BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner Beth DeBauche has announced the hiring of
Blake Bonnstetter as the Conference’s Assistant Commissioner for Championships.
In his role, Bonnstetter will oversee Conference championships and serve as the primary sport administrator for several sports, in addition to being the Assistant Tournament Director for the OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. He will also serve as a liaison for coaches’ groups, oversee officiating programs for assigned sports and serve as the OVC’s primary contact for student-athlete participant gifts and awards, as well as managing the league’s merchandise sales program among other duties.
A two-time graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Bonnstetter has worked as a championships event/operations assistant at various OVC events, including the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship (2022-24), the Softball Championship (2022-23), the Indoor Track & Field Championships (2022-23), the Outdoor Track & Field Championships (2024) and the Beach Volleyball Championship (2022).
Most recently Bonnstetter served as the Program Manager at Emerald Acres Sports Connection in Mattoon, Illinois, a position he assumed in November 2024. There he handled the day-to-day operations of brand new $40 million sport facility, which included a 75,000 square foot gym with eight basketball and 16 volleyball courts. He hired an event staff, was in charge of oversight and execution of local sports leagues and for recruiting events for the facility.
From February through November 2024, he served as the Assistant Director of Facilities, Events and Operations at Drake University. There he had facility oversite of the basketball arena, practice facility and tennis center, including overseeing all practice schedules for those facilities. Bonnstetter was the game operations manager for football, men’s basketball, softball and tennis, and was responsible for game day setup, event management, event staff, security and ushers. He also recruited and managed a student event staff of 20 workers.
While at Eastern Illinois, Bonnstetter was a graduate assistant in the athletic operations and events department. In that role he helped manage all home athletic events, scheduling facilities, overseeing personnel and coordinating officials. He was responsible for game day setup, parking management and oversaw the department’s student workers. He also helped coordinate outside events hosted on campus, including the IHSA State Track Meet and the IHSA Super Regional.
Bonnstetter received his bachelor’s degree in sport management from EIU in 2022 and completed his master’s degree in sport administration in 2024.