FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Zach Dayton will join the Fairfield University athletics staff as Associate Athletic Director for Sports Marketing and Communictions beginning on April 20 after serving in a similar role at Pace University. The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Gene Doris.
Dayton will oversee the department's marketing strategy, athletic communications, ticket sales and operations, social media, multimedia content, spirit groups and community relations. .
He comes to Fairfield after serving as the Assistant Athletics Director for External Operations at Pace University since 2013. At Pace, he was responsible for the Marketing/Sponsorships, Communications/Sports Information, and Alumni Relations units of the Athletics Department while also serving as the lead administrator for the university's licensing program. He supervised the spirit programs and was the sport administrator for the men's and women's cross country teams. Prior to this role, he held the position of Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions from 2011-2013.
In 2013-14, Dayton and his team redesigned the athletics website and transitioned to a new URL PaceUAthletics.com. In addition, he managed the Setters Club, the fundraising arm of the athletics department which saw an increase of 83 percent under his guidance.
In 2012-13 Dayton was recognized by Westchester, NY based 914inc. Magazine as one of the top 30 under 30 business professionals in the county. He also represented Pace as a winner of a Jefferson Award for dedication to service based activities to connect the University with the local community.
In 2011 Dayton spearheaded an agreement with Licensing Resource Group (now Learfield Licensing Partners)) to trademark all of the university's marks and served as the primary licensing contact for the university. He also was instrumental in the establishment of PaceTeamShop.com. Over his four year tenure, Pace University Athletics was recognized for their marketing efforts with five National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) awards.
Dayton, a Pace alumnus, was a four-year member of the Setter baseball team from 2006-09. He was a pitcher and a captain in his senior year, while being a key part of the staff that led the nation in ERA in 2008. Dayton finished ninth all-time in strikeouts and eleventh in innings pitched for his career. Dayton also participated on Pace's Golf team as a graduate student.
In addition, he joined the Lubin School of Business as an adjunct faculty member in the fall of 2014.
Throughout his career, Dayton has been an activate member of NACMA, serving as a panelist at the national convention and most recently a member of the NACMA Young Professionals committee. He was a member of the NCAA Committee for Leadership Development in the fall of 2014, and an ECAC Marketing committee member for 2014-15.
Dayton graduated from Pace with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Management in 2009 from the Lubin School of Business. He earned his Master's Degree in Public Administration/Government in 2011 from the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences.
