University of Evansville Director of Athletics Mark Spencer has announced the addition of three staff members to the Purple Aces athletics department.
The additions include: Assistant Athletic Director/Producer – Purple Aces Productions Tom Benson, Director of Revenue Development John Rodgers and Director of Business Operations, Athletics – Joseph Smolinske.
“We are excited to welcome these three talented individuals to our staff,†Spencer said. “Each one brings a great skill set that will have a great impact on our department.
Benson brings a wealth of experience with over 15 years of experience working at the University of Evansville. Since August of 2010, Benson has served as the General Manager of WUEV and AcesTV. Prior to that, he worked in the Sports Information office on a full-time basis for ten years.
In his time with the SID office, Benson covered women’s basketball, cross country, baseball, swimming and women’s tennis. He also served as the Interim SID in 2008. A 2000 graduate of UE, Benson earned his degree in Mass Communications.
John Rodgers comes to UE after a 3-year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals. While there, he was a facilitator in their award-winning Cardinals Academic Program (CAP). Rodgers was also a Busch Stadium Tour Guide and Docent in the new Cardinals Museum.
Before that, he spent 15 years with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and was a sales professional and a broadcaster. During his tenure there, the Kernels were a Class A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He is proud to have founded and directed a fully-sponsored elementary school reading program, which touched the lives of over 30,000 kids.
Joseph Smolinske comes to the University of Evansville after spending the last years as a Business Office Intern with the athletics department at Xavier University. He also spent the year before as a volunteer assistant swim coach at XU. While there, he played a pivotal role in working with the Deputy Athletic Director with budgeting, planning and forecasting a $17.1M budget for the Musketeers. Smolinske also collaborated on a 7-year, $25M renovation plan for the Cintas Center.
Smolinske spent the 2012-13 academic year as an administrative intern with the athletics department at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Smolinske assisted the Associate AD for Business with revenues and expenses related to the 19 varsity sports at the university. A former student-athlete, Smolinske was a swimmer and diver at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2005 through 2007 and earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Administration. Following his graduation, he attended Xavier where he earned a Master of Education in Sport Administration in 2015.
