The University of Richmond athletics department announced the hiring of three administrative openings Friday, filling vacant positions in the areas of marketing, ticketing and facilities/events. Darius Smith was named Assistant Athletic Director for Gameday Experience and Marketing Services, Brad Dilen as Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Ticketing and Sales, and Raymond Tucker as Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities & Events.
Smith, a Midlothian native, will oversee all gameday marketing and fan experience for the Spiders, with emphasis surrounding football, men's and women's basketball. He joins the Spiders after spending the past six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League (NFL).
Smith most recently served as the Senior Manager for Game & Event Presentation for the Vikings where he oversaw all programming for Vikings home games. He was the lead field producer for the Vikings and was responsible for creating and implementing the marketing plan and content strategy for the Vikings Game Entertainment Department.
In addition, he served as a contributing producer with the Vikings Entertainment Network, producing award-winning live and original content for the team. The Vikings ranked No. 1 in the NFL in Gameday Entertainment in 2018 and were awarded the National Sports Forum Award for Best In-Stadium Experience in 2017.
Prior to Minnesota, he spent a year with the Kansas City Royals as an Event Presentation and Production Assistant. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013.
Dilen directs the strategic ticketing and sales for football, men's basketball and women's basketball. He joins the Spiders after spending one season as the Group Sales Executive with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He spent the 2019-20 season with the Boston Red Sox, managing over 100 season ticket accounts. He spent four years with the Wolfpack Club at North Carolina State as the Assistant Director for Seat Rights, Parking and Tickets. Also, he oversaw lifetime rights seating for football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball.
Dilen began his tenure at N.C. State in the athletics ticket office in 2014, working as a ticket office assistant. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Parks and Recreation Management from UNCW in 2010 and earned his Master of Science in Sports Administration from Boston College in 2020.
Tucker, a Richmond native, oversees all athletics facilities and events for the Spiders. He joined Richmond after spending the past year and a half at James Madison as the Director of Event Management. He oversaw the logistics and site preparedness for select home athletics and special events. He was the game manager for men's basketball, men's soccer, baseball, softball, cross country and track and field while assisting in football.
Tucker spent a year and a half at Campbell working in the athletics department as an operations assistant for the Camels, working as the game manager for men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and women's lacrosse.
Tucker spent one season with the Atlantic 10 Conference as a championship/men's basketball intern. He also spent time as a graduate assistant at Virginia State (2016-18) and Old Dominion as a game operations and facilities intern (2015-16). Tucker graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education/Sport Management from ODU in 2015 while earning his Master of Science in Physical Education/Sport Management from Virginia State in 2018.
Source: https://richmondspiders.com/news/2022/6/24/general-smith-dilen-and-tucker-join-spider-athletics-administration.aspx
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