DENVER – The Western Athletic Conference Board of Directors has announced Brian Thornton as the seventh commissioner in the 60-year history of the conference. Thornton replaces Jeff Hurd, who will be ending a 10-year run as commissioner and 37 years overall at the conference on December 31, 2021.
 
"I am thrilled to have Brian Thornton as the new WAC commissioner," said Utah Valley University President Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez. "Coming from Utah, the No. 1 state economy in the US this year, UVU is eager to continue growing in athletics and to take advantage of new opportunities with our new commissioner and our dynamic peers in the WAC."
 
Thornton joins the WAC following one year as associate commissioner for basketball at the American Athletic Conference. In that role, he served as the primary administrator for men's and women's basketball, including oversight of scheduling, officiating and game operations as well as compliance with NCAA governance.
 
"I would like to thank the Western Athletic Conference Board of Directors for the opportunity to lead this historic conference during this unprecedented time in collegiate athletics.," said Thornton.

"While the WAC name is certainly a storied one, the current mix of institutions share a common bond as growth-focused with a strong desire to compete at the highest level while also providing an elite student-athlete experience."
 
Thornton joined the American after two year as assistant director for basketball development at the NCAA National Office. He was responsible for developing relationships with constituents in the men's and women's basketball communities, including coaches, apparel companies and professional basketball organizations. He additionally served as a liaison to the NCAA men's and women's basketball oversight committees, developing legislative concepts to foster the growth and development of college basketball.
 
Thornton was a standout men's basketball player at Xavier University, where he was the 2005 and 2006 Atlantic-10 Student-Athlete of the Year, a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection and was a first-team all-conference pick for the Musketeers' 2006 Atlantic-10 championship team. He began his playing career at Vanderbilt University, where he was an SEC all-freshman selection in 2002 and played professionally for the Artland Dragons for the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany from 2006-07.
 
A native of Louisville, Ky., Thornton earned an undergraduate degree in business from Xavier in 2005 and added an MBA from that institution in 2007. Brian and his wife Kelsey have one daughter, Makayla, and one son, Brian Jr. (Deuce).