Lyons Names Murray to Head MAC
January 18, 2017 11:59 AM | General
Ben Murray
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons has named Ben Murray as Senior Associate Athletic Director/Executive Director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.
“Ben has been a steady and valuable member of our Mountaineer Athletic Club for almost seven years and has related well with our donor base,” Lyons said. “We have a great team in the MAC, and Ben is the right person to keep the momentum going as we continue our capital campaigns and fundraising efforts to enhance the quality of life for our student-athletes.”
Murray has worked in the MAC since 2010, when he joined the staff as a major gifts officer before becoming an assistant and then associate athletic director working with major gifts and capital campaigns. As executive director, Murray now will oversee all aspects of fundraising for WVU’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and become the department’s lead fundraiser.
Previously in the MAC, he was responsible for the major gift operation, which included scholarship endowments, capital projects, premium seating and The Jerry West Planned Giving Society. Murray also supervised all major gift officers for athletics and served as the liaison with the WVU Foundation.
The MAC has raised $91.4 million since 2013 for the betterment of WVU’s student-athletes. Murray has worked and assisted on major gifts that have supported and renovated a number of athletic facilities, including WVU’s football team room, football practice facility, various team meeting and locker rooms, academic centers, suite renovations and weight rooms. He also has restructured the athletic scholarship endowment program, leading to enhanced participation resulting in a $4 million increase in the last two years.
From August 2010 to April 2012, Murray secured more than 120 major gifts, while fundraising for the Mountaineers in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. He was an integral member of WVU’s fundraising team that recorded a combined $44.2 million from 2011 to 2012. In those two years, Murray secured 16 major gifts of $25,000 or more for WVU athletics, while assisting in the design and implementation of the MAC’s Priority Points Program.
Prior to WVU, Murray worked at Old Dominion (2006-10), UNLV (2005-06) and James Madison (2004). At Old Dominion, he assisted in the effort to increase Monarch fundraising by 28 percent. With UNLV, Murray managed donor travel with athletic teams and helped with a 10 percent fundraising increase for the Rebels. At James Madison, he led the Duke Club efforts in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia regions.
“I am extremely honored and thankful that Shane Lyons has the confidence in me to lead the MAC’s fundraising efforts. I also want to thank Cindi Roth and BJ Davisson of the WVU Foundation for their commitment and support,” Murray said. “I know how important the MAC is to our department and the challenges that we face going forward to keep our department competitive nationally. Our MAC donors are very generous and believe in our student-athletes. I am humbled and excited to continue to work with our donors and the department’s senior staff to bring great things to Mountaineer athletics.”
Murray earned a bachelor’s degree in education and sport management from the University of Kansas in 2001, and a master’s degree in education and sports administration from Kansas in 2003. An Elkhart, Kansas, native, Murray resides in Morgantown with his wife, Angela, and their three children – Mia, Libby and Sadie.
As executive director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club, Murray begins his new duties on Jan. 30 and replaces Matt Borman, who accepted a similar position at the University of Georgia in December.
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