Jim Powers is entering his third year with the Sooner and his second year as assistant commissioner of the conference while still handling all conference communications. Powers will oversee all the league’s media communication efforts while overseeing the conference website and social media accounts.
Powers will work remotely from his hometown of St. Louis, Mo., and will continue to assist the NAIA National Office in various capacities.
“We are very excited to announce that Jim Powers has joined our team as Conference Information Director,” said SAC Commissioner John Martin. “We feel that Jim’s experience in athletic administration, marketing, communications, and most recently as the voice of the NAIA Selection Shows will benefit our conference in many ways.”
Powers has a strong background in strategic communications as he worked for NCAA Division II member Maryville University as their Coordinator of Athletic Communications. He started with Maryville as their Play-by-Play voice and helped grow their broadcasting platform, SaintsVision, to a successful source for fans to follow many of the Maryville athletic teams. Powers transitioned into the coordinator role and raised the awareness of Maryville athletics via social media and by maintaining portions of the athletic website.
Powers is also well respected in the NCAA as he has been a part of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Media Coordination Committee for the past ten years and has moderated all of the pre-championship and post-game press conferences during that time. He has also worked on the NCAA FCS Football National Championship Media Coordination Committee for the past four years and has moderated their press conferences.
Powers is an accomplished broadcaster in the St. Louis area as he has been a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association state championship broadcasts for over 14 years, and he also aids many of their championships in working on their stat crews. Powers was also part of the NAIA Basketball Championships as a play-by-play personality in 2022 and handled play-by-play duties for the NAIA Men’s Volleyball tournament.
“I am extremely excited to join such a tradition-rich conference as the Sooner,” stated Powers. “This is an opportunity for me to work with an outstanding group of athletic communicators to showcase our incredible student-athletes in this conference. I am excited to meet, get to know everyone, and hit the ground running as we prepare for the 2023-24 season.”