2014 @RAZORBACKFB MEDIA GUIDE
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION CLAYTON HAMILTON
MICHAEL WADDELL
Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Financial Officer Clayton Hamilton joined the University of Arkansas in January 2010 and serves in the role of Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief Financial Officer with oversight of the athletic department’s financial affairs, business operations, contracts, human resources, payroll and retail store operations. Hamilton serves as a member of the department’s Executive Staff, Senior Administrative Staff, Sport Administrator Group and Bowl Management Committee. Hamilton added sport administrator duties for men’s tennis in 2014. While at Arkansas, Hamilton has managed the financial affairs and business operations for all of Razorback Athletics, which includes revenues that now approach $100 million on an annual basis, and which represents one of the few financially self-sustaining athletic programs in all of college athletics. In addition, he has managed the financial planning for the department’s facility master plan, which includes $98 million of projects that have been completed or are currently in progress. Hamilton also serves as an adjunct professor in the university’s sports management program. Prior to joining Arkansas, Hamilton spent three years as Associate Athletics Director for Business for the Colorado Buffalos and six years in various financial management positions for the Florida State Seminoles. Hamilton also has experience working in professional sports with both the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Cavaliers, and in corporate finance with the former Little Rock-based ALLTEL Corporation. He is an active member of the College Athletic Business Management Association, having served most recently as president in 2009, and has served on various NCAA strategic task forces. He is also a past recipient of the College Athletic Business Manager of the Year Award, and was recognized within the State of Arkansas in 2011 as one of Northwest Arkansas’ Top Forty Under 40. Hamilton also serves on the Board of Directors for the Walton Arts Center Foundation. A native of Little Rock, Ark., Hamilton graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He obtained a master’s degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in 1997 and his CPA certification from the State of Arkansas in 1998. Hamilton and his wife Stephanie have two daughters, Lauren and Caylee.
Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations and Strategic Communications Michael Waddell joined the Razorback Athletics Department in June 2013 as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for External Operations & Strategic Communications. As a member of the Razorback’s senior leadership team Waddell oversees the department’s revenue generation centers, including ticketing & licensing, and is the liaison with ESPN and the SEC Network, leading the program’s strategic engagement with the new television channel. Waddell is also the day to day contact with IMG/Razorback Sports Properties and IMG/Learfield Ticket Solutions, along with new digital partner Silver Chalice/SportsLabs. Waddell also serves as the sport administrator for women’s tennis. Prior to coming to Arkansas, Waddell served as the Director of Athletics at Towson University where he was the lead administrator for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) program. During his tenure at Towson Waddell developed the program creed of “EXPECT SUCCESS,” that quickly helped re-shape the department as one of the premier mid-major departments in the country. New head coaches were hired in men’s & women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, volleyball and field hockey, and the school went from a single CAA Championship in 2010-11 to a school record seven CAA Championships in 2012-13. The 2012-13 TU men’s basketball team capped off a dramatic reformation, going from 1-31 in 2011-12 to 18-13 the following year, which resulted in the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of college basketball. More importantly, the men’s basketball program was recognized for its performance in the classroom, where a total restructuring of the Tigers Academic Achievement area held drive a perfect 1,000 APR score for men’s hoops for 2012-13, up from an 873 which was inherited upon arrival three years prior. Overall, over 131 studentathletes achieved a 3.5 GPA while Tiger student-athletes & staff engaged the Greater Baltimore Area with more than 10,000 hours of service. Waddell positioned Towson as one of the country’s most aggressive programs in the corporate landscape, negotiating the multimedia rights deal with CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, a new footwear and apparel agreement with Under Armour, and the naming rights agreement for the newly constructed SECU Arena, which is the largest corporate gift in University history. The 2011-12 and 2012-13 athletics fundraising totals were also the highest in Towson University Athletics history. Prior to being named the athletics director at Towson, Waddell spent five years as a Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at the University of Cincinnati. At Cincinnati, Waddell’s primary responsibility was to oversee the revenue generating areas that included marketing/fan development, ticket sales/customer service, communications, game day operations, and information technology. He coordinated all of the Bearcats’ football bowl planning, including back-to-back BCS Bowl Appearances in 2009 (FedEx Orange Bowl) and 2010 (Allstate Sugar Bowl). Prior to his Cincinnati assignment, Waddell served as the Associate Athletics Director for External Relations and later Interim Director of Athletics at the University of Akron where sports marketing revenues increased more
than five-fold during his tenure through the creation of the “Team Akron” corporate patron program. Before joining the Akron staff, Waddell served as the director of marketing and broadcasting at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he was responsible for the development of all athletics corporate partnerships, marketing, promotions and multimedia development. He created the Army Sports Radio Network, securing WABC770 AM in New York City as the flagship station and served as the “Voice of the Black Knights Basketball”. From 1997-2000 Waddell, a North Carolina native, was the Director of Athletics External Operations at Appalachian State University. His tenure was marked by the signing of 100,000-watt radio station WKBC-FM as the flagship outlet for Mountaineer football and basketball. His 1999 football marketing theme “Rock Solid” spawned Kidd Brewer Stadium’s nickname “The Rock” that has been adopted as part of ASU tradition. Waddell received his B.S. degree in Sport Management from Guilford College in 1991, where he was also a twotime letterwinner in football. He earned his M.S. degree in Sport Administration from the prestigious Ohio University graduate program. Waddell began his career in athletics in broadcasting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia, where he was also the Director of Sports Marketing for Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation. He is an active member of the NACDA and is a founding member of the Cincinnati Sports Professionals Network. Waddell and his wife, Heidi, have two children; Drew and Caroline.
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