American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced the promotion of Ellen Ferris to the position of Senior Associate Commissioner for Governance and Compliance.
Ferris had served as Associate Commissioner for Governance and Compliance since she joined The American in 2013. She oversees all compliance and governance matters for the conference and provides leadership and guidance to The American’s member institutions in the practical application of NCAA compliance issues.
“Ellen is an expert and a national leader in the areas of compliance and governance,” said Aresco. “In addition to her understanding of the evolving and increasingly complex NCAA and college sports landscape, Ellen has done an outstanding job over the years navigating the ongoing governance and compliance challenges. Ellen’s integrity, judgment and credibility make her a valued member of our senior staff and a trusted resource for our institutions’ athletic directors, senior woman administrators and compliance officers.”
Ferris is the current chair of the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee and a staff liaison to The American’s Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee, the Racial Equality Action Group, the University Legal Counsel Committee, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She also works closely with the conference’s Senior Woman Administrators and has been instrumental in the development of The American’s Academic Consortium and Symposium.
Before joining The American, Ferris served as Associate Vice President for Athletic Compliance at the University of Southern California for seven years and was Associate Director of Membership Services at the NCAA for nearly four years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University and a J.D. from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
