LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Athletics announced the hiring of three members of its staff, as Stevie Buck, Quinton Gunn and Ja'Rae Smith have joined the Keydets staff.

Buck will serve as the Director of Ticketing and Marketing, Gunn is the Assistant Director of Athletics Equipment & Services and Smith is the new Director of Compliance.

Stevie Buck – Director of Ticket Operations and Marketing
Buck comes to VMI after spending three-plus years with the Omaha Storm Chasers (baseball), beginning as a ticket and retail assistant before moving up to Manager of Ticket Operations. While working for the Storm Chasers, Buck also worked for the Union Omaha soccer team. For the Storm Chasers, Buck helped fans with any ticketing and merchandising questions, maintained inventory and fulfilled online orders. During his tenure, Buck over saw a transition to a new ticketing system, helped with season ticket renewals and oversaw kids' clubs for both the Storm Chasers and Union Omaha. A native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Buck previously worked for North Carolina FC and the North Carolina Courage, and served as a marketing and operations intern for the Jacksonville Icemen. No stranger to the Southern Conference, Buck earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from ETSU in 2018, attaining his master's degree in sport management from Central Arkansas in 2023. 

Quinton Gunn – Assistant Director of Athletics Equipment & Services
Gunn joins VMI after a year at James Madison, where he was an Equipment Services Assistant for the Dukes. In that role, Gunn served as a primary point of contact for coaches, staff and student-athletes for seven athletic programs. Prior to his time at JMU, Gunn was an equipment manager at Virginia Tech, where he worked primarily with the football team, but supported other Olympic sports by supporting daily administrative and logistical operations. Gunn earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Radford in 2025.    

Ja'Rae Smith – Director of Compliance
Smith comes to the Commonwealth after serving as a Compliance Coordinator for the Wagner Athletics Department. While working towards her degree as a graduate assistant, Smith monitored and applied NCAA bylaws to 27 varsity sports, and also served as an academic advisor to over 15 student-athletes. A former student-athlete herself, Smith played point guard for the Wofford women's basketball team from 202-24, helping lead the Terriers to a 2022-23 regular season Southern Conference Championship. While at Wofford, Smith worked part time in the Athletics Marketing office. A native of Piedmont, South Carolina, Smith graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance (Wofford, 2024) before earning here MBA in Management from Wagner in May of 2026.

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