ROSEMONT, Ill., July 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Big Ten Conference has named Paul Kennedy vice president, sports communications and Scott Markley vice president, strategic communications. Effective August 7, 2023, Kennedy will oversee communications operations for all 28 Big Ten Conference-sponsored sports, while Markley will lead strategic communications and media relations across the Big Ten Conference. Both Kennedy and Markley will report to deputy commissioner Diane Dietz and will be based at Big Ten Conference headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois.
"I am thrilled to welcome Paul and Scott to the Big Ten Conference," Dietz stated. "Their extensive leadership and experience within collegiate athletics will help the conference continue to provide best-in-class service to our member institutions, student-athletes, and media partners."
Prior to joining the Big Ten Conference, Kennedy served 11 years in the Northwestern University Department of Athletics & Recreation (NUDAR), most recently as associate athletics director for strategic initiatives and communications. He oversaw the department's strategic communications, media relations, public relations, broadcast and new media initiatives. Before arriving in Evanston in 2012, Kennedy spent three years in media relations with the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from George Washington University.
Markley joins the Big Ten Conference after serving the past two years as senior associate athletic director for communications at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As the primary spokesperson and strategic communicator for UCLA athletics, he advised senior administrators and head coaches on communications matters and oversaw the athletic communications department. Markley also brings a wealth of experience in corporate communications with previous stops at Kellogg's, McDonald's and Walmart, and he served as a spokesperson for the Supreme Court of the United States from 2006-14. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in economics from San Diego State University in 2005.
The Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men's ice hockey and men's and women's lacrosse since 2013.
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Contact: Megan Althoff
Big Ten Conference
mrowley@bigten.org
SOURCE Big Ten Conference