Tom Burnett is a nationally respected leader in Division I athletics with decades of experience spanning conference administration, NCAA governance, media strategy, and organizational leadership.
He served as Commissioner of the Southland Conference from 2003-2022, overseeing administrative, academic, and competitive operations while helping expand the conference’s national visibility through major television and media partnerships, including its first multi-million-dollar broadcast agreement in 2020.
Burnett also helped secure Frisco, Texas as the long-term host site for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, with the Southland Conference serving as host from 2011–2025.
At the national level, he served on nine NCAA committees, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee (2017–2022), where he helped oversee March Madness and the Men’s Final Four. In 2021–22, he became the first FCS commissioner to serve as chair of the committee.
Earlier in his career, he held senior roles with the Sun Belt Conference and American South Conference, and worked at Louisiana Tech University. More recently, he founded Southwest Sports Partners, LLC and Lone Star NIL, LLC, and authored two books on NIL education for families of recruited student-athletes.
He was honored with the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame Legacy Award (2022) and inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2024) as recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.