The NCAA has hired two new staff members at the director level. One is L.J. Wright, most recently the assistant stadium manager of Indianapolis' RCA Dome, who will serve as a director of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship. The other is Beth DeBauche, associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, who has been hired as the assistant chief of staff for Division I.

Wright

Wright replaces William R. Hancock, who announced recently that he was returning to the Kansas City area to spend more time with his family. Effective July 8, Hancock will become a consultant to the Division I Men's Basketball Championship handling media responsibilities and remaining involved in a variety of aspects of the tournament.

Wright, in his capacity with the RCA Dome, is experienced with administration of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship. He has managed the tournament site on the six occasions that championship sessions have been held in Indianapolis since Wright started at the RCA Dome in 1991.

Wright also has been involved in administering NCAA indoor track and field championships and the Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament, in addition to games for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.

He was named the RCA Dome's employee of the year in 1997.

Wright attended Indiana University, Bloomington, where he also served as student manager for the men's basketball team from 1986 through 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports marketing and management from Indiana in 1990.

DeBauche

DeBauche replaces Robin Green, who had served in the assistant chief of staff role since 1997.

DeBauche will work with the Division I Board of Directors and the Management Council, in addition to the two Division I cabinets, among other duties. She has been with the SEC since 1996. As associate commissioner, DeBauche assisted SEC schools with the NCAA certification process, and was a liaison for the league's compliance coordinators, faculty athletics representatives, directors of student-athlete support programs and the SEC's student-athlete advisory committee.

She also coordinated the SEC's efforts with regard to the NCAA governance structure and draft NCAA and SEC legislative proposals.

While at the SEC, DeBauche also served as the administrator of the National Letter of Intent program for the Collegiate Commissioners Association.

Before joining the SEC, DeBauche was the assistant athletics director for compliance at Vanderbilt University from 1994 to 1996. Before that, she was an attorney at law firms in Wisconsin and Georgia.

DeBauche earned her bachelor's degree in history and government from Saint Mary's College (Indiana) in 1983. She received a master of arts degree in communications from the University of Notre Dame in 1985 and her juris doctor degree from Notre Dame in 1988.