The Great Lakes Valley Conference appointed Wispeny Ellis as assistant commissioner to replace Amanda Conklin, who left to accept the coordinator of Champs/Life Skills position at the NCAA national office. Ellis had worked at the NCAA Eligibility Center in Indianapolis after serving eight years in the compliance offices of three Division I institutions, including most recently as the assistant AD for compliance and eligibility at UC Santa Barbara. She also worked at Texas A&M, her alma mater, and North Texas, where she earned her master’s degree in sports administration.

Other transactions

Coaches

Football – California head football coach Jeff Tedford signed a two-year contract extension … Tulsa signed head football coach Todd Graham to a 10-year contract.

Football assistants – Syracuse named Scott Shafer as defensive coordinator and Kevin Van Derzee as director of football operations … Tennessee hired former Mississippi head coach Ed Orgeron as an assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach … Iowa State named Tom Herman as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach … Miami (Ohio) appointed Bill Elias and Antoine Smith as defensive assistant coaches.