Hatch named UA associate Athletic Director

Byron Hatch has been named associate Athletic Director for business with Razorback Athletics, according to a statement from the office of Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long.

Hatch joins the Razorbacks after spending the past seven years at the NCAA serving most recently as the director of championships and alliances.

Hatch, a native of Humphrey, Ark., earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). While in law school, Hatch worked in the offices of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission and the Pulaski County Public Defender in Little Rock, Ark.

“We are pleased to welcome Byron Hatch to our administrative team at the University of Arkansas,” Long said. “As a native Arkansan, Byron brings a lifelong passion for the Razorbacks as well as extensive national experience within intercollegiate athletics. He will be a great addition to our team and his expertise will help us continue to shape an athletics program to meet the growing needs of our more than 460 student-athletes.”

Hatch will work in the Razorback Athletics business office and report to Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Financial Officer Clayton Hamilton.

As the NCAA’s associate director of the Division I Men’s basketball championship (2007-11) and then the director of championships and alliances (2011-12), Hatch served as a liaison to the Division I men’s basketball committee and championship hosts assisting with the planning and conducting of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Hatch was responsible for the financial administration of the championship and helped oversee the site selection process. He also was responsible for the supervision of NCAA officiating responsibilities for the championship including serving as the liaison to the National Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating. Hatch also worked with the NCAA Corporate and Broadcast Alliances staff to coordinate NCAA corporate champions’ and partners’ exposure and marketing opportunities throughout the championship.

Prior to his work in the championships and alliances division, Hatch worked in the NCAA’s Department of Academic and Membership Affairs as a coordinator (2005), assistant director (2005-07) and associate director (2007). In that role, Hatch served as a lead administrator for the NCAA athletics certification staff and for a variety of Division I institutions undergoing the athletics certification process. He also worked with initial-eligibility waivers and served as the NCAA rules interpretation contact for four Division I conferences and their institutions.

Hatch joined the NCAA after three years as a senior multistate tax consultant at Deloitte & Touché LLP in Houston, Texas. He also worked as a state and local tax consulting associate at Arthur Anderson LLP in Houston.