA Division I Administration Cabinet approves the appointments. A maximum of three committee members may be from any single region. Six of the members represent Football Bowl Subdivision institutions or conferences, while four represent the Football Championship Subdivision or Division I (non-football) schools or conferences. Nominations may come from all 31 eligible conferences in Division I. Committee members serve a term of five years and are replaced at the expiration of their term or if they depart their institution or conference affiliation at any time during their term.
The Ohio Valley Conference will serve as the host of the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four, which will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Walker joined the OVC staff in Nov. 2007 and coordinates the day-to-day operations of the Conference office, including financial operations, as well as developing schedules and providing oversight for football and men's basketball, serving as a liaison with officiating coordinators and coaching groups, overseeing bidding for and directing of NCAA championship events, coordination of the Conference television and serving as the director of the men's and women's basketball tournament among other things. This past year he was also the tournament manager of the NCAA Division I Men's Second/Third Round site in Nashville. He served as the League's Interim Commissioner from May until mid-September 2009 and has also a member of the Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet from 2009-11.
Walker joined the OVC after seven-plus years at the West Coast Conference (WCC) where he served as the Director of Communications and was later promoted to Assistant Commissioner and then Associate Commissioner. Walker also previously worked at the Mid-Continent Conference as Assistant Director of Media Relations and at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass. He completed his degree in marketing at Bentley College (Waltham, Mass.) in May 1996. He was an all-conference basketball player at Bentley, serving as team captain his senior season.