IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine Athletic Director Paula Smith announced several recent title changes, hires and the promotion of Melissa Ramos, Joshua Moon and James Yogi.

Ramos has been elevated to an Associate Athletic Director for Events Operations to go with her role as Associate Director of the Bren Events Center. Ramos, who has collaborated with Paciolan to elevate the ticket operations as well as streamlined several facility operations, will assume the sport supervisor role for men's and women's volleyball.

Moon is the Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing after serving two years as the assistant. Moon was one of the architects of Kid's Day at women's basketball, bringing in local elementary school students and setting a record for attendance with 2,294 last season. Ramos and Moon were instrumental in UCI's record ticket revenue in 2023-24.

Yogi moves into the Director of Field Operations after serving as the Assistant Manager of Field Operations. 

Brandon Leimbach, John Abdou and Jaime Potter have had titles changes in 2024. Leimbach is the Senior Associate Athletic Director and the Executive Director for Development, taking on sport supervision for baseball. Abdou is Senior Associate Athletic Director for Health, Wellness & Sports Performance, while Potter is the Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine.

On the Development side, Kerry Boznanski, the Director of Donor Relations, Special Events, has also assumed Name, Image and Likeness responsibilities, while Austin Kenyon joined the Anteater staff as an Associate Director of Development, serving as the sport liaison for baseball, men's soccer, cross country, and track & field.

Student-athlete wellness has been bolstered by the hiring of Director of Athletic Performance Christopher Bates. Over the last six years, Bates has served as the senior sports medicine manager, strength and conditioning coach and head athletic trainer for the United States men's water polo team that won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games, the team's first medal since 2008.

New hires on the external team included Jacob Thompson as the Marketing & Creative Services Specialist, Lauren Ilano as Assistant Director of Marketing and Eli Alfaro as Director of Video Production. Manny Leon became the Learfield Director of Ticket Sales & Services and Casey Rustin, a Learfield Account Executive.

On the administrative side, Jenna Noce was named Executive Assistant to the Athletic Director and Tyler Stevens the Business Operations Manager.