Josh Centor Named Assistant Director of Athletics

July 1 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - Carnegie Mellon University’s Director of Athletics, Susan Bassett, has named Josh Centor the new Assistant Director of Athletics.  Centor’s main responsibilities will be to manage financial operations and data analysis, oversee annual budget, assist with revenue generation, alumni cultivation and strategic planning for athletics communications and oversee the NCAA rules compliance.  Centor will begin his appointment August 11, 2008.

“I am delighted that Josh will be joining our administrative team,” comments Bassett.  “The knowledge and diverse experiences he brings from his time at the NCAA, Boston College, and our University Athletic Association (UAA) partner, Brandeis University, to the Assistant Director position will be a great asset to the department, student-athletes and Carnegie Mellon University.  We look forward to having Josh join the Tartans this August.”

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Carnegie Mellon family and return to the UAA,” Centor said. “Carnegie Mellon is one of the nation’s finest academic institutions and the athletics experience is an integral part of the educational pursuits of the university’s student-athletes. I am looking forward to interacting with remarkable student-athletes on a daily basis, as well as working with the devoted and talented professionals in the athletics department and university.”

Centor comes to Carnegie Mellon University after working for the NCAA since 2005, where he was the coordinator of new media communications.  During his tenure at the national office, he helped develop the Double-A Zone, the Association’s first Weblog, which launched in November 2005.  

Besides helping develop the Double-A Zone, Josh created a number of other features, including Mondays With Myles, a weekly podcast conversation with NCAA President Myles Brand. Josh also played an integral role in the creation of Campus Connection, a multimedia feature that highlights individuals from different NCAA campuses each week. Additionally, Josh also helped establish a student-athlete presence on the Double-A Zone, mentoring student-athletes from across the country as they shared their experiences with a public audience. For the past two years, Josh has served as a liaison to the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
Prior to his stint with the national office, Josh worked a year in the Boston College Athletic Department as a media relations assistant. While working for the Eagles, he served as the sports information contact for nine teams. His responsibilities included the production of numerous media guides, web site maintenance and acting as a liaison between the athletes and the media.  

Josh is a 2004 graduate of Brandeis University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in economics with a minor in international business and played four years of varsity baseball.  He is currently a candidate for a master’s degree in applied communication at Indiana University.
 
As a student-athlete, Josh was a three-time recipient of UAA All-Academic Honors and also received Brandeis’ Morris Sepinuck Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the senior varsity athlete who displays outstanding sportsmanship and also makes a significant contribution to the athletics program and overall campus life.  Josh was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.  He was selected to serve on the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a representative of the UAA and served as a member of the Division III Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.