Norfolk State hires Craig Cotton as Associate AD

Norfolk State University has appointed Craig Cotton as associate director of intercollegiate athletics for external affairs and executive director of the NSU Athletics Foundation. Cotton joins the NSU athletics staff after serving as marketing manager at Howard University.

"We are extremely pleased to have Craig as a member of our staff," said Moss. " He brings tremendous insight and a wealth of experience in areas that are critical to the success of a collegiate sports program - fund raising, marketing and promotions and media relations. He is also very familiar with the NSU intercollegiate athletics program and the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference. "We expect him to make a positive contribution to the development of our program."

Cotton's duties at NSU include developing and managing marketing and public relations projects with particular focus on the "Spartan Partners Program," a comprehensive sports marketing initiative designed to attract corporate sponsorship and funding for the athletics program. He will also handle the daily management of the NSU Athletics Foundation, an organization that provides financial support for the University's athletics program. Cotton will work with current members to increase the Foundation's membership and generate additional funding for scholarships and equipment.

"I have always admired and respected NSU's rich tradition of success in intercollegiate athletics as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association (CIAA)," said Cotton. "I am looking forward to working with Mr. Moss, the other members of his staff, and supporters of NSU athletics throughout the community to duplicate that success in the MEAC and at the NCAA Division I level."

Cotton has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and an extensive background in marketing and promotions and media relations. He became marketing manager at Howard University in January 2000 where he assisted in coordinating marketing strategies and media relations for the nation's only Research I Extensive institution among historically black colleges and universities.

Previously, Cotton worked for seven years in the Delaware State University Public Relations Office. He arrived at the Dover, DE-based institution in 1992 and served as sports information director for three years before his appointment as the university's director of public relations and marketing in 1995.

In addition to his experiences in higher education, Cotton has been a freelance sports and entertainment reporter for several publications. He also was a press operations manager for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Ga.; 1994 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina; and the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival in St. Louis, Mo.

Cotton is a native of Greensboro, N.C., and a 1980 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, earning a bachelors of arts degree in English-Mass Communications. He received the M.Ed. at Temple University after completing the sport management program in 1995.

Cotton is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), United States Basketball Writers of America Association (USBWA) and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

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