After serving in an important role in Athletics for 25 years, Chemistry Associate Professor Thurston Banks is stepping down as our faculty athletics representative to the NCAA.

Thurston Banks

Banks has worked with the TTU athletics program for 31 of his 34 years on the faculty.

"It has been an extremely rewarding experience," says Banks, who was appointed to the Athletics Committee in 1975 by then-President Arliss Roaden and officially became the faculty representative in 1981. "I've seen major changes in the structure of college athletics, worked with many different coaches, and got to see the development of hundreds of student-athletes. Throughout everything, I'm proud that Tennessee Tech has been among the most respected programs in the nation for its academic integrity and dedication to compliance issues."

"We are extremely grateful to Thurston for his dedication and commitment to the university and Athletics for 34 years," says Athletics Director Mark Wilson. "Much of what he has done has been behind-the-scenes, but it has been critically important to our success.

"While the most visible aspect of a program is its wins and losses and conference championships, two areas that are at the very core of our mission are integrity in compliance and graduating our student-athletes. With Dr. Banks' leadership, Tennessee Tech has always been one of the leaders in the nation in both of those areas."

History Chairperson Jeff Roberts replaces Banks.

"I'm honored to accept this position and I look forward to helping the coaching staff build more champions both inside the classroom and on the various playing fields, while maintaining academic integrity," says Roberts, who joined the faculty in 1991. "I've worked with the Golden Eagle Athletics program on a wide variety of committees. This will certainly be one of the more important positions I've been asked to fill."

In just his second year at Tech, Roberts was appointed to the Athletics Committee and has been on that body for 10 years, including a two-year stint as chairman from 2000 to 2002. In 1995, he was appointed to the Sports Hall of Fame Committee, and he drafted new selection procedures that have been in use ever since. In 2004, he was a member of the search committee that brought Wilson to campus and was chairman of the Academic Integrity Subcommittee for the NCAA Certification Team in 2003-04.

Jeff Roberts

"We're delighted that Jeff Roberts has accepted this assignment," says Wilson. "He has an outstanding reputation throughout campus, and is well-respected by the entire faculty. He is meticulous in his work, has extremely high standards and ethics, and brings a love for Athletics."

Roberts has chaired the Department of History since 2002, has served on the Academic Council — including a term as chair — the Faculty Senate since 1993, and the Budget Advisory Committee since 1996.

"I've been attending games since 1991, when Frank Harrell invited me to sit on the team bench, and I've attended road games regularly," Roberts says. "I enjoy Tech athletics, all the more so given numerous positive experiences with student athletes in the classroom. I look forward to helping our athletes maintain Tennessee Tech's high standards of classroom achievement and expand our record of academic honors."

Roberts will work with Banks during a transitional period.