New SoCon Commissioner
The Southern Conference has named Michael “M.C.” Cross, Ph.D., its new commissioner, effective July 1.
A nearly 30-year veteran of athletic administration, Cross comes to the SoCon from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics after previous stops at Penn State, Bradley, Princeton and Michigan.
Cross will be the 10th commissioner in league history and succeeds Jim Schaus, who announced in February that he will retire at the end of June after leading the league office for four years.
“The Southern Conference is one of the historic and iconic conferences in college athletics and the opportunity to lead its member schools at a time of dynamic change in NCAA Division I is a challenge I am eager to embrace,” Cross said. “The Conference’s emphasis and genuine interest in education, competitiveness, and the well-being of their college athletes is easy to endorse.
“I am incredibly thankful to the SoCon presidents for their belief in my leadership and ability to support the member schools as we speak and act in a unified manner. I cannot overstate my appreciation to the chair of the search process, President Elizabeth Davis of Furman University; the current chair of the Council of Presidents, Chancellor Frank Gilliam of UNC Greensboro; and the members of the search committee. I also want to thank Todd Turner and his team at Collegiate Sports Associates for their incredible professionalism and stewardship of this process.”
Cross has served as the managing director for communication and policy for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics since January. There, he coordinates the Knight Commission’s College Sports Governance and Structure Committee and efforts of the communications team.
From 2015-23, Cross was at Penn State, where he was the sport administrator for numerous programs, including the Nittany Lions’ nationally ranked men’s and women’s hockey teams. He was also responsible for new business development, identifying, screening and advancing revenue-generating opportunities to provide resources for Intercollegiate Athletics. Additionally, he served as an Executive Committee member on the Penn State Center for the Study of Sport in Society board since its inception in 2016.
Prior to his stint at Penn State, Cross was the director of athletics at Bradley University from January 2010 to March 2015. He oversaw the opening and dedication of Renaissance Coliseum, a $50 million, 4,200-seat arena that is home to Bradley’s athletics department and teams.
During his tenure, Cross negotiated the department’s first multimedia rights agreement that increased corporate sponsorship revenue to an institutional record of nearly $1.1 million; instituted a coherent branding strategy, style guide and new mascot for the department; signed Bradley’s first-ever all-sports apparel deal with adidas; implemented a courtside seating plan for men’s basketball that created $100,000 in new annual revenue; and reinstated men’s indoor and outdoor track after a nearly 20-year hiatus.
Cross spent over 10 years at Princeton in a variety of roles before moving to Bradley. He started at Princeton as assistant director of athletics for compliance in July 1999, working his way up to executive associate director of athletics in July 2006, a role he held for over three years. Cross also served as the acting director of athletics for a five-month period during that time.
During his tenure at Princeton, Cross concurrently served as the commissioner of the Collegiate Sprint Football League from 2003-07.
Cross began his career at Michigan, serving as a graduate assistant before earning a full-time post as an NCAA certification assistant. He was an assistant director of compliance for the final two years of his tenure.
Cross was the co-founder of Athlete Viewpoint, a technology-based survey tool and data analytics platform designed for athletic directors to fully understand the experience of their student-athletes to inform decision making, strategic planning, and quality control for every aspect of an athletic department. The company was acquired by Game Plan in 2021.
“The search committee was presented with a deep and diverse pool of candidates,” said Furman University President Dr. Elizabeth Davis. “Michael brings a great deal of on-campus experience plus a unique skill set developed while working with the Knight Commission. He has the right vision and insight to lead us in the ever-changing world of intercollegiate athletics.”
A native of Hamburg, New York, Cross is a former basketball student-athlete and a two-time graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning an undergraduate degree in economics in 1991 and a master’s degree in college counseling in 1993. He would go on to earn a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Michigan in 1999.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with many talented and values-based leaders and coaches throughout my career, most recently at the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, led by CEO Amy Perko. The Commission members and consulting team of highly talented professionals are an amazing group whose commitment to the education, health, safety and well-being of college athletes is inspiring. Their thinking represents some of the best ideas in college athletics and will benefit the SoCon as we navigate the future of college athletics.
“Finally, I want to thank my wife, Jennifer, for her incredible support and willingness to leap into the unknown once again.”
The Crosses have two adult sons, Aidan and Nathan.
A nearly 30-year veteran of athletic administration, Cross comes to the SoCon from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics after previous stops at Penn State, Bradley, Princeton and Michigan.
Cross will be the 10th commissioner in league history and succeeds Jim Schaus, who announced in February that he will retire at the end of June after leading the league office for four years.
“The Southern Conference is one of the historic and iconic conferences in college athletics and the opportunity to lead its member schools at a time of dynamic change in NCAA Division I is a challenge I am eager to embrace,” Cross said. “The Conference’s emphasis and genuine interest in education, competitiveness, and the well-being of their college athletes is easy to endorse.
“I am incredibly thankful to the SoCon presidents for their belief in my leadership and ability to support the member schools as we speak and act in a unified manner. I cannot overstate my appreciation to the chair of the search process, President Elizabeth Davis of Furman University; the current chair of the Council of Presidents, Chancellor Frank Gilliam of UNC Greensboro; and the members of the search committee. I also want to thank Todd Turner and his team at Collegiate Sports Associates for their incredible professionalism and stewardship of this process.”
Cross has served as the managing director for communication and policy for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics since January. There, he coordinates the Knight Commission’s College Sports Governance and Structure Committee and efforts of the communications team.
From 2015-23, Cross was at Penn State, where he was the sport administrator for numerous programs, including the Nittany Lions’ nationally ranked men’s and women’s hockey teams. He was also responsible for new business development, identifying, screening and advancing revenue-generating opportunities to provide resources for Intercollegiate Athletics. Additionally, he served as an Executive Committee member on the Penn State Center for the Study of Sport in Society board since its inception in 2016.
Prior to his stint at Penn State, Cross was the director of athletics at Bradley University from January 2010 to March 2015. He oversaw the opening and dedication of Renaissance Coliseum, a $50 million, 4,200-seat arena that is home to Bradley’s athletics department and teams.
During his tenure, Cross negotiated the department’s first multimedia rights agreement that increased corporate sponsorship revenue to an institutional record of nearly $1.1 million; instituted a coherent branding strategy, style guide and new mascot for the department; signed Bradley’s first-ever all-sports apparel deal with adidas; implemented a courtside seating plan for men’s basketball that created $100,000 in new annual revenue; and reinstated men’s indoor and outdoor track after a nearly 20-year hiatus.
Cross spent over 10 years at Princeton in a variety of roles before moving to Bradley. He started at Princeton as assistant director of athletics for compliance in July 1999, working his way up to executive associate director of athletics in July 2006, a role he held for over three years. Cross also served as the acting director of athletics for a five-month period during that time.
During his tenure at Princeton, Cross concurrently served as the commissioner of the Collegiate Sprint Football League from 2003-07.
Cross began his career at Michigan, serving as a graduate assistant before earning a full-time post as an NCAA certification assistant. He was an assistant director of compliance for the final two years of his tenure.
Cross was the co-founder of Athlete Viewpoint, a technology-based survey tool and data analytics platform designed for athletic directors to fully understand the experience of their student-athletes to inform decision making, strategic planning, and quality control for every aspect of an athletic department. The company was acquired by Game Plan in 2021.
“The search committee was presented with a deep and diverse pool of candidates,” said Furman University President Dr. Elizabeth Davis. “Michael brings a great deal of on-campus experience plus a unique skill set developed while working with the Knight Commission. He has the right vision and insight to lead us in the ever-changing world of intercollegiate athletics.”
A native of Hamburg, New York, Cross is a former basketball student-athlete and a two-time graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning an undergraduate degree in economics in 1991 and a master’s degree in college counseling in 1993. He would go on to earn a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Michigan in 1999.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with many talented and values-based leaders and coaches throughout my career, most recently at the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, led by CEO Amy Perko. The Commission members and consulting team of highly talented professionals are an amazing group whose commitment to the education, health, safety and well-being of college athletes is inspiring. Their thinking represents some of the best ideas in college athletics and will benefit the SoCon as we navigate the future of college athletics.
“Finally, I want to thank my wife, Jennifer, for her incredible support and willingness to leap into the unknown once again.”
The Crosses have two adult sons, Aidan and Nathan.
Good thing he’s got that PHD. Parker High Diploma’s are impressive.
"Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.
'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.”
Josey Wales
'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.”
Josey Wales
cavedweller2 wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 5:52 pmGood thing he’s got that PHD. Parker High Diploma’s are impressive.
Good to see FU had a very strong hand in deciding who to bring in, and I like the fact he played hoops at State University of New York at Buffalo.
He did some strong things while he was AD at Bradley, he oversaw the opening and dedication of Renaissance Coliseum, a $50 million, 4,200-seat arena; negotiated the department’s first multimedia rights agreement that increased corporate sponsorship revenue to an institutional record of nearly $1.1 million; signed Bradley’s first-ever all-sports apparel deal with adidas; implemented a courtside seating plan for men’s basketball that created $100,000 in new annual revenue.
He did some strong things while he was AD at Bradley, he oversaw the opening and dedication of Renaissance Coliseum, a $50 million, 4,200-seat arena; negotiated the department’s first multimedia rights agreement that increased corporate sponsorship revenue to an institutional record of nearly $1.1 million; signed Bradley’s first-ever all-sports apparel deal with adidas; implemented a courtside seating plan for men’s basketball that created $100,000 in new annual revenue.
dornb liked this
Anything from Mr. Cross yet?
Schaus retired only 9 days ago. Since Schaus retirement, the 9 days have included 2 weekends and mid-week July 4th. Let’s be patient. It would be fine with me to let him get his feet on the ground and not even say anything until at least August 30, 2023. Hopefully he will be spending an appropriate amount of public time at FU on Thursday August 31, 2023.
affirm wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 7:38 amSchaus retired only 9 days ago. Since Schaus retirement, the 9 days have included 2 weekends and mid-week July 4th. Let’s be patient. It would be fine with me to let him get his feet on the ground and not even say anything until at least August 30, 2023. Hopefully he will be spending an appropriate amount of public time at FU on Thursday August 31, 2023.
Waiting until August 31st to say something would not be a great sign in my opinion, Mr. Cross needs to be in attack mode from day 1
What specific attacks would you like to have seen him make beginning Saturday July 1, or Monday July 3?
"To say something"? What would you like to have heard him say already?
More generally, what would you like for him to achieve for the SoCon over the next 1 to 2 years and beyond?
Who do you consider the really good Commissioners of other conferences that have FCS and that have mid-major basketball?
... I am not trying to grill you. I just want to know what the major issues are for conferences at SoCon's level and above, and what SoCon's outlook on addressing them is. Maybe you know or maybe you do not. Maybe you want to hear from him because you do not. That is reasonable.
"To say something"? What would you like to have heard him say already?
More generally, what would you like for him to achieve for the SoCon over the next 1 to 2 years and beyond?
Who do you consider the really good Commissioners of other conferences that have FCS and that have mid-major basketball?
... I am not trying to grill you. I just want to know what the major issues are for conferences at SoCon's level and above, and what SoCon's outlook on addressing them is. Maybe you know or maybe you do not. Maybe you want to hear from him because you do not. That is reasonable.
well, to be honest, SD was joking when he complained that nothing had been done by 1July. To SDs surprised, some folks agreed. Guess SD shouldn quit day job for comedyaffirm wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 6:28 pmWhat specific attacks would you like to have seen him make beginning Saturday July 1, or Monday July 3?
"To say something"? What would you like to have heard him say already?
More generally, what would you like for him to achieve for the SoCon over the next 1 to 2 years and beyond?
Who do you consider the really good Commissioners of other conferences that have FCS and that have mid-major basketball?
... I am not trying to grill you. I just want to know what the major issues are for conferences at SoCon's level and above, and what SoCon's outlook on addressing them is. Maybe you know or maybe you do not. Maybe you want to hear from him because you do not. That is reasonable.
affirm wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 6:28 pmWhat specific attacks would you like to have seen him make beginning Saturday July 1, or Monday July 3?
"To say something"? What would you like to have heard him say already?
More generally, what would you like for him to achieve for the SoCon over the next 1 to 2 years and beyond?
Who do you consider the really good Commissioners of other conferences that have FCS and that have mid-major basketball?
... I am not trying to grill you. I just want to know what the major issues are for conferences at SoCon's level and above, and what SoCon's outlook on addressing them is. Maybe you know or maybe you do not. Maybe you want to hear from him because you do not. That is reasonable.
Literally ANY initiative he wants to show early on would be a good sign, a bad sign would be showing no initiative to put his vision for the league forward, we have seen what that looks like for commissioners (Iamarino) in the past and it get's this league nowhere.........................
Perhaps he's still developing his initiative, still talking with other commissioners, still talking with AD's in the SoCon, still talking with SoCon presidents. That could easily take well over 2 months. I believe we'll hear from him by August 31, 2023.
No one in this thread so far has stated specific attacks, major issues, etc. I wanted to know what you considered some of those to be.
Below is reference to an interesting article that might be a good example. But our new commissioner would seemingly have a lot of ground work to cover before he could even begin to address the matter in the following article:.
Hero Sports, Sam Herder, 11-20/2022; Herder: "FCS ADs, Commissioners Need To Push Hard For Playoff Structure Changes"
Is that one you would like to see addressed?
What are some that you would like to name, beyond just saying "literally ANY initiative"?
No one in this thread so far has stated specific attacks, major issues, etc. I wanted to know what you considered some of those to be.
Below is reference to an interesting article that might be a good example. But our new commissioner would seemingly have a lot of ground work to cover before he could even begin to address the matter in the following article:.
Hero Sports, Sam Herder, 11-20/2022; Herder: "FCS ADs, Commissioners Need To Push Hard For Playoff Structure Changes"
Is that one you would like to see addressed?
What are some that you would like to name, beyond just saying "literally ANY initiative"?
affirm wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 1:36 pmPerhaps he's still developing his initiative, still talking with other commissioners, still talking with AD's in the SoCon, still talking with SoCon presidents. That could easily take well over 2 months. I believe we'll hear from him by August 31, 2023.
No one in this thread so far has stated specific attacks, major issues, etc. I wanted to know what you considered some of those to be.
Below is reference to an interesting article that might be a good example. But our new commissioner would seemingly have a lot of ground work to cover before he could even begin to address the matter in the following article:.
Hero Sports, Sam Herder, 11-20/2022; Herder: "FCS ADs, Commissioners Need To Push Hard For Playoff Structure Changes"
Is that one you would like to see addressed?
What are some that you would like to name, beyond just saying "literally ANY initiative"?
I would hope since he got hired for the job he already knows what he wants to do in year 1, surely that would be required to even get the job in the first place
Issue 1) How do you grow the brand of SoCon Basketball into becoming a multi-bid league in NCAA hoops
- If the SoCon does not achieve this type hoops status Furman will leave 100%
