LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI athletic department announced the promotion of Lenny Brown and Bridget Shanks Friday to Associate Athletic Director of Facilities and Compliance and Assistant Athletic Director of Tickets and Marketing, respectively.

"Both Lenny and Bridget have been significant contributors to our department and have earned professional advancement," said VMI Director of Athletic Dr. Dave Diles. "I'm very pleased to recognize their great work and look forward to their continued contributions to our department and VMI."

Brown was promoted to VMI's Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Compliance in January 2017. Brown is responsible for various aspects of facility usage, as well as serving as part of VMI's compliance team and working as the key individual regarding game management. Prior to moving into his current role, he spent one year as the school's Director of Athletics Equipment & Services.

Brown came to VMI from Iowa State University where he served as assistant director of equipment operations. He also served a 13-month stint at American University as an assistant equipment manager.

Brown received a B.S. in Apparel, Housing and Resource Management and later earned a Master's in Education in Health Promotion from Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, he served as a graduate assistant for the Hokies football program from 2009 through May, 2011.

Shanks recently finished her second year at VMI as the assistant athletic director of tickets and marketing after being hired in June of 2018. She oversees both the day-to-day and game-day operations of the athletics ticket office and serve as the main point of contact for the processing and reconciliation of tickets. In addition to overseeing the game-day ticketing personnel, Shanks provides assistance with marketing initiatives and with game-management responsibilities.

Shanks came to the Institute by way of nearby James Madison University where she served as a graduate assistant for the Duke Club. During her time in Harrisonburg, Shanks also served as an event manager for the Shenandoah Valley Football Classic in September 2017, a local high school football tournament held at Bridgeforth Stadium.
From July 2015 to April 2016, Shanks worked as an intern in the athletics ticket office for Villanova University where she gained experience in box office ticket sales, gameday ticket sales and will call operations.

Shanks earned a bachelor of arts in communication and kinesiology with an emphasis in sport studies from New Hampshire in May 2015. She went on to earn a master's degree in sport and recreation leadership from James Madison.