TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Athletics’ Becky Parke, Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing, Game Experience and Special Events, has been named President of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) for 2015-16, the Association announced July 22.
“Becky is an indispensible part of our team, and her unyielding passion for this athletics department and university is second-to-none,” Ray Anderson, Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director, said. “She is a leader and a pioneer in her field, and we are very proud of all Becky has accomplished in her decade-plus tenure with Sun Devil Athletics.”
Parke succeeds 2014-15 NACMA President Eric Nichols, Associate Athletics Director and Chief Marketing Officer at South Carolina. Parke’s cabinet will include 1st Vice President Joni Smoller, Senior Director of Fan Experience and Sales at Kansas State University, 2nd Vice President/Secretary Ayo Taylor-Dixon, Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations at the University of Northern Colorado, and 3rd Vice President/Treasurer Brian Hicks, Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at Xavier University.
Parke, who enters her 11th season with Sun Devil Athletics, is involved in numerous aspects of the athletics department external relations. She played an integral role in the university-wide rebranding campaign in 2011, developed and implemented the yearly Sun Devil Caravan tour, and has managed the formation of a game-experience department. Department-wide marketing campaigns, specific promotions, including Blackout and Maroon Monsoon football games, and Gameday videos, such as “Stomp The Bus” and “Fan Stories,” have transformed home events into some of the most entertaining and unique in collegiate athletics. Tasked with creating a new department responsible for overseeing all of SDA’s external events, Parke has been instrumental in the success of the team’s return to Camp Tontozona, as well as the annual Football Banquet and Football Signing Day Reception, among others.
“Having seen NACMA grow from the ground up as a former NACMA intern and liaison in the national office, I feel a personal investment in building upon that momentum in 2015-16,” Parke said. “As an association, we have made significant strides and I want to thank Eric for leading us over the last year and our outstanding Board of Directors who are focused on achieving the goals of the membership.”
Parke joined SDA in 2005 after spending seven years at the NACDA office as an assistant administrator and association liaison, working with NACMA, CABMA and NAAC. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Marketing & Management from Indiana University in 1998. She was named to the NACMA Board of Directors in 2010.
About NACMA
NACMA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics marketing administrators. For more information about NACMA, please visit www.nacma.com. NACMA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 51st year. For more information on NACDA and the 15 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.