COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce has announced the hiring of Sydney Jones as Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Business Services, effective in early February.
 
In this role, Jones will coordinate all business services for Lion Athletics, serving as the department's Chief Financial Officer. Jones will also serve as the department's Senior Woman Administrator.
 
"I am thrilled to be joining the A&M-Commerce athletic department at a moment of such pivotal opportunity," Jones said. "I have been nothing but impressed by the institution's leadership, staff, and community from my first interactions and throughout the  transition process. There has been so much work contributed to get to this point and I look forward to getting to work and contributing to a very special mission."
 
Jones comes to A&M-Commerce from the United States Air Force Academy, where she was Director of Procurement and Contracting. She had oversight of purchasing, procurement, and game guarantees, while also developing and maintaining key relationships with internal and external constituencies for efficient departmental operations. She was also instrumental in land and facility improvements for athletics, including construction projects, and led policy analysis and reform.
 
"We have added another star to our Lion Athletics and A&M-Commerce family," A&M-Commerce director of athletics Tim McMurray said. "Not only does Sydney bring a diverse and experienced skill set to our athletics business operations, but she will be a key leader on our athletics leadership team. During the interview process, she quickly established a positive and professional rapport with our campus partners in budget, accounting, and procurement. Her demeanor, initiative, and ability to convey her alignment with our Best in Class mission was highly impressive and will serve our Lion community well."
 
Jones has experience at multiple levels, having also previously served as assistant director of athletics for external operations and development and senior woman administrator at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn. At LMU, Jones developed and implemented fundraising initiatives, assisted in compliance, had oversight of fiscal management and procurement, and had sport supervision of softball, women's volleyball, and beach volleyball. She was also an adjunst professor for sports management courses in the LMU school of business.
 
In addition to her experience in collegiate athletics, Jones has worked in professional baseball with roles in contract negotiation and interpretation, and player representation. She is also experienced in development and promotions with successful brands for the Reno-Tahoe area.
 
Jones was a four-year Division I softball student-athlete at the University of Nevada, where she was also a Student-Athlete Advisory Council representative. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from Nevada in 2015 where she served as an intern for the Nevada State Senate and Political Caucus during her undergraduate experience.
 
She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2018, where she was a Sports Law Fellow, earned honors from World of Sports Law in 2017, and won the Am Jur Award for Sports Law and Analytics in 2018.