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Media Center Rick Nixon

Marvin Lewis and Ashleigh Simmons appointed to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee

Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics at George Mason, and Ashleigh Simmons, senior associate athletics director for student success at Western Carolina, have been appointed to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee.

Marvin Lewis Headshot
Marvin Lewis

Lewis will be filling the position vacated by Jill Bodensteiner of Saint Joseph's, who has served on the committee since 2022, while Simmons replaces Alex Gary, previously of Western Carolina. Both appointments are effective immediately, and both terms expire Aug. 31, 2027.  

Lewis was named George Mason's sixth director of athletics on July 1, 2023. Before joining George Mason, he held senior roles at Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Georgia State. A former two-time captain of Georgia Tech's basketball team, Lewis led the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 national title game. He earned his bachelor's in management from Georgia Tech, became a licensed CPA, and completed a master's in taxation at Georgia State.

"It is an honor to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee and to represent George Mason University and the Atlantic 10," Lewis said. "This is an exciting and transformative time for women's basketball, marked by unprecedented growth in attendance, media reach and national interest. I experienced this momentum firsthand while supporting George Mason's women's basketball during its historic first NCAA tournament appearance this past season, and it deepened my passion and commitment to advancing the women's game. I'm eager to work alongside my fellow committee members to help shape a competitive and compelling NCAA tournament that continues to elevate the sport on a national stage."

Ashleigh Simmons Headshot
Ashleigh Simmons

Simmons joined Western Carolina as the associate athletics director for student success on July 1, 2022. She was promoted to senior associate athletics director for student success in January 2024, also serving as senior woman administrator for the Catamounts. A former women's basketball student-athlete standout and an athletics administrator at her alma mater, the University of Louisiana Monroe, Simmons held a variety of athletic administration positions at Louisiana from 2014-22 before joining Western Carolina. A first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2013-14 as a senior, Simmons was a two-year team captain as both a junior and senior, finishing her playing career with 1,040 points. Simmons earned her bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in mathematics from ULM in 2014. 

"I am deeply honored to be selected to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee," Simmons said. "The opportunity to have an impact on the game that's shaped me both personally and professionally is incredibly humbling. I take great pride in representing Western Carolina University and the Southern Conference, and I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the continued growth and advancement of women's basketball."

Lewis and Simmons will be part of the 12-member committee that will be chaired in 2025-26 by Amanda Braun, director of athletics at Milwaukee. Other committee members are Vicky Chun of Yale; Liz Darger of Brigham Young; Amy Folan of Central Michigan; Josh Heird of Louisville; Jeff Konya of San Jose State; Jill Redmond of the Missouri Valley Conference; Colleen Sorem of Maryland; Candice Storey Lee of Vanderbilt; and Lynn Tighe of Villanova.

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