Sun Belt Staff Dr. Kathy Keene, Ph. D. Senior Associate Commissioner Sports Administration Dr. Kathy Keene enters her seventh year with the Sun Belt Conference and her third year in the league’s Sports Administration department. Keene has responsibility for the management of eighteen championships, preparation of conference schedules, activities of the Official Coordinators and all other activities associated with the administration of sports on campus. Keene previously served as the Sun Belt Conference’s Associate Commissioner for Compliance from 2006 through 2010. In that role, she oversaw the league’s compliance program and is responsible for all NCAA and Sun Belt Conference rules education and interpretation. Prior to joining the conference office, Dr. Keene spent nine years at the University of New Orleans athletics department. Her tenure at UNO included a five year stint as the department’s senior woman’s administrator. Dr. Keene joined the department as an academic tutor in 1997 and progressed to the Director of Student-Athlete Support Services. Keene graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1996 and received a master’s degree in counseling education in 1998 and her Ph. D. in counseling in 2000 from the University of New Orleans. She was a four-year letterwinner on the Ole Miss track and field team, competing in the heptathlon and earning SEC all-academic honors for three straight seasons (1994-96). Kathy and her husband Chris and their children reside in Metairie. Herbert L. Carter, III, CPA Associate Commissioner/CFO Herbert L. Carter, III enters his seventh year with the Sun Belt Conference after being named Associate Commissioner/Chief Financial Officer of the Sun Belt Conference in August 2006. At the Sun Belt Conference, Carter oversees all of the league’s finances and is responsible for monitoring revenues and expenses. Carter also serves as the league’s liaison to the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and GoDaddy. com Bowl. He has also been routinely involved in matters related to the Sun Belt Conference Executive Committee and the league’s CEOs. Carter received his undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of New Orleans. The New Orleans native is a CPA and has an extensive
background in accounting and tax. He previously worked with the firm of Wegmann Dazet and Company as an Accounting and Tax Manager and has been active with several local non-profits. Carter, his wife Jennifer, their three children live in Metairie. John McElwain Associate Commissioner/Communications John McElwain is entering his fifth year as the Sun Belt Conference’s Associate Commissioner for Communications and his eighth total year with the league. After serving as the Sun Belt Conference’s Director of Media Relations for two years, McElwain was elevated to the role of Associate Commissioner for Communications in June 2008. Prior to his position as Director of Media Relations McElwain served as the conference’s Media Relations Assistant. McElwain has served as the day-to-day publicity contact for football, soccer, women’s basketball, tennis, golf, track and field, swimming and diving, baseball, softball, and volleyball in his seven seasons with the conference. He primarily serves as the media contact for football and men’s basketball currently. McElwain has served on the media relations staffs at the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Allstate Sugar Bowls and the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Women’s Final Fours. McElwain is a an active member of CoSIDA, ConSIDA, the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). McElwain is a 2004 graduate of Indiana University, receiving his degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis on sports broadcasting and communications. McElwain, a New Orleans native, currently resides in Algiers with his wife Meaghan. Scott Connors J.D. Assistant Commissioner/Compliance Scott Connors joined the Sun Belt Conference staff in October 2011 as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance. Connors is primarily responsible for compliance and academic service to the league members. He serves as the liaison to the conference’s Compliance Coordinators and Faculty Athletics Representatives. Connors is also responsible for the conference’s rules education program and provides member institutions with rules interpretations.
Prior to the Sun Belt Conference, Connors worked at Tulane University where he held the titles of Assistant Director of Compliance, Interim Assistant Provost for NCAA Compliance, and Director of Compliance. Over the course of his three-year stay at Tulane, Connors performed a number of tasks for the university. These tasks ranged from evaluating transcripts of incoming student-athletes to serving as the university’s sole compliance administrator. While serving as the Interim Assistant Provost, Connors was a member of the athletic department’s Executive Staff. A native of East Walpole, Mass., Connors earned his Juris Doctorate from the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, La. and his undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston. While at the College of Charleston, Connors was a member of the Cougar Swim Team. Connors is currently a member of the Louisiana Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Dominick Giambrone, Jr. J.D. Assistant Commissioner/Sports Administration Dominick Giambrone, Jr., J.D. assumed the role of Sun Belt Conference Assistant Commissioner for Championships in 2011 after serving the previous year as the Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Educational Services. In his position, he is responsible for overseeing the championship administration at the league’s 18 championship events. In addition to his championship administration duties, Giambrone will also serve as the lead contact for the Sun Belt Fellows – a program started in 2007 for member institutions young, aspiring administrators to network with national leaders of athletic administration. Giambrone will also plan and manage the conference championships and develop championship policies and directives. While serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Educational Services, Giambrone oversaw the league’s compliance program and was responsible for all NCAA and Sun Belt Conference rules education and interpretation. He was also the liaison to the FARs and Compliance Directors on campus. During his time in compliance at the league office Giambrone helped streamline the league’s compliance efforts both in the league office and on campus by offering an Academic Summit and Compliance Workshop once a year for institution members. The New Orleans, La., native returned to the Sun Belt Conference office in October 2009 as the Director of Compliance and Championships. Giambrone served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance while at the University of New Orleans where he was prior to his arrival at the Sun Belt. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 2005 with a Business Administration degree and
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