An innovative leader with experience in many facets of the collegiate athletics landscape, Brian Thornton was named the seventh commissioner in the history of the Western Athletic Conference on November 4, 2021.
Since Thornton's appointment as conference commissioner, the WAC has continued its growth into one of the premier mid major conferences in NCAA Division I. After finishing the 2020-21 season ranked 23rd in the Kenpom.com ranking of Division I men's basketball conferences, the WAC rose to a peak of 11th in the metric at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign. It was the highest year-end ranking for the WAC in men's basketball since the conclusion of the 2009-10 season. The WAC finished the 2023-24 season ranked 14th according to Kenpom, but was just 0.21 points away from the 12th position.
Following the re-introduction of football to the WAC at the FCS level in 2021, Thornton helped spearhead an expanded partnership with the ASUN Conference that transformed from what was initially a football alliance between the leagues into the United Athletic Conference. The single-sport conference combining the football playing members of the WAC and ASUN under one banner officially debuted in the fall of 2023, with the conference champion of the UAC earning an automatic bid in the annual NCAA FCS playoffs.
To provide more opportunities for quality nonconference matchups and further enhance the WAC’s overall basketball profile, Thornton and the WAC established a scheduling initiative with Conference USA prior to the 2023-24 season. The multi-year scheduling initiative between the peer conferences kicked off with 36 total games, 18 men’s and 18 women’s, featuring WAC and CUSA teams during the inaugural season.
After serving as a member of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) committee in 2023-24, Thornton was selected for a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee that will officially begin on Sept. 1, 2024. In recognition of his leadership in the college basketball community, Thornton was also named the chair of the NCAA DI Men's Basketball Competition Committee in October of 2023. The 12-member committee reports directly to the NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee in an advisory role, with a focus on student-athlete health and safety, sportsmanship and integrity, game operations and presentation, technology and statistical trends.
The WAC has seen the continuation of a four-decade long existing media rights agreement with ESPN since Thornton's arrival that features hundreds of live telecasts of WAC athletic events on both digital and linear platforms annually. The WAC has also added title sponsorships to its men's and women's basketball (Hercules Tires) and baseball and softball (University Credit Union) championship tournaments under Thornton's leadership in collaboration with the conference's sponsorship and corporate marketing partner Van Wagner.
Under Thornton’s leadership, reclassifying Division II members Tarleton State University and Utah Tech University were granted the right to qualify to compete for WAC conference tournament championships during the NCAA reclassification process. Breaking with historical national precedent for transitioning Divisional athletic programs, both universities were declared WAC Championship eligible in advance of the 2022-23 academic year as part of a cause that Thornton has championed nationwide. Along with helping oversee the transition to full-time Division I status for Tarleton State and Utah Tech, the WAC officially welcomed Southern Utah University and the University of Texas at Arlington back to the conference on July 1, 2022.
Thornton joined the WAC following one year as the associate commissioner for basketball at the American Athletic Conference. In that role, Thornton served as the primary administrator for men's and women's basketball, including oversight of scheduling, officiating and game operations as well as compliance with NCAA governance.
Thornton arrived at The American after two years as assistant director for basketball development at the NCAA national office. He was responsible for developing relationships with constituents in the men's and women's basketball communities, including coaches, apparel companies and professional basketball organizations. Thornton additionally served as a liaison to the NCAA men's and women's basketball oversight committees, developing legislative concepts to foster the growth and development of college basketball.
Before joining the staff at the NCAA, Thornton spent nine seasons as a coach at the Division I level that included stops at Xavier University (director of operations 2009-11), Furman University (2011-12), Winthrop University (2012-14) and Ball State University (2014-18). Thornton was on-staff for an NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth in 2009-10 and an Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championship in 2010-11 at Xavier, a 20-win season at Winthrop in 2013-14 and back-to-back shares of the MAC West Division title at Ball State in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Thornton was a standout men's basketball player at Xavier, where he was the 2005 and 2006 Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year, a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection and was a first-team all-conference pick for the Musketeers' 2006 Atlantic 10 championship team. He began his playing career at Vanderbilt University, where he was an SEC all-freshman selection in 2002. Thornton played professionally for the Artland Dragons for the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany from 2006-07.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Thornton earned an undergraduate degree in business from Xavier in 2005 and added an MBA from that institution in 2007. Brian and his wife Kelsey have one daughter, Makayla, and one son, Brian Jr. (Deuce).