Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly announced today the hiring of Ben Jay as the conference’s Chief Financial Officer.
Jay brings over 25 years of collegiate athletics experience to the position and most recently served as the Executive Director of the California Youth Soccer Association.
“I am excited to announce the hiring of Ben Jay to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Big West Conference,” said Butterly. “Ben’s CFO skills and senior leadership experience at the Pac-10 Conference, The Ohio State University and Hawai‘i will significantly benefit the Big West Conference office operation and our member institutions.”
Jay previously served stints as the Director of Athletics at Academy of Art University and the University of Hawai‘i. At UH, he oversaw 145 staff members and coaches as well as over 500 student-athletes who competed in 21 Rainbow Warrior sports.
Highlights of his UH tenure included increasing the athletic department’s overall grade average over the 3.0 mark for three consecutive years and improving the graduation success rate by 10 points. In addition, he negotiated multi-million dollar radio and television rights agreements, and facilitated the construction and renovation of facilities. Jay was involved in all facets of financial planning, budget management, strategic planning, compliance, development, and administration.
In addition to his CFO duties at the Big West, Jay will serve as the liaison to the conference’s director of athletics group and will have sport administrative responsibilities in men’s soccer and baseball.
“I am very excited to rejoin my colleagues at the Big West Conference,” said Jay, who earned both his bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s degree in Athletics Administration from Ohio State in 1981 and 1989, respectively. “I want to thank Commissioner Dan Butterly for selecting me as the Chief Financial Officer. I look forward to helping Dan and our team lead the Big West into a new era to build upon our strong national legacy of athletic success and academic excellence.”
Before assuming his position at UH, Jay spent six years as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Finance and Operations at The Ohio State University. He headed the financial oversight of the athletic department’s $140 million operating budget. He also oversaw the athletics business office, facility operations, event management, human resources, information technology, and the OSU Golf Course and OSU Ice Rink. Additionally, Jay monitored the facilities and construction projects for the athletics department’s Athletic Village District.
No stranger to conference office work, Jay served 13 years as the then-Pac-10 Conference’s Associate Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer. He was directly responsible for Conference budget administration and expenditure control, financial accounting and related NCAA financial reports, and distribution of Conference revenues from various sources. He also oversaw the administration of Conference office operations and human resource duties.
Prior to his arrival at the Pac-10, Jay worked five years as the Assistant Athletic Director for Business and Finance at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He had budget oversight for 17 varsity sports, eight club sports, and the recreation and intramural program with additional involvement in strategic planning for the athletics department.
Between degrees at Ohio State, he spent time as general manager for the Redwood Pioneers, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and then was director of operations for the Cleveland Indians.
ABOUT THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE
The Big West Conference is a member of NCAA Division I and includes California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; California State University, Bakersfield; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Northridge; Long Beach State University; University of California, Davis; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Riverside; University of California, San Diego; University of California, Santa Barbara; and the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa.