ARLINGTON – With a vast background in marketing and communications, Duane Lewis has been selected as UT Arlington's Senior Associate Athletic Director of External Relations.
 
Lewis boasts a diverse background with experience in athletics marketing and communications at the university, conference and NCAA levels, as well as in the National Football League for the Rams organization.
 
Lewis, who has served on the media relations staff of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and the 2023 College Football National Championship Game, comes to Arlington from Jackson State University, where he oversaw all communications and marketing efforts for athletics since February 2022 as the Associate Athletic Director for Public Relations and Sports Media while serving as the primary media contact for JSU football with oversight of cross country, track and field and bowling.
 
"We are excited to have Duane join our family," said UTA Director of Athletics Jon Fagg. "His diverse background and skill set will allow him to excel from day one on campus and help elevate our Maverick brand. We're thrilled to have him in Arlington."
 
In 2022, Lewis oversaw interview requests for Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders and actively coordinated interviews and stories on legendary national platforms 60 Minutes and Good Morning America in October as Jackson State's football program posted its first undefeated regular season in school history. Lewis was the lead JSU contact for the planning and execution of ESPN's College Gameday live from Jackson, only the fourth time the show originated from an HBCU game in the program's history.

Lewis oversaw a story content plan for the department that generated a 303-percent increase in social media engagements, the fourth-largest increase in the country, ranking behind only Saint Peter's, Kansas and Davidson. The official JSU Athletics social media platforms had nearly 1.2 million engagements in 2022. In 2023, Lewis created a promotional plan that helped JSU baseball triple the number of season-ticket holders from the year before.
 
"I'm excited for this opportunity at UT Arlington," Lewis said. "Jon Fagg has a tremendous vision for Maverick student-athletes and the department as a whole, and I look forward to joining his team. It's a great time to be a Maverick as we engage our university community, alumni, fans and supporters to elevate UTA Athletics."

Among the highlights of his career, Lewis worked for the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams from 1997-2007, directed communications operations for the college football national championship game (Allstate Sugar Bowl 2007), and led athletics communications departments at three Southwestern Athletic Conference institutions as well as the league office.
 
During his 10-year career with the Rams, Lewis was a key communications staff member during the legendary "Greatest Show On Turf," one of the most dynamic offenses in NFL history that ultimately made five playoff appearances, earning two conference championships and the Super Bowl 34 title. Lewis worked with six eventual Pro Football Hall of Famers in St. Louis.
 
Prior to JSU, Lewis spent 10 months as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. He was the primary university contact with print and electronic media, coordinating appropriate and timely responses to media inquiries, coordinating media interviews for the President and campus leadership and promoting university successes.

In previous athletics communications roles at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2019-21), Prairie View A&M University (2016-19) and Alabama State University (2011-16), Lewis oversaw messaging, marketing and promotional efforts for all teams. Lewis also created radio networks at all three schools, including SiriusXM satellite radio broadcasts, while serving as the play-by-play voice for broadcasts and coaches' shows.

In 2015, Lewis was selected to participate in the Learfield Sports Minority Academy (now Learfield Edge Academy) in partnership with the Minority Opportunity Athletic Association (MOAA). He was among 12 individuals to attend the Academy, designed to foster minority growth and development in the collegiate multimedia and sponsorship sector. In that same year, Lewis participated in the Emerging AD Conference to develop the next leaders in college sports by sharing best practices and resources of senior-level administrators.

Before Alabama State, Lewis worked as a freelance sportswriter for The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge, La., covering high school and college football and basketball. He also covered Southwestern Athletic Conference football and basketball for the Heritage Sports Radio Network.

Lewis was the Assistant Commissioner for Communications at the Southwestern Athletic Conference from 2008-10, overseeing the promotion of the league's 18 sports and serving as the primary spokesman for the SWAC. 
 
Lewis transitioned to collegiate athletics as the Director of Communications for the Allstate Sugar Bowl during the 2007-08 season, overseeing media operations for the first historic double-hosting of the Bowl Championship Series' Sugar Bowl and BCS National Championship football game in New Orleans, La.

The Plaquemine, La. native earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Southern University and a master's degree in education from Northcentral University. He is a life member of the Southern University Alumni Association and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
 
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