RUSTON – Louisiana Tech Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland announced Wednesday that Tim Padgett has been hired as associate athletics director for business operations and chief financial officer of the department.

Padgett replaces former CFO Mark Wagner who was hired as the senior associate AD for internal operations at North Carolina-Wilmington.

"We are excited to be able to hire someone with Tim's experience and expertise in the industry," said McClelland. "He has been a part of college athletics since his days as a student and has a great feel for what it takes to serve our student-athletes, our coaches and our stakeholders in a professional manner.

"We got a great feeling during the interview process that he would be a perfect fit for our culture and family atmosphere at Louisiana Tech. We want to welcome him and are excited for him to get started at the first of the year."

Padgett comes to Tech following a two-year stint as the associate athletics director for financial operations at Pittsburg State University in Kansas. He has also spent time at UC-Berkley and Arkansas State.

"I want to thank Tommy McClelland and the rest of the selection committee for entrusting me with this position," said Padgett. "I could not be more excited about moving to Ruston and working alongside Louisiana Tech's athletic staff and coaches. 

"Louisiana Tech is a program that I have long admired, and I am honored to now be a part of it. I also want to give a special thanks to Pittsburg State Athletic Director Jim Johnson and everyone else who I have worked with the past two years. The university and community will always be a special place to me."

In his role at Pitt State, Padgett performed professional management accounting and administrative services for the department's 12 intercollegiate sports and support groups. He was responsible for all the department's fiscal matters on a day-to-day basis as well as implementing and formulating fiscal controls and policies to insure compliance with University, State, MIAA and NCAA rules and regulations.

Padgett also approved, verified and provided oversight on the processing of all financial transactions for PSU Athletics, including the review of revenues, disbursements, reconciliations and other financial analyses. He worked closely with the PSU Foundation staff and manages all game contracts and team travel.

He went to Pitt State from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a Revenue Accountant for Intercollegiate Athletics.

Padgett also spent six years at his alma mater, Arkansas State University, from 2006-2012 beginning as a manager for the men's basketball team and eventually serving as a Development Assistant and later as Director of Corporate Sales and Development. 

His previous professional experiences also include stints in minor league sports, academic healthcare and local government.

A native of Jacksonville, Ark., Padgett earned a bachelor's of science degree in sports management from Arkansas State in 2009 as well as a master's of business administration (MBA) from the school in 2011.