ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference is pleased to announce several staff promotions and additions in advance of the 2018-19 academic year.
Tony Buyniski has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the newly re-named unit of Officiating Services, which was previously known as Video Services. Buyniski has served as the Big Ten’s Director of Video Services since 2013. He joined the Big Ten after working as Video Assistant with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals during the 2012 season. Buyniski was also the Head Video Coordinator for the University of Illinois football team from 2011-12 and spent a total of five years assisting the Fighting Illini video staff. The native of Cincinnati graduated with his bachelor's degree from Carthage College in 2004, and also completed his master's from Carthage in 2006.
Brandon K. Winbush has been promoted to Senior Director, Information Technology after serving as the Director, Information Technology at the Big Ten since 2013. Prior to joining the Big Ten, Winbush worked as a Systems Engineer/Administrator at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University from 2001-13. From 1999-2001, Winbush served as a Network Analyst for the Big Ten Academic Alliance (formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation) in Champaign, and was a PC Lab Supervisor at Illinois State University from 1991-99. He earned his bachelor's degree from Illinois State University in 1997.
Chris Althoff has been promoted to Associate Director, Branding after working as Assistant Director, Branding since being hired at the Big Ten in 2015. Althoff joined the conference after working as Assistant Director of Events at the University of Miami (Fla.) from 2013-15. He was a graduate assistant in the University of Illinois’ athletics department from 2011-13, and was a student manager for the Fighting Illini men’s basketball program from 2006-10. Althoff graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Illinois in 2010, and completed his master’s degree in 2013.
Satvik Patel has been promoted to Associate Director of Business Operations. Patel has worked as Assistant Director, Accounting at the Big Ten since 2015 after a one-year stint as a Big Ten video intern. The Edison, N.J., native graduated in 2009 from New York University, earned a post baccalaureate certificate in business from Columbia University in 2011 and received his master’s degree in business management from Harvard University in 2014. He served as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball program at Harvard from 2011-14.
Shannon Malone has been promoted to Assistant Director in the Big Ten communications department after spending last year as the Bob Hammel Communications Intern. Malone joined the Big Ten staff in August 2017 and served as the primary media contact for various Big Ten sports last year. Prior to the Big Ten, Malone worked in the SMU Athletic Department, with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and was an intern in the University of Wisconsin Athletic Communications office. Malone earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Strategic Communication from the University of Wisconsin in 2016. She was a three-year letterwinner with the Badgers’ women’s basketball team.
Laura Anderson has been hired as the Big Ten Controller and will join the staff on July 16. Anderson brings more than 20 years of experience in accounting and finance to the Big Ten. Since 2009, she has worked as the Senior Financial Leader and in Human Resources Management at ESI Consultants, Ltd. From 1994-2001, Anderson worked as an Experienced Manager at Arthur Anderson LLP. Anderson has also served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Junior League of Chicago. She is a 1994 graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Grace Bonoma joins the Big Ten as Assistant Director, Sports Administration and will start on July 16. Bonoma most recently worked as the Compliance Coordinator at the University of Louisville. She has held various roles with the Cardinals since 2015 including Graduate Assistant in the Department of Health & Sport Sciences, Compliance Intern and Graduate Manager with the women’s volleyball program. Bonoma also served as a summer intern with the Big Ten in 2016 in football and basketball operations. She graduated from Saint Louis University in 2014 with a degree in Communication and Media Studies. She was a four-year defensive specialist for the Billikens’ volleyball program. Bonoma earned her master’s in Sport Administration from Louisville in 2017.