Brian Shannon, a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor at the Texas Tech University School of Law, was re-elected to serve a third, two-year term as president of the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (1A FAR) association. His new term as president will continue through September 2018.
The 1A FAR is an organization of faculty athletics representatives at the 125 NCAA Division I institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The mission of the 1A FAR is to advocate for effective interaction and balance between an institution’s academic mission and its intercollegiate athletics program.
“I am very honored to be able to continue to serve as president of the 1A FAR for a third term,” Shannon said. “Texas Tech, the NCAA and our institutions in the Big 12 and across the FBS subdivision are strong adherents to the collegiate model. We are committed to giving our student-athletes opportunities to excel on the field and court, and also in the classroom. This model not only celebrates athletics successes but also encourages our student-athletes to be integrated into the full range of campus life and to have the opportunities to be champions for life.”
Shannon has served as the NCAA faculty athletics representative at Texas Tech since 2008 and also is the Big 12 Conference’s representative to the 1A FAR national board. In 2014 he was named to the NCAA Division I Council, which came as a result of an overhaul of the NCAA’s governance system, which has primary responsibility for Division I legislation, developing and recommending policies to the Board of Directors and supervising and acting on a wide array of issues, including NCAA championships. That four-year term began in January 2015.
“We are so proud of Brian and are fortunate to have him represent not only Texas Tech but all of intercollegiate athletics,” Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. “His wise counsel will continue to be an invaluable resource as we navigate some of the issues confronting college athletics.”
In addition to his service as the Texas Tech FAR, Shannon has been a popular professor in the School of Law since 1988 and has won numerous teaching awards, including the 2013 Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching Award, the President’s Academic Achievement Award and the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He also served as associate dean for academic affairs from 2001 to 2007.
He also is a board appointee for StarCare Specialty Health System (formerly known as Lubbock Regional MHMR Center), where he has served for more than 20 years and is a past chair. He also has served on the boards of Advocacy, Inc., which is now Disability Rights Texas, and the Texas Council of Community Centers.
Shannon is an elected member of the American Law Institute and was the 2008-09 president of the Lubbock Area Bar Association. He also is a past chair of the State Bar of Texas Disability Issues Committee, and Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to four terms on the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities from 2003-11.
CONTACT:
Brian Shannon, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, School of Law, Texas Tech University, (806) 834-6366 or brian.shannon@ttu.edu
(News release from Texas Tech University)
