Wagnon tabbed to lead Lone Star Conference
General

Wagnon tabbed to lead Lone Star Conference

  • 08 January 2007
  • 5 min read

RICHARDSON
,
Texas
- Former Midwestern State University assistant athletic director 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).