IRVING, Texas – Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced a number of changes to the American Athletic Conference staff in conjunction with the start of the 2022-23 academic year.
 
Katie Ristow has been promoted to the position of Senior Director of Creative Design and Services. Richard Greene has been named as Senior Director of Compliance and Academics, Shane Elder joins the staff as Director of Football Operations and Sport Administration, Ian Applegate has been named as Assistant Director of Communications, Madeline Click will be the Assistant Director of Social Media and Digital Communications, and Emma Frantz has been named Coordinator for Compliance and Sport Administration.
 
“I am pleased to recognize the outstanding work and professionalism on behalf of our conference and its membership that Katie Ristow has provided,” said Aresco. “I am also delighted to welcome a number of talented professionals to our staff who will serve as valuable liaisons with our member institutions in the areas of compliance and academics, sport administration, and communications.”
 
Ristow joined the American Athletic Conference staff in 2018 as Director of Creative Design and Services. She manages The American’s branding, graphic identity and visual representation across a variety of platforms, including print, digital and social media as well as on-site presentations at conference championship events and media days. She serves as the primary liaison with the marketing directors at member institutions and oversees The American’s copyright and brand protection strategy.
 
Ristow had previously served as Director of Marketing at Pepperdine and as an Assistant Marketing Director at Florida International. She is a graduate of Franklin Pierce University, where she was a member of the Ravens’ volleyball team. She has a master’s degree from Florida International. 
 
Greene comes to The American after serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Auburn since 2019. He will be The American’s primary contact for conference compliance and academic matters with the NCAA, conference staff and member institutions. He will work directly with the conference’s faculty athletic representatives and will be the coordinator for The American’s annual academic symposium.
 
“Richard is a talented, respected and trusted administrator who will be an important advisor to our schools in compliance and academic matters,” said Aresco. “We are fortunate to have with us someone with Richard’s experience to help navigate the evolving compliance landscape.”
 
Before joining the staff at Auburn, Greene had spent five years at Hawaii, first as Compliance Coordinator before he was promoted to Director of Compliance. He also has held positions at the NCAA and Ohio State. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California before earning a master’s degree from Ohio State and a J.D. from Texas.
 
Elder joins The American after serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations at North Texas since 2016. He will serve as The American’s primary manager for football operations and will coordinate all operational matters for the American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game. He will be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of conference policies across The American’s membership and will assist with all scheduling and officiating matters. Elder will additionally administer all preseason, regular-season and postseason operations for select Olympic Sports.
 
“Shane is an established expert in football operations who will be instrumental to the continued success of our championship game and to the implementation of our regular-season policies,” said Aresco. 
 
Prior to joining the staff at North Texas, Elder spent seven seasons at UTSA, as Director of Football Operations and Assistant Athletic Director for Football and Operations. He is a graduate of Texas A&M, where he received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a master’s degree in sport management.
 
 
Applegate joins The American staff after serving as Assistant Director of Communications at UT Arlington since 2019. He will serve as the conference’s primary media contact for a number of sports, including women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball and men’s and women’s track and field.
 
“Ian’s background, creativity and familiarity with the Dallas-Fort Worth market will make him a key member of our communications team,” said Aresco.
 
Applegate previously was Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Seward County Community College. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana and added a master’s degree from Ball State. 
 
Click comes to The American after serving as Event Coordinator for the Detroit Lions for the past year. She was responsible for planning and executing on-field and front-facing activities for Lions home games and other Ford Field events and was the social media manager for the Quick Lane Bowl. She also served as the social media manager for the Frisco Bowl.
 
“Madeline brings excellent social media experience and a familiarity with our conference that will help her tell the stories of our student-athletes, coaches and teams,” said Aresco.
 
Click is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she wrote for The Daily Mississippian and hosted a weekly sports talk show on Rebel Radio.
 
Frantz joins The American staff after most recently spending a year as a Legal Assistant with Hutchins Law in Michigan. She will assist with compliance, sport administration and other administrative and operational efforts for The American.
 
“Emma will be a valuable member of our compliance and sport administration teams,” said Aresco. “Her compliance and event management experience will be important to our daily operation in those areas.” 
 
Frantz had previously served as Assistant Director of Women’s Basketball with USA Youth Hoops in Indiana and as a Compliance Intern at Ball State. She holds an undergraduate degree from Ball State.