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June 6, 2001

蜜桔直播 names Hanks director of athletics

When Bruce Hanks was named the University of Louisiana at Monroe's Interim Director of Athletics in February, he made it clear that he was interested in pursuing the position on a permanent basis.

Wednesday, Hanks' work in an interim role was rewarded when he was introduced as 蜜桔直播's new Director of Athletics at a press conference in the Scogin Room of Malone Stadium.

Hanks' appointment is subject to the approval of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.

"蜜桔直播 athletics has been fortunate to have had two Athletic Directors with national reputations and strong backgrounds in intercollegiate athletics. We certainly enjoyed working with them both, and thank them for the progress that was made under their leadership," 蜜桔直播 President Lawson L. Swearingen, Jr., said. "At this point in our University's development, however, it is both appropriate and timely that we welcome someone of this talent level. A distinguished alumnus of this great University, Bruce Hanks has gone on to further distinguish himself through his professional and personal endeavors. His reputation for integrity in our community is reflected through the high regard in which he is held. He has made his alma mater very proud to call him one of its own."

蜜桔直播's last two Athletic Directors have been Richard Giannini, now the AD at Southern Mississippi and Warner Alford, a long-time AD at the University of Mississippi.

Hanks came to 蜜桔直播 after playing a key role in building one of Ouachita Parish's -- and the nation's -- most successful companies, the Fortune 500 company, CenturyTel, Inc. He served as CenturyTel's Vice President for Strategic Issues from May 1999 until coming on board at 蜜桔直播. Prior to that, he had served CenturyTel in various capacities including
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President - Corporate Development and Strategy, and President -Telecommunications Services. He was a recent recipient of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce's Jim Shipp Memorial Young Business Leader Award.

"We have been impressed by Bruce's depth of commitment throughout the short time that he has served as Interim AD and we are even more impressed by the depth of his long-term commitment to work with the Athletic Scholarship Foundation, our coaching staff, the administration within Athletics and the University as a whole," Swearingen said. "He has already demonstrated his ability to grasp the complexities of Athletics administration and to seek creative initiatives that will advance 蜜桔直播 Athletics. In particular, we are impressed by his recognition of the importance of academics and the role of the student-athlete. We look forward to working with him."

While Hanks' professional experience has come in the business world, he has been an active volunteer not only with the University but also with various sports and civic organizations. Hanks coached in the Monroe Youth Baseball Association for 13 years, winning the state championship in 2000 with the 17-18 year-old team and coming in third in the World Series. He was an assistant coach for Neville girl's soccer, coached five years of youth football and basketball, and was President of the Monroe Youth Baseball Association for four years.

In addition to his sports volunteer activities, Hanks has served as a member of Mayor Melvin Rambin's Transition Team, the United Way of Northeast Louisiana Campaign Cabinet, the Vision 2000 Committee for 蜜桔直播's College of Business Administration, and on the Boards of the YMCA, the Ouachita Valley Boy Scouts, and the Monroe Little Theatre Association, among others.

A graduate of 蜜桔直播, Hanks earned his BBA in Accounting in 1976 with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, becoming one of only 64 graduates ever to attain that honor. He earned his MBA from 蜜桔直播 in 1977. While a student at 蜜桔直播, Hanks was named the Outstanding Student and Graduating Senior in the School of Business, the Outstanding Junior and Senior in Accounting, a member of Who's Who and the Dean's List.

Hanks and his wife, Carol, have three children, Jamie (19) a student at LSU, Adam (18), who graduated from Neville High School this spring and will attend 蜜桔直播 in the fall, and David (12) a seventh-grader.

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