Coleman Barnes is the senior associate athletics director and chief of staff for the football program. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the program, including administrative personnel, external affairs and the budget. Barnes joined the Mountaineer football staff as the associate athletics director for football external affairs in February 2019.
At WVU, Barnes collaborates with the athletics administration and external units to further the West Virginia football brand and its effectiveness and efficiency.Â
Barnes is the program’s liaison with marketing, tickets, Mountaineer Athletic Club, athletics communications and digital media, as well as Learfield.
Barnes is responsible for all program operations associated with recruiting, including hiring personnel, maintaining the budget and establishing branding and messaging. He also markets, promotes and brands the program to recruits, high school coaches, alumni and fans, including overseeing the digital and creative content, graphic design and social media platforms to promote the football brand.
Barnes organized the structure of WVU’s 5th Quarter program and Chambers Elite Climbers, to which he currently provides oversight, and he also played a role in the planning and design of the $55 million Milan Puskar Center enhancement project.
Barnes came to West Virginia from Utah State (2017-19), where he first served as the assistant vice president and deputy director of athletics for external affairs before being promoted to associate vice president and deputy director of athletics. Under the direction of the vice president and director of athletics, he was responsible for the overall administration, management and supervision of all department areas that engaged with external constituents.
He led USU’s athletic development staff and also oversaw athletics’ external departments, which included marketing and promotions, media relations and video. He also served as the liaison for ticket operations and sales and Aggie Sports Properties.
Prior to Utah State, Barnes spent four years at Miami University, where he served as the associate athletics director/senior director of development for three-and-a-half years, before being promoted to executive associate athletics director/senior director of development his last year.
During his time at Miami, he served as a co-manager for the Graduating Champions Campaign, raising more than $65 million toward the $80 million goal. In 2015, Barnes’ team raised a then-record $28.3 million in gifts and pledges, including $5.02 million in cash.
Barnes also boosted Miami’s Red & White Club membership to more than 2,000 members, a 27% increase since his arrival in 2013 and increased revenue by 24%, up to $880,000 per year.
Prior to Miami, he spent two years at UAB, as the associate athletics director for development. He oversaw Blazer Boosters, the fundraising unit for UAB Athletics, increasing the annual fund membership by 54 percent through a 16-month initiative.
Prior to UAB, Barnes served from 2008-11 at Fresno State as the executive director of The Bulldog Foundation and associate athletics director for development. As an executive administrator, he oversaw all components of the development office that raised approximately $6 million annually. He also managed a development team that successfully secured funding for a $6 million sports medicine center and a $1.2 million turf project.
From 2005-08, Barnes served as the assistant director for the UMAA Foundation, the fundraising unit for Ole Miss Athletics, playing an integral role in raising nearly $13 million annually
Prior to Ole Miss, he was a development associate for the Hurricane Club at the University of Miami (2004-05) and an intern in Harvard’s Athletics Ticket Office (2003-04).
Barnes graduated from Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2002 with a major in kinesiology and a minor in business. He was a three-year letterwinner on the Wildcats’ football team as the team’s long snapper. In 2004, he earned his master’s degree from Kentucky in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management and completed his Ph.D. in higher education from Ole Miss in 2017.
A native of Bardstown, Kentucky, Barnes, and his wife, Mary Beth, have two children, Caroline and William.
