LSU Athletic Administration - Senior Staff Emmett David
Neal Lamonica
Associate AD/Facility and Project Development Emmett David joined the LSU Athletics Department in 2012 after serving as Director of the Office of Planning Design and Construction at LSU since June of 1996. He assists in facility and project development for the Athletic Department and TAF that include the recently completed South Stadium addition, the tennis stadium and indoor facility, the gymnastics practice facility, football weight training facility, tiger habitat and other property holding enhancements.
Associate AD/Business & Finance Neal Lamonica, a member of the LSU Athletic Department staff since January 2000, was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Fiscal Operations in 2017. His primary duties include monitoring the Athletic Department’s over $129 million budget, and assisting coaches and administrators in formulating budgets for future years. He also serves as the liaison to the athletic department’s retail sales operations and Tiger Booster Clubs. Lamonica began his professional career at LSU in 2000 in the athletic department compliance office before moving to the business office in June 2003. He served as Coordinator of Athletic Business until December 2005, when he was named Business Manager. Lamonica was promoted to Director of Fiscal Operations in November 2009. Lamonica received a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from LSU in 1998, and he earned an LSU master’s degree in business administration in 2003. Lamonica and his wife, Blythe, are the parents of three sons -- Davis, Sam Henry and Luke.
Among his responsibilities for the University was to serve as facility officer for Doctoral I Research Institution consisting of 11.2 million gross square feet with 250 primary buildings. He also was responsible for the 5-year Capital Outlay project planning of some $484 million, deferred maintenance reporting and funding; and, ADA and Life Safety Code deficiency projects, budgets and tracking of expenditures of some $200 million. He was responsible for physical development on campus with projects such as Choppin Annex, Residential College, Business Education Complex, Raphael Semmes Parking Garage and numerous major maintenance, repair and restoration projects. Emmett also coordinated and implemented master plans for multiple departments such as Parking and Traffic, Athletics, Veterinary Medicine, Student Health Center, Union, University Recreation, South Campus and Residential Life. He developed long range planning of future projects and the impact of associated displacement and managed space inventory that provided the bridge for current masterplans and campus redevelopment. Emmett also has served as a Staff Senator. Emmett graduated from LSU with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1982 and his Master of Public Administration in 2006. He is a registered licensed architect by the state of Louisiana. Emmett, and his wife Maurine, have two children Chloe a resident of Baton Rouge and Gabriel a resident of Riverside, California.
David Taylor
Mathew Shanklin
Associate AD/Marketing Mathew Shanklin is in his seventh year at LSU serving as the Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing and as the General Business Manager for LSU Sports Properties, the multi-media rights holder for Tiger Athletics. Previously, Shanklin served 20 years as the Associate Athletic Director of Marketing and Licensing at the University of Arkansas. Shanklin supervises all operations and client services for LSU Sports Properties, while also managing the LSU Marketing efforts. Since joining LSU, he has implemented several new initiatives including the Bengal Brigade Street team and the new band pregame presentation for men’s basketball and Hispanic broadcasts for LSU Football in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He also spearheaded the unique halftime concert with Grammy winners 3 Doors Down and the LSU Marching Band at the LSU-Texas A&M game in 2015. While at Arkansas, Shanklin was in charge of all department marketing/promotions, corporate sponsorships, advertising sales and coordinated all sales and programming for the football, basketball and baseball video boards. In 2000, Shanklin negotiated what was then the largest sponsorship in college sports when he secured an $11.3 million partnership with Southwestern Bell/Cingular. He was instrumental in developing the HogPen, a tailgating area for fans inside Baum Stadium, the Hog Spa hot tub area at Baum Stadium and the RBI Girls. Shanklin was instrumental in establishing the school’s first baseball radio network in 1992, one of the nation’s largest with more than 25 affiliates statewide as well as creating the first Hispanic radio network for the University of Arkansas. In 1998, Shanklin became the university’s licensing coordinator and under his direction, licensing revenues increased every quarter. Shanklin was assistant marketing director at East Carolina University for a year before going to Arkansas. He had served as an intern at Arkansas for five months before joining the ECU staff. A 1984 graduate of South Mecklenburg (N.C.) High School in Charlotte, N.C., where he lettered in baseball and soccer, Shanklin earned his degree in communications from North Carolina-Wilmington in 1988. A graduate of Ohio University’s highly respected sports administration program, Shanklin earned a master’s degree in that program in the fall of 1989. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Shanklin married the former Missy Emmerson of Jacksonville, Texas, in 2003. She has a daughter, Jordan who graduated from LSU in May, and they are also the parents of Barbara Blake (12) and Izabella Grace (10).
Michael Bonnette
LSU
Assistant AD/Game-Event Management David Taylor, who has been a part of LSU’s game management team since September 2005, was promoted in August 2014 to Assistant Athletic Director of Game and Event Management. Taylor handles all aspects regarding game management of athletic events while overseeing a staff that helps coordinate all events within the LSU Athletic Department grounds. Taylor, who started as game management coordinator, was promoted to Assistant Director in 2006 and Associate Director in 2008. He assumed the directorship of Game and Event Management in September 2011. Prior to that, Taylor served as Assistant Coordinator of Athletic Facilities and Game Operations at Texas State University from 2003 to 2005. Taylor earned his B.S. degree from Texas-El Paso in 1999 and his Masters in Sports Management in 2003 from the University of Texas.
Blair Napolitano
Assistant AD/Compliance Blair Napolitano, who is in her 11th year with the LSU athletic department, was promoted to assistant athletic director in October 2014. She directs the day-to-day-operations of the compliance office, and her primary duties include researching and communicating with coaches, counselors and prospective student-athletes regarding prospect’s initial eligibility and amateurism status. She also serves on the liaison for student-athletes to the LSU admissions office, and she researches and provides interpretations on NCAA rules and SEC bylaws to coaches, staff and student-athletes. Napolitano began her LSU career as a compliance coordinator in October 2005, and she was named director of compliance in October 2009. A native of Baton Rouge, she earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from LSU in 2005 while serving as a student manager for the track and field team from 2003-05. She received her Master’s degree in business administration from LSU in August 2010. Napolitano and her husband, Anthony, have three children - Carter, James and Charlotte.
Wendy Nall
Assistant AD/Human Resources Wendy Nall has served in the LSU Athletics Human Resources department since 2001. She was promoted to Manager in 2003 and named an Assistant AD in November of 2015. Nall, graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond in May 2000 with a major in kinesiology with a sports administration concentration. She completed her Masters of Science at LSU in August 2001. Nall is married to husband Slater and they have two daughters; Kendall and Olivia.
Associate AD/Communications Michael Bonnette enters his 18th year as LSU’s Communications Director and 11th as Associate Athletic Director. Bonnette was originally elevated to Sports Information Director in August of 2000 and the promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in July of 2004. As Communications Director, Bonnette serves as the chief contact for LSU’s nationally-ranked football team as well as overseeing all publicity activities for the 21 sports sponsored by the Athletic Department. The 47-year-old Bonnette, who served as an Associate Sports Information Director for seven years, is in his 24th year with the LSU Athletic Department. His 2012 LSU Football media guide as named “Best in the Nation” by CoSIDA, one of several awards he has received from the organization and in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association annual writing contests. His 2014 football media guide was ranked second in the nation. The Lake Charles, Louisiana native has been around the sports media profession his entire life as he is the son of retired McNeese State Sports Information Director Louis Bonnette, a member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame. The field at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles is named “Louis Bonnette Field”. His brother, Matthew, continued the family tradition at McNeese by being named Sports Information Director in July 2012, following his Dad, who held that position for 46 years. Bonnette, who is a 1993 graduate of LSU, is past president of SIDs for the Southeastern Conference and is currently the vice-president for SIDs for the LSWA. He is married to the former Robin Arnaud of Opelousas, Louisiana and the couple has three sons: Peyton, Grant and Max.
2018 SOFTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
101