April 15, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford University has hired Jay Roberson as its new associate director of athletics for External Operations, Director of Athletics Bob Roller announced Friday.

"It's an opportunity for me to be on campus and to get the exposure for a great institution in Birmingham," Roberson said. "Bob Roller has done a tremendous job of leadership in the administration here.

"The foundation has been set by Janet Cone (former Assistant AD, now AD at UNC Asheville) and Alan Verlander (former Associate AD, now AD at Jacksonville)," Roberson said. "It's just coming in now and creating a new spirit for athletics and helping to create a great student-athlete experience at Samford."

While at Samford, Roberson will be in charge of all external operations, including marketing, sports information and broadcasting. He will work mainly with corporate sponsorships and fund-raising.

"Jay is extremely well respected in this market," Roller said. "He is ready to dig in and assist us in fund-raising and corporate marketing."

Roberson comes to Samford after serving as an assistant commissioner for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) since 2002. While with the SWAC, Roberson served as the director for the conference's football championship game and basketball tournament.

Roberson managed and developed sponsorship packages, marketing and advertising campaigns for the SWAC. He also served as the liaison for all television partnerships with the SWAC, and he served as the host of the SWAC Magazine Show.

Prior to working at the SWAC, Roberson was the event director for the Bruno Event Team/Alabama Sports Foundation from 1999-2002. He served as the event coordinator for several championships and other events for the Bruno Event Team. He also managed and developed sponsorship packages, marketing and advertising campaigns, operations and logistics for those events.

From 1997-99, Roberson was the director of media for Ramsay/Classic Sports Marketing. In his role with Ramsay, he served as the producer/talent for the college football magazine show "It's Showtime!" on Fox Sports South. He was also the host/color analyst for the Ramsay Game Day College Football Broadcast on Fox Sports South and the Sunshine Network.

Roberson also served as a teacher and coach at his alma mater, Homewood High School from 1996-98. From 1995-96, he was an intern with Alabama Power, assisting in various areas of corporate communications.

Roberson and his wife, Niva, reside in the Birmingham area with their two children.