Mark Simpson is in his second year as Senior Associate Commissioner in 2024-25, and 22nd overall season on the conference staff. He joined the office on August 30, 2004 as Director of Public Relations before his promotion to Assistant Commissioner-PR in July 2009, and was elevated to Associate Commissioner in 2018.
A member of the Conference Staff Senior Leadership Team, Simpson is responsible for all areas of the league’s Communications & Branding efforts as well as media services and media operations for its 19 Division I sports. He serves as the primary communications contact for men’s basketball and men's and women's golf, as well as supporting the publicity and promotional efforts with the Big South-OVC Football Association. Simpson provides secondary communications assistance on various Big South sports, coordinates the Big South Hall of Fame and the Conference’s records and archives, in addition to overseeing the league's social media and digital media content and strategies.
Simpson joined the Conference from Street & Smith’s Sports Group, where he was a Staff Writer for The Sports Business Daily for three years. In his role, Simpson developed original content around sponsorships, sports media, franchises, leagues and facilities, and also covered the NHL All-Star Game in 2003 and 2004.
Prior to joining The Daily, Simpson spent three years as Director of Media & Public Relations for the ECHL Charlotte Checkers from 1998-01, and was honored with the league’s Public Relations Award in 1999.
Simpson’s experience also includes a stint as Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations for the Mid-Continent Conference from 1996-98. Before joining the Mid-Con, Simpson was Assistant Director of Media Services at Northwestern University from 1994-96, where he assisted with the 1995 Big Ten football champion and Rose Bowl Wildcats, as well as serving as the primary contact for women’s basketball, baseball and golf.
Simpson is a member of the College Sports Communicators (formely CoSIDA) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and has served on the media relations staffs of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Charlotte in 2005, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2024, as well as the 2005 NCAA Opening Round game in Dayton, the 1997 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship and the 2000 ECHL All-Star Game.
He received CSC's 25-Year Award in June 2025 for dedicated service to the athletics communications profession, and was recognized along with former assistant Brandon McGinnis with CoSIDA's Excellence in Publications awards for "Best Cover - Basketball Guide" in 2021 for Conference Media Guides, and "Best in the Nation" in 2022 for Football Media Guide-FCS.
A 1993 graduate of Eastern Michigan University, Simpson worked as a four-year student SID and was a public relations intern with the Detroit Tigers during the 1993 season.
A native of Rockville, Md., Simpson resides in Pineville, N.C., with his wife, Jennifer. The couple has two children, Carolyn and Adam.