LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Athletics and Director of Athletics Jamaal Walton announced the hiring of five new employees to its department ahead of the 2024-25 season.
 
VMI brought in Nathanial Barbee and Onier Vargas in March, making Barbee the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Creative Content and Vargas the next Director of Multimedia. Later in the semester, VMI hired Blake Brinkley as the Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships and Carson Griffiths as the Assistant Director of Athletics Equipment and Services. In June, Antoine Prather was invited to the VMI staff as the new Director of Ticketing and Promotions.
 
Nathanial Barbee | Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Creative Content
Barbee was hired in March as the next Assistant Director of Athletic Communications & Creative Content at VMI. Barbee will oversee the VMI Baseball, Men's Soccer, and Wrestling teams for all communication aspects and assist in creative content services for all sports. Barbee comes from the University of Southern Indiana where he served as the Athletic Communication Graduate/Student Assistant for the previous three years. Barbee graduated from USI in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio & Television, minoring in Sport Communication. He completed his Master of Science in Sport Management degree from USI in May 2024.
 
Onier Vargas | Director of Multimedia
Vargas was hired in March as the new Director of Athletic Multimedia where he will oversee all video aspects of VMI Athletics including live game broadcasts. A Los Angeles, California native, Vargas attended the Los Angeles Film School where he received his Associate of Science degree in Recording Arts and later attended Campbell University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2023. He began working in live sports and production in 2019 for the Houston Astros affiliate, Fayetteville Woodpeckers, during their Inaugural Season. In 2021, he was promoted to the Crown Complex's Audio Visual Manager where he remained until August 2023. Vargas was enlisted into the U.S. Army as a Combat Documentation and Production Specialist until his honorable separation in March 2018. 
 
Blake Brinkley | Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships
Brinkley came to the VMI Athletics Department in April to take over as the Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships. Brinkley will grow VMI Athletics' overall sponsorship with local and national organizations. The Western Carolina University alumni previously worked at Lamar University as the Account Executive of Corporate Sponsorships and also spent time with The Pacific Financial Group, Inc. Brinkley graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sport Management in 2022.
 
Carson Griffiths | Assistant Director of Athletics Equipment and Services
Griffiths joined the VMI staff in May as the Assistant Director of Athletics Equipment and Services. Griffiths will work closely with the VMI Baseball, Basketball, Football, Men's Soccer, Track, and Wrestling teams. After graduating from Central Piedmont Community College in 2020, Griffiths began his sports career at North Carolina State, working as the Student Equipment Manager and as a Summer Intern for the football program. After graduating from NC State in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management with a minor in Coaching, Griffiths made his way over to Wake Forest to become the Intern Equipment Manager for the Demon Deacons Football program.
 
Antoine Prather | Director of Ticketing and Promotions
Prather made his way to Post in June to take over the Director of Ticketing and Promotions position. Prather will directly work with all VMI ticketed athletic events and have a strong force in the marketing tactics of the Institute's athletic programs. A graduate of LaGrange College, Prather most recently spent time with his alma mater's athletic staff as an Assistant Athletic Director, working specifically with ticketing, and spent time as a Compliance Intern. Prior to graduating in 2022, Prather spent time at Clemson University as a Game Operations Student Worker and later made his way to Southeast Missouri State University to work as an Athletics Intern. Prather obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Creative, Film in 2022.