FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2024
CONTACT: Ryan Pfeifer. Senior Director of Strategic Communications & Brand Enhancement
Weber Introduces Athletics Advisory Council
Diverse group of eight selected to assist CSU Athletics
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State Director of Athletics John Weber introduced the Athletics Advisory Council on Wednesday. The distinguished group of eight will work with Weber and the athletic department in striving to become the most loved, most watched and most innovative program in the West.
“It is an outstanding day for Colorado State Athletics! It is important to me to surround our students, coaches, staff, and myself with winners. This group of professionals are great people and extremely accomplished professionals. Their deeper engagement with Colorado State Athletics is going to make us better. I am so appreciative that these distinguished leaders have agreed to serve as a member on our Athletics Department Advisory Council,” Weber said. “The world of college athletics continues to rapidly change. Having this group of high achievers, each of whom will bring their unique knowledge to our team, will help Colorado State create the very best student experience.”
The Athletics Advisory Council will assist Weber and the CSU administration navigate the next generation of college athletics by providing input and guidance from a wide range of backgrounds.
About the Council MembersSandy Barbour, Retired Director of Athletics at Penn State, Cal and Tulane
Sandy Barbour spent 40 years serving in college athletics before retiring in 2022 as the Director of Athletics for Penn State. The former student-athlete was the AD at Tulane, Cal and Penn State over her career. In 2020, Barbour was among the honorees on Sports Illustrated’s “The Unrelenting” list of powerful, influential and outstanding women in sports. She was the Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2022. She served on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, including being chair for two years. Barbour was also selected as one of the inaugural members of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Collegiate Sports Sustainability Think Tank.
Tom Hilbert, Retired Colorado State Volleyball Coach
Tom Hilbert built one of the best volleyball programs in the nation at Colorado State during his 26-year tenure. Hilbert won 637 matches, guided CSU to 23 NCAA Tournament appearances — including six Sweet 16s — and won 20 Mountain West titles. Hilbert also oversaw the development of 10 All-Americans while in Fort Collins. Now retired, he is a consultant for Collegiate Sports Solutions.
Ray Jackson, Vice President of Player Development, Denver Broncos
A Colorado State Hall of Fame inductee in 2011 after his illustrious career in Fort Collins, Jackson is currently the Vice President of Player Development for the Denver Broncos. Jackson played six seasons in the NFL before starting a career in the front office. His post-playing career began with a 10-year stint at the Pittsburgh Steelers as their director of player development. Jackson has been with the Broncos since March 2015. His role with the franchise is to spearhead and organize support programs to maximize players’ potential and ability to achieve their goals on and off the field.
Todd Marksberry, Former CEO of Canvas Credit Union
Todd Marksberry spent nine years as the CEO of Canvas Credit Union serving more than 300,000 members, 740 Canvas family members and Colorado communities. As the CEO, he led the credit union through a rebrand which made it one of the most recognizable brands in Colorado and credit unions nationally.
Dr. AJ Keaton, PhD Assistant Professor, UMass
AJ Keaton, formerly known as AJ Newton, played basketball at Colorado State from 2013-15. Now she is an Assistant Professor at UMass in Amherst, Massachusetts. Keaton studies how race and gender equity shapes organization structures, norms and experiences mainly related to sports corporations. Keaton, who has been published often, earned her master’s degree from Texas and a Ph. D in Philosophy from Connecticut.
Dr. Rocci Trumper, Orthopedic & Spine Center of the Rockies
Dr. Rocci Trumper has worked at the Orthopedic Spine Center of the Rockies for almost 30 years as a specialist in knee sports medicine. He has focused exclusively on the evaluation and treatment of knee issues since 2002. He has performed more than 5,000 anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions in his career and has remained active in research and clinical outcomes through the Progressive Research in Sports Medicine (PRISM) Foundation. Dr. Trumper serves as a team physician for Colorado State University, the Colorado Eagles hockey team and local high school teams.
Beth Walker, Dean of the College of Business, Colorado State University
Beth Walker is the Dean of the College of Business at Colorado State University. Before joining CSU’s College of Business, Beth served as the Associate Dean, MBA Programs at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, where she was also the AT&T Professor of Services Marketing and Management. Beth is an award-winning researcher and teacher whose research has been widely published in leading marketing journals. She is a recipient of the prestigious Harold Maynard Award, recognizing the most significant contribution to marketing theory and practice by the Journal of Marketing. She also received the Richard Beckhard Prize for her contribution to the MIT Sloan Management Review. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors, Better Business Bureau (Northern Colorado), and served on the American Marketing Association, Board of Directors, as well as the President of American Marketing Association, Academic Division. She has consulted on strategy issues for State Farm Insurance, IBM Global Services, Yellow Roadway Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Honeywell, and AT&T.
Dr. Lise Youngblade, PhD, Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State
Lise Youngblade has been at Colorado State since 2006 when she took over as the head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. In August of 2019 she was named the Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. She is an applied developmental scientist whose areas of specialization include child and adolescent socio-emotional development; access to healthcare for vulnerable youth; program evaluation; and analysis of developmental processes in educational and community contexts. Lise has served as both Associate Dean for Research, and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, where she was responsible for leading specific initiatives that benefit the college.
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Ryan Pfeifer
Senior Director of Strategic Communications and Brand Enhancement
Colorado State Athletics
