Zach Dayton was named the Deputy Director of Athletics in October of 2019 after serving as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Communications for the previous three years at Fairfield. In this enhanced role, he will assume a leadership position in the daily operations of the department, in the formulation and execution of strategic initiatives and in the collaborative efforts of the senior management team to achieve championship caliber results.
Additionally, he oversees the department’s brand strategy, communications, ticket sales and operations, social media, digital strategy, broadcast operations, spirit groups and community relations. He also provides sport oversight for the men’s and women’s golf, baseball and women’s soccer programs. He serves as the secondary sport administrator for men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse. As the lead marketing contact for the department, Dayton represents athletics on the university marketing team’s senior staff and also works with athletics advancement on all donor communications. Dayton originally came to Fairfield in April of 2015 as the Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications.
During his tenure with the Stags, he has overseen the transition of FairfieldStags.com to Sidearm Sports. He was also the point person for the relaunch of Lucas the Stag, which included an alumni tour of New York City and concluded with the mascot throwing out the first pitch at a New York Mets game. The campaign led to an appearance in an ESPN commercial that aired nationally nearly 500 times during programs such as Monday Night Football, NBA on Christmas Day and the College Football Playoff. The #LucasOnTheLoose campaign won a NACMA “Best Of” award for revenue generating idea at the 2016 convention.
Additionally, the marketing and communications team has seen attendance and engagement growth over the past three years in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer. Also, the Stags Sports Network was established as the official broadcast arm of Fairfield Athletics to facilitate all streaming productions including 34 ESPN broadcasts and 117 broadcasts across multiple platforms in 2018-19.
Dayton comes to Fairfield after serving as the Assistant Athletic 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 athletic department which saw an increase of 83 percent under his guidance.
In 2012-13, Dayton was recognized by Westchester, N.Y. 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 CLC Learfield IMG College) 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 Setters’ baseball team from 2006-09. He was a captain in his senior year and served as a key part of a pitching staff that led the nation in ERA in 2008. 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 active member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators serving as a panelist at the national convention and serving on NACMA committees annually. In June of 2020, he began a four-year term on the NACMA Board of Directors.
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. He lives in Stratford, CT with his wife Evann and daughter Caroline.
