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Cleveland, Ohio — Villanova Vice President and Athletics Director Mark Jackson has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, replacing former Butler Athletics Director Barry Collier, who retired April 30. Jackson will fill the final two years of Collier’s original five-year term as the Big East Conference’s representative on the committee.
Since Jackson assumed his role as athletics director in 2015, he has seen the Wildcats capture two national championships in men’s basketball (2016 and 2018), while the entire department has been honored for excelling at an elite level in athletics competition, academic performance, community service and leadership.
The Boston native played defensive back on the football team at Colby and received a bachelor’s degree from the college in 1995. He also earned a master’s degree in public policy from Trinity (Connecticut) in 1997. He worked for two National Football League teams, first serving as a coaching assistant with the New England Patriots from 1998-2000 and then as director of football development for the Oakland Raiders from 2007-08.
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But it’s in the collegiate space where Jackson has made his mark. In addition to his nearly nine years at Villanova, he also served as senior associate director of athletics and chief innovation officer at Southern California, where he had responsibility for the school’s football, baseball and women’s lacrosse teams, as well as support services, including sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and apparel operations. Before Southern California, Jackson worked at Syracuse as the executive senior associate athletics director, overseeing all aspects of athletic administration and support for the school’s 20 men’s and women’s programs, including men’s and women’s basketball.
He also has been heavily involved with the NCAA, assisting with the development of robust compliance programs at Southern California and Syracuse, as well as serving on the Division I Council. He also represented the council on the Strategic Vision and Planning Committee, which has oversight of administrative functions related to the management of the Division I governance structure, including business and legal affairs, strategic planning and research, Division I membership activities, and health and safety matters.
“It is a great honor to be selected to complete the term of Barry Collier on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee,” Jackson said. “Barry has been a wonderful steward of our game as both a successful head coach and athletics director. I am grateful for his friendship and the wisdom he has shared with me over the years. As Villanova’s athletics director, I have been blessed to work at an institution with an amazing basketball history and in a conference, the Big East, that has been at the forefront of college basketball since its inception. I am grateful to the NCAA for placing its trust in me and look forward to serving with so many distinguished colleagues in the next two seasons.”