Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA National Office has announced the hiring of Andrew Givens as the Assistant Vice President for Marketing, Multimedia, and Community Outreach and Anthony Taylor as the Sports Governance Associate.
"The NJCAA National Office is excited to welcome Andrew and Anthony on staff," stated Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President and CEO. "The experience that both of these men have will play an integral role in pushing the national office forward as they bring a wealth of knowledge to the team, and I look forward to the great work they will do at the two-year level."
Andrew Givens, one of the top strategic marketing, sales, and partnership individuals globally in sports, entertainment, government, and other industries joins the NJCAA National Office staff as the Assistant Vice President for Marketing, Multimedia, and Community Outreach. Previously, Givens served as the Senior Corporate Development Strategist with WFAE 90.7 FM where he was responsible for creating strategic partnerships with clients such as Bank of America, Atrium Health, Truist Wealth, Charlotte University (formerly UNC Charlotte) and other businesses and organizations in Charlotte and the region. Prior to WFAE, he served as Director of Partnership and Marketing for the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. Now as the Assistant Vice President for Marketing, Multimedia, and Community Outreach, Givens will lead and manage overall marketing and communications efforts of the NJCAA and its affiliate associations. He will also deal with community engagement and assist with the implantation of national DEI initiatives.
Givens has also previously served in roles such as Sports Editor for SET Magazine and Champagne and Beyond Magazine, Station Manager and Director of Sales at KMSS FOX 33 in Shreveport, LA, and KLJB FOX 18 in Davenport, IA for the Marshall Broadcasting Group and WDAM NBC/ABC in Hattiesburg, MS with Raycom/Gray Television. Givens has also developed partnership opportunities nationally and globally in his role as Director of Partnership for ESPN Mobile, Vice President of Partnerships for The Kaleidoscope Group and as National Partnership Specialist for the Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau 2010. ESPN mobile was later used as the backbone to the current and highly successful ESPN mobile app which has an estimated 166 million downloads.
Anthony Taylor joins the NJCAA National Office as a Sports Governance Associate tasked with tracking all sport committee agendas/minutes as well as assisting standing committees. He will also support the Coaches Association presidents including membership enrollment and the Hall of Fame nomination process. Taylor joins the NJCAA after a stint as an intern working with Compliance and Operations for the National Office over the summer. Prior to the National Office, Taylor worked as an assistant athletics academic advisor at East Tennessee State University where he was involved in several leadership development opportunities through the NCAA. In February of this year, he was selected to attend the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar at the national office in Indianapolis and has also been selected for the N4A 2024 professional development institute set to take place in Kansas, Missouri.
Prior to East Tennessee State University, Taylor served in various roles including football coach at Arundel High School, teacher assistant at Marley Middle School, and Athletic Director/Physical Education teacher at BASIS Independent McLean. Taylor earned his B.S. in Kinesiology from Frostburg State University where he was a four-year member of the football program as well as a student intern with the with the strength and conditioning department. Taylor will be graduating in the fall with his M.S. in Sports Management from East Tennessee State University.