Athletics announces three administrative additions
August 28, 2013
Chris Brooks
907-474-6805
The Alaska Nanooks department of athletics announced the hiring of three to the administrative staff for the 2013-14 year.
Aelin Allegood was selected as Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Michelle Laska transitioned into her new role as Assistant Athletic Director for Facility and Events and Mark Rivera was hired as the Operations and Media Relations Assistant.
A native of Fairbanks, Allegood has a strong background in skiing, as a prep, collegian and professional. She won a pair of state skiing titles, skied for Northern Michigan and was a member of the United States team at the 2002 Olympics and 2003 World Championships.
Following her athletic career, she entered a career in finance, and in 2006, returned home to Fairbanks. She has been active with the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks in event management, served several non-profit boards, including the Tanana Valley Youth Sports Foundation, and was a spokeswoman for Healthy Futures in the school district. Most recently she was employed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Community and Technical College.
"I believe in the inspirational role of athletics, exemplifying dedication and pursuit of excellence, on campus and in the community," Allegood said. "I'm honored to support our student-athletes and excited to share the Alaska Nanooks story. It's exciting to bring my experience as an NCAA athlete and active community member to the Nanooks team. It's going to be a great year."
Allegood assumed her duties on Aug. 26.
Laska began her new position of Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Events after serving as the Facility Manager at the Patty Center for the past two years. In her new position, she not only oversees the Patty Center but now also runs the ticket office operation and other events, which includes season ticket sales for Alaska's four gate sports.
"We look forward to continuing to work with Michelle in her new, expanded role of managing our physical facility as well as our ticket operations," director of athletics Gary Gray said. "Michelle's attention to detail and organization of our many events will be a great asset to our Nanook Athletics program."
Rivera was hired as the Operations and Media Relations Assistant and will assist in game operations and promoting each of the Nanooks' 10 varsity sports. He will serve as primary sports information contact for volleyball, men's and women's basketball and volleyball while also acting as a secondary hockey contact.
"I'm excited to have Mark on our staff this year and believe his energy and previous sports information experience will allow us to provide top-notch content to promote the Nanooks," Chris Brooks, Assistant Athletic Director for Operations and Media Relations, said. "With a strong emphasis on social media and multimedia, Mark and I will be able to expand our already excellent coverage and continue to be one of the top Division II sports information offices."
Rivera came to Fairbanks after stints at California State Stanislaus, San Jose State and Harvard and more recently as a sports writer and copy editor at the Modesto Bee in California.
Both Laska and Rivera began their new roles back on Aug. 12.