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Scott Barnes named chair of Division I Men's Basketball Committee for the 2014-15 season

Scott Barnes, the vice president and director of athletics at Utah State University, has been named chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2014-15 season. Barnes will first serve as vice chair to Ron Wellman, the director of athletics at Wake Forest University, who will chair the committee for the 2013-14 academic year.

“It is certainly an honor to have been chosen by my peers to chair this prestigious committee” said Barnes, who began his five-year term in September 2010. “When I think of the colleagues who have served in this capacity, both prior to and during my tenure, I am truly humbled to have this opportunity. I learned so much by watching previous chairs Mike Bobinski, Jeff Hathaway and Gene Smith, and I look forward to working with Ron Wellman and the rest of the committee in the coming year to be fully prepared for this tremendous responsibility.”

Barnes earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fresno State University, where he played basketball for the Bulldogs. He would later play professionally in Germany before coaching at the high school and club levels and serving as a general manager of the Fresno Flames of the World Basketball League. From there, he began a career in athletic administration that includes stops at the University of San Diego, the University of the Pacific, Iowa State University, Humboldt State University, Eastern Washington University and the University of Washington.

He has been in his current role at Utah State for five years. Under Barnes’ leadership, the athletic department has seen improvements in development and facilities while winning 17 Western Athletic Conference championships. The school will join the Mountain West Conference July 1.