BIRMINGHAM, AL – Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Duer Sharp announced three new hires and one promotion in the conference office. Kelly Brooks has been named Associate Commissioner, Ashley Robinson was named Assistant Commissioner for Compliance, and Duane Lewis was named Assistant Commissioner for Communications. Additionally, Jennifer Huggins has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner for Championships.
“I am pleased to bring these talented individuals to our conference office,” Commissioner Sharp said. “They are highly respected in their professions and will greatly assist us in enhancing the legacy and tradition of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. I am just as pleased to promote Jennifer to her new title.  She has done an outstanding job in a variety of capacities over the years and her new position is well-earned.”
Brooks comes to the SWAC following a three-year stint on the Membership Services staff of the NCAA, where his responsibilities included student-athlete reinstatement, Division I athletics certification and the membership services hiring team. Prior to the NCAA, he served two years as
the director of student-athlete development at Xavier University. Brooks previously served four years as an assistant coach on the women’s basketball staff at the University of Alabama. He additionally spent two years as an academic programs advisor for the Crimson Tide athletics department. A native of Starkville, MS, Brooks earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Mississippi University for Women in 1997 and a Master’s degree in education with a concentration in athletic administration from Alabama in 1999.
Robinson comes to the conference office after a one-year stint as Director of Compliance at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, MS, where he was responsible for monitoring the academic process and eligibility for student-athletes in the Delta Devil athletic program. Prior to Mississippi
Valley, he was assistant compliance officer at Jackson State University and formerly an academic coordinator at Delaware State University. A native of Jackson, MS, Robinson received a bachelor’s degree in physical education with a minor in business administration in 2003 from Mississippi Valley
State. During his time at MVSU, he was a member of the Delta Devil men’s basketball team, where he finished his career as the school’s single season and career assist leader.
Lewis comes to the conference office after one year as Director of Communications for the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, where he served as the media director for the double hosting of the Sugar Bowl and the Allstate BCS National Championship Game. Prior to the Sugar Bowl, Lewis spent ten years on the media relations staff of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, including serving as Director of Football Media (2003-05) and as Director of New Media (2006-07). Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Southern University in 1995. He also has worked as a sports correspondent for both the Baton Rouge Advocate and New Orleans Times- Picayune.
Huggins enters her first year as assistant commissioner for championships at the Southwestern Athletic Conference after serving as assistant director for championships the previous three years. A native of Birmingham, AL, she began with the SWAC in 2002 as an intern and then Media Relations Assistant, where she served as the primary media liaison for the sports women’s and Olympic sports. Huggins is a 1999 graduate of the University of Alabama where she earned a B.A. degree in Communications and Information Sciences.
