California Collegiate Athletics Association

CCAA Staff
 

Mitch Cox, Commissioner

The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Presidents Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Mitch Cox as the Commissioner of the CCAA, effective July 1, 2018.
  
After serving in the interim role for seven months, Cox brings more than 25 years of collegiate athletics administration experience to his newly-appointed position, including more than 20 in the CCAA.
 
Acting in the Commissioner position since December 2017, Cox oversaw eight conference championships as the CCAA closed out a successful 2017-18 academic year with teams from the CCAA advancing deep into the national postseason in men's soccer (Cal Poly Pomona), volleyball (Cal State San Bernardino), baseball (UC San Diego) and softball (Chico State), highlighting the winter and spring months.
 
Additionally, men's and women's golf saw a total of seven teams and three individuals earn selection into the NCAA regional fields, and men's and women's track and field student-athletes put together 22 All-American performances to cap the year.
 
Student-athletes also enjoyed immense success in the classroom and in the community throughout the year. Member institutions raised money and granted wishes for Make-A-Wish, drafted area youth with Team IMPACT and collected 15,469 non-perishable food items during the CCAA's annual food drive. Over 600 student-athletes honored for their work in the classroom as members of conference all-academic teams, and 30 student-athletes were named to their respective Google Cloud Academic All-District® Team.
 
Cox came to the CCAA from Chico State, where he worked since 2002, first as the Assistant Director of Athletics, and as Associate Director of Athletics since 2013. During that time, Cox served the conference in various capacities: as a member of the Executive Council; on several committees, and several regional and national committees.
 
Cox participated in the supervision of all athletic department staff and the development and implementation of policy, also serving as he primary administrator for all home events. Working in coordination with the Athletic Marketing coordinator, Sports Information staff and Athletics Advancement Director, Cox was a leader in planning, managing and directing other essential department functions, while also the advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Prior to being hired at Chico State, Cox spent 11 years as an Assistant Athletic Director at Sonoma State.
 
Cox received his B.A. in information and communication studies and a minor in English from Chico State in 1981, and earned his Masters degree in sport and fitness management from the University of San Francisco in 1998.

Cox replaced Nate Salant, who resigned from his role in Nov. 2017 after one year in the position. 

Carol Rivera, Associate Commissioner, Compliance and Internal Operations/SWA

Carol Rivera, who was appointed Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Internal Operations of the California Collegiate Athletic Association in October 2007 and elevated to associate commissioner in 2018, is in her 14th year with the Conference.

Rivera monitors CCAA and NCAA compliance for member institutions, administers the National Letter of Intent program, oversees the NCAA Coaches Certification administration for member institutions, organizes professional development activities for faculty athletics representatives, senior women administrators and athletics directors, coordinates the activities/meetings for the CCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Compliance Administrators and Athletic Trainers, and oversees the day-to-day office operations of the CCAA. Rivera also serves as a conference office liaison to the recently established Diversity and Inclusion Committee In addition, Rivera is also active in the NCAA Division II Governance structure as a current member of othe Division II Championships Committee and former member of the Division II Legislation Committee and Division II Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.

Rivera joined the CCAA from UC Irvine where she was compliance coordinator for two years.

At UC Irvine, Rivera provided NCAA rule interpretations, worked with the Big West Conference in providing periodic coaches rules seminars, and monitored coaches recruiting activities to ensure NCAA rules compliance. Her position also included preparing NCAA rule violation self-reports, hardship waivers for submissions to the Big West Conference, and the NCAA and ARS and Progress-Towards-Degree waivers for submission to the NCAA.

Rivera brings a wealth of collegiate compliance experience to the CCAA. In addition to her two-plus years at UC Irvine, Rivera was a compliance assistant at the West Coast Conference and served as a compliance intern at the University of Cincinnati while working toward a Masters of Education, Sport Administration degree from Xavier University. Her collegiate experience goes beyond compliance as she worked as a student athletic trainer at Solano Community College and served as a Laboratory Teaching Assistant at Sonoma State where she studied athletic injuries.

While working towards a bachelor's degree in kinesiology-athletic training from Sonoma State in 1999, Rivera served five years as a seasonal firefighter with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

 

Danny Barnts, Director of Communications

Danny Barnts joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) as the Director of Communciations in August 2021. He will oversee all aspects of communication for the conference.
 
Barnts comes to the CCAA from Point Loma Nazarene University where he worked for over nine seasons in the communications office, the last seven as the Assistant Athletic Director. At PLNU, he oversaw communications for all 11 teams, including when the men's basketball team made a run to the national championship game (2018-19).
 
He served a three-year term on the Collegiate Sports Information Directors (CoSIDA) Board of Directors starting in the summer of 2016. He was an at-large representative for the college division and served on the Academic All-American committee. He is also vice chair of the CoSIDA Advocacy Committee.
 
In 2017-18, PLNU was awarded with the PacWest Sports Information Department of the Year for the second straight year. It is an award voted on and determined by the other SIDs in the PacWest.
 
He joined PLNU after spending four years as the Sports Information Director at Western Oregon University. During his run at WOU, Barnts established numerous programs in the Athletic Department including the creation of a new website and establishing a weekly video show with the coaches (Wolves Weekly).
 
Prior to joining Western Oregon, Barnts spent two years as the graduate assistant to the sports information director at Boise State University, where he served as the primary media contact for the golf, tennis, and track and field programs and assisted with the football program. In 2008, he earned his master’s degree in Athletic Administration while completing his graduate assistantship.
 
Barnts, earned his undergraduate degree from Washington State University, where he served as the primary media contact for Washington State's swimming program and assisted with the women's basketball program.  In 2005, he was named Outstanding Senior Male in Sport Management of his senior class.
 
Barnts worked one season with the Las Vegas 51s, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, managing ticket sales and information distribution in the box office.  He has also gained experience as a statistician for ESPN and Westwood One, sideline coordinate for Fox during the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, media relations assistant for the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, and press conference moderator for the 2007 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.
 
Barnts was born in Crescent City, Calif., in 1983 to Sonia and Dan Barnts. He was married in the summer of 2019 to Kim Chao. The couple had their first child, Aliana, in July 2021.