Athletics recruits Mark Harlan and Kellie Elliott to management team

Mark Harlan brings 11 years of management experiences from Pac-10 school Arizona.

Kellie Elliott was a regional operations manager for the 1996 Summer Olympics and a senior general manager for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

San Jose, Calif.-----Mark Harlan, who spent the last year as an associate athletics director at the University of Northern Colorado, and Kellie Elliott, most recently a project manager for Stanford University athletics, have been recruited as members of the San Jose State University intercollegiate athletics management team. Harlan will be a senior associate athletics director for external operations. Elliott will be an associate athletics director and the department’s senior women’s administrator. Tom Bowen, the Spartans’ director of athletics, made the announcement.

Bowen also announced Cindy Kato is the new director of student success services and the promotion of assistant athletics director/chief financial officer Geoff Von Dollen to associate athletics director/chief financial officer.

"I am absolutely thrilled Mark, Kellie and Cindy have joined the San Jose State University Division of Intercollegiate athletics management team. They are proven professionals in sports and college athletics. Their expertise will help us achieve our goals on and off the field," says Bowen. "I’m also delighted to announce the promotion of Geoff Von Dollen to an associate director’s position, who has effectively managed the financial aspects our department and been a steadying influence as we’ve transitioned into our new management team."

HARLAN TO OVERSEE EXTERNAL OPERATIONS

Harlan will oversee the department’s development, marketing and promotions, corporate sales, tickets, sports information, community outreach, and broadcasting components and provide administrative guidance for women’s basketball and football. At the University of Northern Colorado, he oversaw all external operations the Bears transition to NCAA Division I status and future membership in the Big Sky Conference. He was credited with launching an Athletic Capitol Campaign and restructuring the annual giving and marketing programs.

From 1993 until 2004, Harlan worked in multiple capacities in The University of Arizona Athletics Department. He began his career in intercollegiate athletics as a graduate assistant under current SJSU head football coach Dick Tomey. From there, the University of Arizona graduate became an event operations manager and, in 2000, served as Tournament Director for the NCAA Men’s Basketball West Regional Championship held in Tucson. He was promoted to assistant director of athletics in 2002 and was responsible for game scheduling, annual funding, and regional development and marketing.

ELLIOTT IS NEW SWA

Elliott, who will supervise nine intercollegiate sports and oversee the student services, strength and conditioning, sports medicine programs, brings more than 19 years of professional, amateur and collegiate sports experience to the Spartans’ athletics administration management team. Most recently, she was a "Project Manager" for the Stanford University department of athletics directly involved with the renovation of Maples Pavilion. Elliott also served the university in alumni relations and as the director of football operations for then-head coach Dennis Green.

Elliott worked for two professional sports franchises, the Huntsville Flight of the National Basketball Development League from 2001 to 2003 as its first president and the San Jose Sharks as a guest services event manager. For the last two Olympic Games held in the United States, she was a regional operations manager for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Committee and a senior general manager for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Committee.

She is a 1985 graduate of Stanford University who majored in communications. Elliott replaces Nancy Lewis, who was the interim senior women’s administrator.

KATO MOVES FROM BIG-10 MINNESOTA TO SJSU

Kato spent the last 15 years at the University of Minnesota. Most recently, she was the assistant director for learning in academic counseling and student services/
intercollegiate athletics. She joined the Big Ten school in 1990 as the its original learning specialist for intercollegiate athletics.

PROMOTION FOR VON DOLLEN

Von Dollen has been a San Jose State University athletics department member since July 2001. He first worked in ticket operations before moving into the department’s business operations. Promoted to an assistant athletics director’s post in 2003, Von Dollen was named the department’s chief financial officer in 2004.

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