On Tuesday, Chris Grant began his first day as the new commissioner of the Southland Conference, becoming the first Black commissioner in the conference’s 59-year history.
Grant, the Southland’s deputy commissioner since August 2021, takes over for Tom Burnett, who is retiring after almost 20 years as the conference’s commissioner.
The Southland’s new commissioner is a college sports veteran.
He was a four-year football letter winner at Kentucky State University and graduated cum laude and on the AD’s honor role.
Then he entered the world of college athletics, first as a men’s basketball graduate assistant coach while earning his master’s degree in Public Administration at Southern University.
Other stops include three years as an Assistant Athletics Director at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and three years at Conference USA as the Director of Sports Services. He was also appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee for a three-year term in 2013.
From there he moved to the west coast to work at the Pac-12 for six years, serving as the Associate Commissioner of Sports Management and Championships. In his role with the Pac-12, he helped champion Olympic sports such as women’s volleyball and gymnastics, and helped establish championship tournaments for tennis and beach volleyball.
According to the Southland’s site, “Grant also was the primary Olympic sport liaison to Pac-12 Networks and ESPN for scheduling and maximizing exposures while managing the execution of Pac-12 television rights and restrictions.”
Now, after more than a decade working at the conference level, Chris Grant employs his talents at the Southland Conference, where he will look to build the conference and continue to champion sports, and athletes, that don’t receive as much support as football or basketball.
