NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin announced the hiring of Anthony "AJ" Vazquez as Assistant Executive Director, effective July 20, 2026.

Vazquez joins the CCIW after building a strong early-career portfolio in Division II conference communications, championship operations, digital content, awards administration, and member services. A 2025 graduate of Knox College, Vazquez most recently served as a Communications and Media Contractor with the Sunshine State Conference, where he was the primary media contact for 15 league-sponsored sports, selected weekly conference award recipients, wrote press releases, maintained website content, and assisted with championship seeding, tiebreaker procedures, and tournament scenarios.

"AJ is an exceptional young professional, and I could not be more excited to welcome him to the CCIW," Executive Director Lexie Vernon said. "He brings the right combination of talent, work ethic, creativity, competitive experience, and leadership potential. As a former Division III student-athlete and team captain, AJ understands the value of the Division III experience and is deeply committed to the philosophy that guides our work. He has already done tremendous work at the conference level, and I believe he is ready to make an immediate impact for our membership while continuing to grow into a broader administrative role."

In addition to his work with the Sunshine State Conference, Vazquez served as a Strategic Communications and Marketing Intern with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In that role, he managed daily communications to more than 80 administrators, facilitated voting processes, helped publish preseason polls, end-of-season awards, all-conference and academic all-conference selections, maintained league standings and statistical accuracy, published more than 60 competition schedules, and supported RMAC-hosted championships as an on-site media relations coordinator and administrator.

At the CCIW, Vazquez will oversee conference communications, including website operations, social media, awards program administration, championship support, CCIW Network growth, and other day-to-day league operations.

"I am extremely thankful and excited to join the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin" Vazquez says. "I am grateful for the opportunity to return to Division III, and doing so with a conference as highly regarded as the CCIW is both an honor and a privilege. I look forward to strengthening the conference's communications efforts and helping advance the CCIW's goal of being recognized as the premier athletic conference in NCAA Division III."

A native of Whittier, California, Vazquez was a multi-sport student-athlete at Knox, competing in football and track and field. He was a football team captain while balancing academics, campus employment, and athletics. Vazquez graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Business Management with a concentration in finance. He was also inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma and earned CSC Academic All-District recognition in 2024.

In addition to Vazquez's hiring, the CCIW announced that Alex Keil will support the conference as a communications contractor. Keil spent five years at the Division I level – including a year with the Mid-American Conference – and another 10 years as a campus sports information director at Illinois College and the University of Minnesota Morris. He will assist with day-to-day sports information responsibilities, website updates, releases, statistics, awards, and championship media coverage.

"Adding Alex gives us another experienced and steady communications professional who understands the campus SID role and the pace of conference work," Vernon said. "His experience will provide immediate support for AJ and our membership, while helping us continue to strengthen the conference's communications operation."

The staff updates come as the CCIW continues to build its internal support structure, enhance championship operations, expand communications services for member institutions, and align staffing with the conference's long-term strategic priorities.

"This is an exciting step forward for the conference," Vernon said. "With AJ, Alex, and the additional championship support we are building into our operations, we have structured an incredibly strong staff to lead the CCIW toward its strategic goals. AJ has tremendous upside, Alex brings valuable campus communications experience, and together they give us a strong foundation to serve our membership, elevate our student-athletes, and continue improving the look, feel, and reach of the CCIW."