BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Director of Athletics Dr. Omar Banks has announced the hiring of Michael "Mike" Waddell as Senior Associate AD for External Affairs at Campbell University.
 
An established sports business leader with 33 years of results-driven success in college athletics, professional sports, and private business, Waddell joins the Fighting Camel program after serving the past two years as President/Governor of the ECHL's Allen (Texas) Americans professional ice hockey club. 
 
Waddell has spent the majority of his career as a leader in college athletics, including three years as the Director of Athletics at Towson University, where the Tigers won 11 Colonial Athletic Association Championships and built the $85m SECU Arena and negotiated a $4.75m naming rights deal for the multisport facility.
 
"We were looking for someone who can transform our external relations area, bolster our fan and game day experience, and generate additional revenue to support our student-athletes and athletics department," said Dr. Banks.  "I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing Mike for over a decade, and he will absolutely make us better based on his diversified experiences."
 
Waddell has also held executive athletics external leadership positions with the University of Illinois, University of Arkansas, University of Cincinnati, and the University of Akron.
 
"It's an honor to join the leadership team at Campbell and work alongside a great group of staff, coaches and most importantly, the students," said Waddell.  "College Athletics has been my life-long passion and I look forward to building the Camel Athletics brand forward and telling the story of the great things happening in Buies Creek."
 
As President of the Americans, Waddell signed a new NHL affiliation agreement with the expansion Seattle Kraken and negotiated a new long-term lease with the City of Allen to keep the Americans in the North Texas community through the 2027 season.  Waddell hired new leadership for the club's sponsorships, ticketing, finance, and marketing units, and most recently, the club's 501c3, the Red Lamp Foundation.  Ticket sales for the 2021-22 season reached record totals for FSEs, and every home game featured a non-profit partner, helping to build on the club's community engagement.
 
Prior to his time in Allen, Waddell served as Team President of the Orlando Apollos in the Alliance of American Football, starting in August of 2018. With the club's first game set for February 9, 2018, Waddell hired 24 employees and engaged the Orlando community with more than 80 out-bound events from October through January.  The Apollos sold 5,251 season tickets and averaged 19,648 fans for home contests, pushed by more than 4,000 group tickets per game.
 
From 2016-2018 Waddell worked in NASCAR as the Vice President of Richmond Raceway, helping lead the $30 million renovation of the facility.  Waddell forged new areas of revenue and brand engagement, first with the Racing Virginia grassroots promotional platform, and later with the THIS IS RICHMOND digital content campaign. In the Fall of 2017 he championed the creation of Richmond Raceway E-sports, which was NASCAR's first track owned e-sports racing team, featuring six drivers and a host of engaged sponsors in NASCAR's Official iRacing Series.
 
The Newton, N.C. native began his career in 1991 as a broadcaster with the Tar Heel Sports Network at the University of North Carolina and advanced up the play-by-play ranks at the University of Virginia (1994-97), Appalachian State University (1997-2000), and the U.S. Military Academy (2000-01). While at University of Akron (2001-06) Waddell served as the Zips' television Executive Producer and play-by-play announcer for football & basketball telecasts with ESPN Regional, FOX Sports Ohio, and Time Warner Cable.
 
A successful recruiter and developer of young professionals, Waddell has hired, mentored, and managed numerous junior-level associates who have since become senior-level leaders in the sports (NCAA, NBA, MLS, XFL, NHL), entertainment, higher education and private business verticals.
 
Waddell is the Founder of Brentwood Partners, LLC, a firm he launched in 2013, which is focused on six pillars of client service, revenue generation, brand enhancement, fan engagement, creative production, eSports development, and management search.  Key clients have included World TeamTennis, NASCAR motorsports athlete Joey Gase, KANN Advisory Group, and Eternal Fan/Fan Memories.  Waddell is currently of counsel to the firm.
 
A 1991 graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., Waddell was a Fighting Quakers' football letterman as a tight end and punter.  Waddell later earned his master's degree in sport administration in 2010 from Ohio University, which is recognized as the top graduate program in the world for sports business.