Since being named the fifth commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference on February 16, 2012, Benson has helped reinvigorate the Sun Belt with his optimism, energy and enthusiasm.
Immediately after his hiring, Benson set out to change the attitude and perception of the Sun Belt – going as far as re-imagining the brand, membership, and student-athlete experience of the league that had just entered its second decade of membership in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
His vigor and forward thinking have often been called upon during his tenure – perhaps best exemplified when he hit the ground running in the spring of 2012. Benson quickly set the tone for the future of the Sun Belt Conference by adding Georgia State, UT Arlington and Texas State to the league after only being in his post for several weeks.
In May of 2012, Benson had begun to further shape the Sun Belt Conference by promoting the league’s rebranding efforts. Sure enough only a year later, the Sun Belt had unveiled a new logo and new mantra - “Together We Rise” - that is in-line with the optimistic attitude that Benson has become so well-known for.
Further solidifying the place of the Sun Belt Conference, Benson helped lead the league to the additions of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern as all-sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State as football playing members. All four announcements took place throughout the course of the day on March 27, 2013.
Benson’s foresight was called upon once again when the conference completed its 12-team alignment with the addition of Coastal Carolina to the league. CCU made a splash as it entered the Sun Belt as the Chanticleers baseball team won the 2016 College World Series.
In addition to strengthening the league through membership additions and rebranding efforts, Benson has been able to secure new homes for Sun Belt teams in the football postseason.
As part of the College Football Playoff (CFP), the Sun Belt continues to find itself among the 10 premier college football conferences and the system is guaranteed universal access based on performance – there are no automatic qualifiers for the playoff system. Additionally, the CFP provides a spot among the premier bowl games of college football to the highest-ranked champion from the “Group of Five” conferences: the Sun Belt Conference, American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA.
The CFP has provided much excitement as of late, but bowl games have long been a tradition in college football and the Sun Belt has established its own bowl tradition. The league has secured ties to no fewer than five bowl games, having added three bowl games since Benson became Commissioner. In addition to the potential of the College Football Playoff, the league has guaranteed berths in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – an honor it has held from its very first football season -- the Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, Ala., the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, and the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Ariz. No football conference in NCAA history has developed that quantity of bowl partners in its first 16 years of existence.
Postseason opportunities will also expand further as Benson led a push for the Sun Belt Conference to hold its first ever football championship game as the league’s presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors, voted unanimously to play the game beginning in 2018.
Football is far from the only area where Benson has been a driving force for the success of the Sun Belt, however.
Upon his hiring, he immediately secured office space for the conference headquarters in the world-famous Mercedes-Benz Superdome in downtown New Orleans. Adding to the “Big Easy” flavor of the conference, he also brought the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball championships to New Orleans – and the coinciding tournaments will continue to be played in the hometown of the Sun Belt through 2019.
Back-to-back first round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament wins in 2014 and 2015 further pushed the Sun Belt brand to the mainstream, as has the conference’s success in the sports of softball and baseball.
The Sun Belt continues to be on the cutting-edge in terms of television and digital streaming and sports officiating. The conference’s partnership with ESPN in the last several years has resulted in a tenfold increase in the availability of Sun Belt events available to a national audience. And by merging the Sun Belt’s football and men’s basketball officiating under the umbrella of the Southeastern Conference, the Sun Belt has been able to incorporate the latest in video and technology to ensure that the rights calls are being made and evaluations are always taking place.
Benson came to the Sun Belt after serving as the commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference since 1994.
During his time at the WAC, Benson developed numerous multi-year agreements with postseason football games, including the Holiday Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Copper Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Silicon Valley Football Classic, GMAC Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, the Humanitarian Bowl, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
Under Benson’s leadership, the WAC achieved noted success by sending multiple teams to Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games as well as having sent a total of 38 teams to bowl games since 2001.
Benson served on the NCAA Management Council from 1999-2002 and a five-year term on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee from 2002-06.
Prior to his time at the WAC, Benson served as the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference for four years. There, he implemented several innovative projects and was instrumental in the formation of the Las Vegas Bowl.
Prior to taking the reins of the MAC, Benson served on the NCAA staff for more than four years where he was the director of NCAA championships when selected as MAC commissioner.
Benson joined the NCAA staff in January 1986, as a compliance representative and was appointed assistant director of championships in June 1987. He was promoted to director of championships in 1988. In that position, Benson actively supervised eight assistant directors in their administration of 68 NCAA championships.
A native of the state of Washington, Benson graduated from high school in Pullman in 1970, attended Spokane Falls Community College and then received a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Boise State University in 1975. He has also completed course work toward his master’s degree in athletics administration at the University of Utah.
Benson played baseball at both Spokane Falls Community College and Boise State University before serving as the baseball coach at Fort Steilacoom Community College in Tacoma, Wash., for six years and as the director of athletics at Fort Steilacoom from 1979-84. From 1984-86, he was an assistant baseball coach and an administrative assistant in the athletics department at Utah.
He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Boise State in April of 2006. Benson is also a member of the Spokane Falls and Fort Steilacoom Halls of Fame.
Benson was born on December 1, 1951 and has been married to Sarah Glaza since October, 2016. His daughter Jessica, 26, is a 2014 graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She is currently a Sports Anchor and Reporter for WATN-TV - an ABC affiliate in Memphis.