Jamar Thompson named to NAADD Executive Committee

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI Athletics' Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs Jamar Thomspon has been named to the Executive Committee of the National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD).

Thompson, who has served in his current role since 2021, will serve as part of a 12-person committee for the 2023-24 membership year.

"I'm truly grateful and honored to be selected to serve on the NAADD Executive Committee," said Thompson. "I'm excited to work with the 11 other committee members who all have a passion and interest in growing NAADD. This is a great opportunity to work with other distinguished athletic development professionals across the country and at all levels.

A former UNI football student-athlete, Thompson joined UNI Athletics in 2016 as the Director of Development, while later receiving a promotion to Senior Director of Development. He ultimately was promoted to his current role where he provides oversight of the department's overall fundraising efforts for major gifts, capital projects, annual fund support, planned giving, and program/team support. Thompson is also responsible for leading the marketing, communication, ticketing and revenue generation areas for the department, and serves as a liaison with the department's multimedia rights holder (Learfield) and University Advancement Division.

Thompson currently leads the fundraising efforts for the $50 million UNI-Dome renovation project, part of the university's Our Tomorrow campaign. He helped lead the effort to secure $2 million for a new football team meeting room which opened in the summer of 2022. The football team meeting room project was the largest fundraising project for UNI Athletics since 2007.

Prior to joining the department, Thompson worked for the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa and helped raise nearly $12 million in four years. He was responsible for creating and managing development activities for 24 affiliates throughout 20 counties in Iowa. He has worked directly with donors, professional advisors, non-profit organizations and community leaders.

Thompson is a former student-athlete and captain for the Panther football squad, being named a three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) honoree, with first-team all-league honors as a senior in 2010. He helped lead the Panthers to three MVFC titles and three trips to the FCS playoffs.

Thompson earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from UNI in 2010. He added his master's degree in communications studies from UNI in 2012. He served as a graduate assistant with the Panther Scholarship Club (PSC) in 2011-12, where he helped the PSC fundraise more than $1.1 million, a record at the time. Thompson organized and coordinated fundraising events in partnership with more than 100 businesses and worked with more than 50 PSC volunteers.

Thompson is also a member of the Minority Opportunities Athletics Association (MOAA), National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), and Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Thompson has served as a volunteer for Northeast Iowa Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

He and his wife, Natalie, reside in Cedar Falls with their two children, Zikari and Anaya.

2023-23 NAADD LEADERSHIP & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ryan White, President (Arkansas)
Dan Cloran, Immediate Past President (The Ohio State)
Jennifer Montgomery, First Vice President (George Washington)
Grant Kelly, Second Vice President (John Hopkins)
Matt Borman, Third Vice President (LSU)
Jamar Thompson, Executive Committee (UNI)
Haven Fields, Executive Committee (Ball State)
Marcy Lanoue, Executive Committee (San Diego)
Howard Milton, Executive Committee (Illinois)
Mahmood Sheikh, Executive Committee (Idaho)
Mitch Straub, Executive Committee (Washington State)
Erin Wissing, Executive Committee (Furman)

About NAADD
NAADD is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics development and fundraising. For more information about NAADD, please visit www.naadd.com. NAADD is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 59th year.

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