MONROE, La. – University of Louisiana Monroe athletics director John Hartwell has announced the hiring of Coleman Barnes as the senior deputy athletic director / chief of staff.

"The addition of Coleman Barnes to our Warhawks Athletics executive team is a home run," said Hartwell. "Coleman's ability to move the needle in all facets of revenue generation will be key in our upward trajectory of athletics' success at ULM. Our combination has had great success at two previous stops (Ole Miss & Utah State), and I look forward to us doing the same here at ULM."

In his role at ULM, Barnes will be responsible for overseeing and driving revenue generation strategies within the athletics department. Barnes will manage key athletics revenue generation activities in Athletics/ULM Athletic Foundation including development, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, marketing and promotions, concessions, merchandise sales, apparel contracts and facility rentals. Barnes will function as second-in-command in Athletics which includes representing ULM Athletics in the athletic director's absence.
 
Barnes arrives in Monroe after serving as the senior associate athletics director / chief of staff for football at West Virginia University. He was initially hired as the associate athletics director for football external affairs before being promoted.
 
While in Morgantown, Barnes was the chief football administrator under the direction of the head football coach. He oversaw administrative personnel, coordinated digital and creative content and managed the operating budget. He collaborated with the WVU Athletics administration and external units to build the West Virginia football brand. Barnes was a liaison with marketing, tickets, development, athletic communications, digital media and business operations.
 
Barnes created the 1891 Club, a philanthropic giving program for WVU football, increasing annual contributions by nearly $600,000 from 2018 to 2021. He constructed and provided oversight of the 5^th Quarter and Chambers Elite Climbers programs, securing a $1.6 million gift to execute one of the premier off-the-field development programs in college athletics.


Before West Virginia, Barnes was at Utah State where he served since July 2017, first as the assistant vice president and deputy director of athletics for external affairs and most recently as the associate vice president and deputy director of athletics. Under the direction of the vice president and director of athletics John Hartwell, he was responsible for the overall administration, management and supervision of all department areas that engaged with external constituents.

He led USU's athletic development staff and also oversaw athletics' external departments, which included marketing and promotions, media relations and video. He also served as the liaison for ticket operations and sales and Aggie Sports Properties.

Prior to Utah State, Barnes spent four years at Miami University, where he served as the associate athletics director/senior director of development for three-and-a-half years, before being promoted to executive associate athletics director/senior director of development his last year.

During his time at Miami, Barnes served as a co-manager for the Graduating Champions Campaign, raising more than $65 million toward the $80 million goal. In 2015, Barnes' team raised a then-record $28.3 million in gifts and pledges, including $5.02 million in cash.

Barnes also boosted Miami's Red & White Club membership to more than 2,000 members, a 27-percent increase since his arrival in 2013 and increased revenue by 24 percent, up to $880,000 per year.

Before Miami, Barnes was the chief athletic development officer at UAB (2011-13) and Fresno State (2008-11). From 2005-08, Barnes first worked with Hartwell and served as the assistant director for the UMAA Foundation, the fundraising unit for Ole Miss Athletics. Prior to Ole Miss, Barnes was a development associate for the Hurricane Club at the University of Miami (2004-05) and an intern in the Harvard Athletics Ticket Office from 2003-04.

Barnes graduated from Kentucky with a bachelor's degree in education in 2002 with a major in kinesiology and a minor in business. He was a three-year letterwinner on the Wildcats' football team as the team's long snapper. In 2004, Barnes earned his master's degree from Kentucky in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management and completed his Ph.D. in higher education from Ole Miss in 2017.

A native of Bardstown, Kentucky, Barnes, and his wife, Mary Beth, have two children, Caroline and William.