Lauren Taylor assumed the duties of Emory Deputy Athletics Director For External Operations in July of 2021. Taylor will have supervision of the department’s events and marketing, facilities and sports information, as well as serving as a department liaison to campus partners including public affairs and communications, marketing, licensing and trademark. In addition, she will provide oversight of selected intercollegiate programs. Taylor will begin her duties on July 19.
Taylor came to Emory from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) where she served as the Director of Marketing and Competition. Included in her responsibilities was overseeing the administration of marketing, including advertising, fan experience and branding for the conference. She coordinated all neutral site championship production including game scripts, video board operations and in-game entertainment. Taylor provided support between the SEC Network, campus contacts and the SEC for coordination and collaboration with programming and overall brand messaging. She assisted in the implementation of the overall Southeastern Conference brand look and feel, along with message and campaign initiatives. She also was the conference’s sport administrator for volleyball and women’s tennis.
“I am beyond thrilled to have Lauren Taylor join our team,” Emory Athletics Director Keiko Price stated. “Her positive energy, forward thinking, grit, collaborative leadership style, and experience with marketing and promotions at the SEC and Big Ten will be instrumental for enhancing the Emory Athletics and Recreation identity, sharing student-athlete successes, and increasing opportunities for engagement among external constituencies.”
Taylor joined the SEC Office from the University of Maryland athletics department where she worked as the Senior Director of Marketing from 2013-15 until her promotion to Assistant Athletics Director of Marketing in September 2015. Her duties included the oversight of the day-to-day administration of the Maryland Marketing Department for all 20 sports and interacting with the Big Ten Network and Big Ten Conference for programming and brand messaging. She coordinated “Flash Mob” Part II & III that combined for over nine million views on social media platforms and YouTube. Taylor developed and managed the official student fan group – “The Pride’ – which sold out student tickets for all Big Ten men’s basketball conference games.
“I am incredibly honored to join the Emory Athletics and Recreation family and the Emory University community,” Taylor stated. “I would like to thank Keiko Price and the entire Emory Athletics and Recreation staff for this tremendous opportunity to be a part of a winning culture that is filled with excellence and enthusiasm. I look forward to being a part of a campus community that values academics, athletic success and wellness. There is something special about Emory being right in Atlanta that provides an exceptional well-rounded experience for all.”
After she earned a Bachelor's degree from LSU in Business Administration/Marketing in 2009, Taylor served an internship with the Fiesta Bowl before returning to LSU for a graduate assistantship in the LSU Marketing Department while she began work toward a Master's of Science/Kinesiology in Sports Administration which she earned in 2012. She served on the LSU marketing staff on a full-time basis from 2010-13, first as Marketing Coordinator before being promoted to Assistant Director of Marketing. At LSU, she produced and managed LSU Football game production and created and implemented marketing plans and campaigns for Women's Basketball, Volleyball, Softball and Mike's Kids Club. While at LSU she developed the school's first "Tiger Stadium Campout," an overnight kids club branded event, and developed the inaugural LSU Softball "Strikeout Ovarian Cancer" Teal Game that broke LSU's paid and actual attendance records in that sport.
A 2016 graduate of the NCAA Leadership Institute, Taylor has been on leadership groups of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), including holding a position on the Board of Directors since 2018, serving as the Chair of both the Diversity and Inclusion and Strategic Communications Committees. At the SEC, she was on the Staff Panel on Racial Equity and Social justice since 2020. She assisted with production of the NCAA Final Four Fan Fest in 2017 and is a former Pi Sigma Epsilon-Beta Xi member.