GW Athletics officials named Markus Jennings as their first chief revenue officer and deputy athletics director, according to a Saturday release.
Jennings in his role will lead “external operations and strategic initiatives,” including marketing and student-athlete revenue sharing, in addition to having a “significant hand” in fundraising. The addition of Jennings to GW’s athletic department places the University among a growing number of institutions embracing the chief revenue officer role, with power conference programs, like Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina announcing their own hiring of the position in February and March, respectively.
Atlantic 10 foe La Salle also hired a chief revenue officer in October, joining Duquesne’s chief revenue officer — who assumed the position last June — as the only two A-10 schools with the position listed online.
Jennings’ roles were previously split among several officials, including former Director for External Operations Andy Ruge, who oversaw fan engagement. Ruge is no longer listed on the athletic staff directory as of May, although it’s unclear when or why he left the position.
Jennings joins GW after serving four years at the University of Akron as deputy athletic director and chief operating officer.
Jennings will oversee the athletic department’s external operations and strategic initiatives, including its communications and marketing. He will also have a significant hand in annual, scholarship and capital campaign fundraising, according to the release.
“Markus is a talented and passionate administrator who brings a proven track record of excellence and revenue generation,” Director of Athletics Michael Lipitz said in the release. “He shares our vision to elevate GW Athletics by embracing this transformative time in college athletics. He will play a valuable role as a thought partner and key member of our leadership team.”
With the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness in 2021, which allows student-athletes to receive compensation off their personal brands and the impending House v. NCAA settlement — which will likely lead to direct revenue sharing with student-athletes — Jennings will join a growing athletics staff tasked with managing financial opportunities. Last summer, officials hired Cooper Handelsman as general manager for GW’s basketball programs, charged with advancing NIL programs and “optimizing GW’s resources” for its teams.
In his role at Akron, Jennings oversaw daily operations for their athletics department serving as second-in-command under their director of athletics, where he oversaw multiple coach hirings and managed their budget, per the release. Prior to Akron, he served for eight years as associate athletics director for external affairs at Sacramento State University, where he worked on fundraising, marketing and branding.
The now-closed LinkedIn posting for the job hiring states the position will involve working with Handelsman as a liaison to NIL collectives, supervising athletics marketing and promotions and overseeing ticket sales for GW’s basketball programs. The listed salary range for the role on LinkedIn sat between $138,128 and $240,315.
The release says Jennings will begin his position on June 9.
“DC is a destination city and to be a part of a world class institution where students can both compete and study at the highest levels of athletics and academics will be an honor,” Jennings said in the release. “Serving our students by properly resourcing them to achieve excellence in their lives is a privilege I do not take for granted.”
