Stan Wagnon has been chosen to guide the Lone Star Conference as
its new Commissioner. He was appointed Sunday by the LSC Council of
Presidents at a meeting in Orlando, Fla., held in conjunction with
the 2007 NCAA Convention.
"We had a number of extremely well qualified candidates that we
got down to a group of finalists. From that group we conducted
interviews and unanimously selected Stan as commissioner," said Dr.
Larry Williams, President of Northeastern State University and
chair of the LSC Presidents. "He is truly an outstanding
individual. His experience with three of the member institutions
were all very positive and contributed to his success."
"In the last 15 months, he has done a wonderful job as interim
commissioner and brought forth a number of positive advancements
and changes," Williams added. "The Council of Presidents felt that
he had earned the position of commissioner. He has done a wonderful
job for us and we look forward to more outstanding things."
Wagnon becomes only the second full-time commissioner of the
LSC, a 15-member NCAA Division II athletics conference with
headquarters in Richardson, Texas. He follows the legendary Fred
Jacoby, who retired in June 2006 after leading the LSC for 12
years.
A native of Edmond, Okla., Wagnon joined the LSC staff as
Director of Media Relations in April 2003, then gained the title of
Assistant Commissioner prior to the 2004-05 academic year. He
stepped in as Acting Commissioner in January 2006 when Jacoby was
placed on medical leave and was named Interim Commissioner last
June when Jacoby retired.
"I'm a huge fan of Stan and have known him a long time. He was a
real find for us," said Williams. "He is highly principled with a
great work ethic. He's bright, talented and capable of leading the
LSC, now in its 75th year, forward into things we haven't
imagined."
Wagnon, 33, becomes the youngest current conference commissioner
at both the NCAA Division I and II levels. There are 23 Division II
conferences nationwide.
"I am honored to have this opportunity, and I'm eager to
continue my relationship with the Lone Star Conference membership
in this capacity," Wagnon said. "Certainly I am thankful to Fred
for the foundation he's provided to both my professional career and
this conference, and I'm grateful to Dr. Williams and the
presidents for entrusting me to build upon that foundation."
Over the past year as interim commissioner, Wagnon has served as
chief administrative officer of the conference. He has been
responsible for managing the budget, scheduling and arranging
meetings, and preparing and distributing sports schedules, in
addition to overseeing all daily operations for the conference.
Wagnon has supervised the conference's expanding role in the
area of rules compliance, while implementing the LSC's ongoing 75th
Anniversary Celebration campaign and creating the first-ever Public
Service Announcement for the conference. He also designed and
launched a "Members Only" section on the LSC website to improve
communication within the league.
Wagnon has enhanced the student-athlete experience with the
first-ever summer retreat for the Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee in July 2006 and the addition of post-game apparel for
LSC championship teams in all sports.
As acting commissioner, Wagnon led the LSC into the Strategic
Planning process, while proposing conference initiatives to secure
funding from the NCAA Conference Grant program.
Wagnon took over additional responsibilities in the areas of
scheduling and championships as the Assistant Commissioner, while
also increasing his role in preparing and facilitating conference
meetings.
As the league's Director of Media Relations, a role he
maintained until August 2006, he oversaw all facets of the LSC's
media relations effort, including the handling of statistics and
other historical records, administrative issues, NCAA reporting and
maintenance of the league's official website.
Wagnon came to the LSC office after working in the sports
information offices at three LSC member institutions. He served as
sports information director at Tarleton State University for nearly
three years after serving four years in a similar role at
Midwestern State University. He held the title of Assistant
Athletic Director at MSU. Before that, Wagnon was a student
assistant in the SID office at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Wagnon performed in 2003 and '04 as tournament manager for NCAA
Division II men's basketball regionals in Stephenville, served in
1999 as media relations director for a NCAA Division II men's
basketball regional in Wichita Falls, and worked in 1996 on the
Press Information Team at the wrestling venue of the Centennial
Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga.
Wagnon served two years as national coordinator of Division II
nominees for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented annually by
the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and goes to the top
male collegiate point guard.
He also worked three seasons as West/Southwest Region
coordinator for the CoSida/Daktronics Division II All-America
Football Team.
Wagnon earned a bachelor's degree in public relations from UCO
in 1995 and is completing requirements for a master's degree in
sports management from Midwestern. He lives in Frisco, Texas, with
his wife, Jill. They are both active at The Heights Baptist Church
in Richardson, serving as class directors for an adult bible
fellowship.
Wagnon's father, Skip, was a long-time athletic director at the
University of Central Oklahoma and a 2004 inductee to the LSC Hall
of Honor.
Long known as a premier leader in intercollegiate athletics, the
LSC is celebrating its 75th year of existence as one of NCAA
Division II's most established and successful conferences.
Founded on April 25, 1931, it has grown from a five-team
conference of Texas-based schools to a 15-member league that spans
three states (Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico).
The LSC conducts conference championships in 15 sports (seven
men and eight women). Men's championships include football, cross
country, basketball, baseball, track and field, tennis and golf.
Women's titles are determined in volleyball, soccer, cross country,
basketball, softball, track and field, tennis and golf.
Wagnon leads a three-person conference staff, getting assistance
from Jay Poerner (compliance) and Melanie Robotham (Media
Relations).