The Big West has named Michelle Almazan its Associate Commissioner for Compliance & Student-Athlete Engagement. A former Big West cross country and track and field student-athlete at CSUN, Almazan  brings more than two decades of experience in collegiate athletics, most recently serving as senior associate athletics director, senior woman administrator and interim athletics director at UC Riverside. She joins the conference office this week. 

Almazan will lead The Big West’s compliance and governance work, providing education and rules interpretations to member institutions and coordinating membership votes on NCAA legislation. She will serve as the conference liaison to its Faculty Athletics Representatives, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Big West Undivided, the conference’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee. She will also work with campus student-athlete development administrators to expand opportunities for student-athlete leadership and community engagement and oversee select Big West sports and championships. 

“Michelle knows The Big West as a student-athlete, a campus administrator and a leader in our conference governance,” said Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly. “She understands what our members need from the conference office and how the decisions we make affect student-athletes on every campus. I’m excited for our members and our student-athletes to work with her in this new role.” 

"The Big West has been part of my journey since I was a student-athlete at CSUN, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the conference in this new capacity,” said Almazan. “Throughout my career, my focus has been on creating opportunities for student-athletes to grow, succeed and prepare for life beyond sport. I look forward to working alongside our member institutions to support student-athlete success, strengthen collaboration and continue advancing the mission of The Big West.  

Almazan spent more than a decade at UC Riverside, joining the Highlanders in 2015 as director of student-athlete academic services and rising to senior associate athletics director for student-athlete services and senior woman administrator. She provided leadership in student-athlete support, sport administration, internal operations, coach and staff development and strategic planning and served as interim athletics director. She also chaired The Big West’s Senior Woman Administrators group and served on the conference’s Executive Council. In May 2026, she was appointed to the NCAA Division I Academics and Eligibility Committee. 

Before joining UC Riverside, Almazan worked in athletics academic advising and counseling at CSUN from 2007 to 2015. She co-authored a successful $1 million NCAA grant proposal that helped establish the Matador Achievement Center. Almazan earned a bachelor’s degree in sport psychology and a Master of Science in educational psychology and counseling with a specialization in marriage and family therapy, both from CSUN.