Chris Grant Begins His Tenure as Southland Conference Commissioner
FRISCO, Texas – Chris Grant officially becomes the eighth Commissioner of the Southland Conference today, with Tom Burnett moving into a full-time senior consultant role. The Southland deputy commissioner since August 2021, Grant becomes the conference’s first African-American commissioner in its 59-year history.
As chair of the NCAA’s Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, Burnett handed off the 2022 National Championship trophy to the University of Kansas on Monday night and transferred his conference reign Tuesday. Burnett, who will work with the commissioner and the board of directors, became Commissioner of the Southland in December 2002 and served as the league’s chief executive for more than 19 years.
Before coming to the Southland, Grant was the Associate Commissioner of Sports Management and Championships at the Pac-12 Conference, where he oversaw eight conference sports and championships. During his tenure at the Pac-12, Grant took a progressive approach to elevate Olympic sport championships and was instrumental in the relocation and success of the women’s basketball tournament to Las Vegas, and adding championship tournaments for women’s tennis and beach volleyball. Grant has presided over one of the most successful stretches in Conference history for Olympic sports, with the Pac-12 winning 57 NCAA championships during his time. Grant also was the primary Olympic sport liaison to Pac-12 Networks and ESPN for scheduling and maximizing exposures while managing the execution of Pac-12 television rights and restrictions.
Grant also led significant diversity efforts by collaborating with the Pac-12 Women’s Volleyball Coaches to establish the Diversity Mentorship Program which aims to strengthen the pool of minority candidates for collegiate coaching positions, and he initiated and chaired a dual oversight committee with Major League Baseball to address student-athlete and diversity issues in college baseball.
Prior to the Pac-12, he was Director of Sports Services at Conference USA, and Assistant Athletics Director at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
As a student-athlete, Grant was a four-year football letterwinner at Kentucky State University, from which he graduated cum laude and on the AD’s honor roll.
“As we look ahead, we are truly excited that Chris will be leading us at a time of unprecedented change, and opportunity, in college athletics,” said Jay Clune, president of Nicholls State University and the chair of the conference’s governing board. “A former student-athlete who has served at nearly every level of college sports and succeeded everywhere he’s gone, he has the right mix of innovative spirit, determination, and openness to collaborate that a strong commissioner needs.”
“Chris has the perfect mix of experience as a leader – both as a student-athlete and as a conference administrator – that will make him a superb commissioner,” said Steve Moniaci, athletic director at Houston Baptist University. “When you put that together with his personal commitment to innovation and his ability to work with others, it really is a recipe for success. I know all of the Athletic Directors are looking forward to working with Chris as we continue striving to make this one of the premier athletic conferences in the country.”
Grant and his wife, Marie-Therese, a former standout volleyball student-athlete at the University of Texas at El Paso and currently the Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Thrive Global, reside in Plano, Texas, with their goldendoodle, Bash.