The NCHC announced Monday that longtime Miami administrator Josh Fenton has been named conference commissioner and will begin his appointment on July 15.
Fenton replaces Jim Scherr, who resigned as commissioner in May to accept the position of chief operating officer with the European Games.
Fenton played an integral role in the formation and development of the NCHC, involved with athletics director meetings and assisting legal counsel in drafting documents creating the conference. Fenton also helped secure CBS Sports Network as the conference’s national broadcast partner, created the operating financial models, secured the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., as the tournament championship site and served as the conference’s liaison on legal and financial matters.
“I am excited, honored and humbled by the opportunity to lead eight great institutions and their hockey programs into the inaugural season,” said Fenton in a statement. “I am appreciative of the support of each institution’s president or chancellor, athletics director, hockey coach and faculty athletic representative as we develop the best conference in college hockey. I want to thank Jim Scherr for laying the foundation for the conference’s early development and to [North Dakota athletics director and NCHC chair] Brian Faison for having the vision to lead the board of directors through the conference’s early evolution. We will work tirelessly to create a conference which will engage our passionate fans and provide our student-athletes with life enriching experiences.”
At Miami, Fenton was responsible for assessment and management of the athletic department’s $21 million annual budget and was the sport administrator for men’s hockey, football, field hockey and men’s golf. He also assisted in bringing the 2014 regional to Cincinnati, negotiated Miami’s participation in the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field in Chicago and led discussions to secure Bauer Hockey as the official team equipment supplier.
Fenton joined Miami in 2002 as a volunteer assistant hockey coach while completing his master’s degree and upon completion of his degree, he was hired as the program’s first director of hockey operations.
