Ross Bjork hires away deputy AD from Ole Miss, adds to Texas A&M staff
After working with Ross Bjork at Ole Miss, Michael Thompson Jr. has followed him to Texas A&M.
On Wednesday, Thompson was named Deputy Athletic Director for External Relations and Business Development, as announced by Bjork, the Aggies’ athletic director. Thompson spent nine years at Ole Miss serving in a similar role.
“Michael has developed a trend-setting portfolio of work during his time in the private sector and at Ole Miss and is viewed as one of the very best thought leaders in college athletics,” Bjork said in a statement. “His open mind and creativity to explore new external relations strategies led to record-breaking engagement in Oxford and I am thrilled that we could recruit him to join our leadership team here at Texas A&M. We already have tremendous content and fan engagement platforms in place and with Michael’s vision, we can go from very good to great.”
Welcome to Aggieland, Michael!
? https://t.co/t5urvdka6M#GigEm pic.twitter.com/lZDYYolz2G
— Texas A&M Athletics (@12thMan) October 9, 2019
Thompson will lead initiatives regarding external communications and marketing, ticketing, licensing and merchandising, information technology and multimedia rights.
“It’s hard to put into words how honored I am to be selected for this role,” Thompson said in a statement. “Throughout my career in sports, I have been in awe of the Aggie culture, traditions and brand, and now I’m humbled to become a part of Texas A&M and join Ross’ team as he charts a new course.”
Bjork hasn’t been at Texas A&M long, as he just became the Aggies’ AD earlier this year. So it’s not surprising that he’s bringing in somebody he worked with while at Ole Miss to add to his staff.