LAKE CHARLES - Rob Acord, a staple in the Southwest Louisiana community for over a decade, has been named McNeese Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation/NIL, Director of Athletics Bridget Martin has announced.
 
Acord replaces Keifer Ackley who accepted a job at the University of Houston as Senior Director of Development-Major Gifts.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome Rob to the McNeese Athletics team," said Martin. "Rob brings a wealth of diverse experience across athletic administration that includes; operations, ticketing, marketing, corporate sales, fundraising, and coaching. We look forward to his leadership and the valuable contributions he will make to our student-athletes, coaches, and the entire Cowboy community."
 
"I'm incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to join McNeese Athletics at such an exciting time," said Acord. "There is a tremendous amount of energy and momentum surrounding McNeese, and I'm looking forward to being part of that continued growth. Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana have been home to my family for many years, so the opportunity to give back to this community while serving my alma mater makes this incredibly special. Geaux Pokes!"
 
Acord comes to McNeese after spending the last three years as the Director of Advancement at St. Louis Catholic High School where he played a major role in raising capital for the new high school and campus that is under construction.
 
He led the school's advancement strategy which included fundraising, donor relations, alumni engagement, stewardship, communications, and special events. He cultivated relationships with alumni, families, businesses, foundations, and community partners to strengthen annual and long-term philanthropic support.
 
Acord began his professional career working for the Houston Astros Baseball Club as a season ticket sales representative then a group account executive.
 
He then worked for ExtremeTix, Inc. where he managed Tier 1 accounts and was pivotal in increasing account revenue by 135%. He later became Event Operations Manager and Director of Operations where he restructured operations, customer service, and product development teams to support growth and evolving priorities.
 
Acord was the founder and President of BoxOps Management, an event-services company providing box office operations, staffing, admissions control, ticketing, settlement, reporting, and consulting.
 
In addition to his business resume, Acord has served as the head boys basketball coach at St. Louis since 2023 and prior to that, coached at Sam Houston High School, LSU-Eunice, and Hathaway High School.
 
He earned his Bachelor of Science in General Business Management from McNeese, graduating with honors.
 
Acord and his wife, Elaine, have been married for 20 years. The couple has two children, Addison (15), and Aubrey (13).