TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –– Florida A&M Athletics Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes announced the hire of three new additions to the athletic department staff today.
Michael Smith will remain in the athletics department as he accepted the new role of assistant vice president for athletics administration and strategic initiatives after serving as the interim director of athletics from April 21, 2022-January 3, 2023.
Smith will assist in the administrative planning and leadership for all intercollegiate sports programs and athletic facilities. Additionally, he will be tasked with developing policies and strategies to optimize departmental effectiveness.
“I’m grateful Michael has accepted the role as assistant vice president for athletics/administration and strategic initiatives,” said Sykes. “Over the last few months, he has been incredibly supportive of my hire and has ensured that my transition has been smooth. He has repeatedly shown his invaluable knowledge, skill set, and unquestionable love for FAMU.
“I look forward to working closely with him to support our student-athletes, coaches, and staff. As an alumnus and former FAMU student-athlete with over 25 years of professional experience at FAMU, he’s the perfect fit for this critical leadership role.”
Sykes is also bringing Marquel Broussard to the Highest of Seven Hills as the executive assistant to the vice president. Broussard comes to Florida A&M after serving as a compliance officer at Prairie View A&M Athletics since January 2020. Broussard also worked at Grambling State in the compliance office.
In this role, Broussard will provide high-level administrative support to the vice president, oversee special projects, and serve as a primary point of the operational and administrative contact for internal and external constituencies.
“Marquel is a highly organized professional with over a decade of experience in Division I athletics,” said Sykes. “She’s an HBCU alumna who shares my ‘do whatever it takes’ attitude when it comes to serving student-athletes. I appreciate her willingness to join the staff and support me in this essential role.”
The final addition to the athletics department is Brittney Johnson, who will serve as the senior associate athletic director for compliance and senior woman administrator (SWA). Florida A&M University’s chief compliance and ethics officer, Rica Calhoun, oversaw the hiring process for the senior associate AD for the compliance position, and Johnson was later tapped as the SWA by Sykes. Johnson joins the Rattlers after spending most of 2022 at South Alabama as the associate athletic director for student-athlete development and academic success. Before South Alabama, Johnson had stops at Prairie View A&M as the associate athletic director for student-athlete support services and at Alabama A&M as the assistant director of compliance.
Johnson is charged with executing the daily management and operation of the athletics compliance office.
“When I learned that the FAMU Office of Compliance and Ethics selected Brittney as the senior associate athletics director for compliance, I was excited to offer her the SWA designation,” said Sykes. “Brittney has immersed herself in NCAA programming and served on various national committees that support the NCAA membership. It’s important to have someone carry this designation who understands the importance of this role not only on campus but also within the NCAA’s governance structure, and Brittney understands that.”
Sykes plans to fill additional senior-level roles in the athletics department in the near future.
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