Josh Fenton was named the sixth commissioner in The Summit League's history in December 2021 and officially began his tenure in April 2022. Bringing more than two decades of experience in collegiate athletics administration, conference management and strategic leadership, Fenton has guided the League through a transformative period focused on competitive excellence, financial growth, national visibility and creating meaningful opportunities for member institutions, student-athletes and fans.
Since becoming commissioner, Fenton has prioritized collaboration, innovation and long-term strategic planning to position The Summit League for success in the evolving landscape of NCAA Division I athletics. In February 2024, the conference unveiled a new strategic plan centered on enhancing the student-athlete experience while strengthening the League's long-term mission and vision.
Under Fenton's leadership, The Summit League has experienced unprecedented competitive success across multiple sports. Men's soccer has established itself among the nation's elite, finishing in the top five of the NCAA RPI in each of the past two seasons while producing multiple NCAA Tournament teams and a College Cup participant in 2024. Volleyball earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids in both 2024 and 2025, placing The Summit League among a select group of mid-major conferences with multiple postseason representatives. Women's basketball continued its national rise with South Dakota advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2022 and South Dakota State earning NCAA Tournament victories in 2023 and 2025. On the baseball diamond, Oral Roberts made a memorable run to the 2023 College World Series. Off the field, Summit League student-athletes have excelled academically as well, with the conference posting a 92 percent Graduation Success Rate and ranking among the nation's top 10 Division I conferences in three of the past four years.
The Summit League Basketball Championships have continued to flourish under Fenton's leadership, further solidifying their reputation as one of the nation's premier combined men's and women's basketball tournaments. Hosted annually at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the championships have seen overall revenue increase by 24 percent, sponsorship revenue grow by 74 percent, ticket revenue increase by 12 percent and member institution distributions tied to the tournament rise by more than 112 percent since 2022. Fenton also negotiated an extension that will keep the championships in Sioux Falls through 2029.
Fenton has also transformed the conference's media strategy through expanded partnerships with CBS Sports Network and Midco Sports. The Summit League now features nine regular-season national television broadcasts annually after previously having none, including the first nationally televised regular-season women's basketball games in conference history. National championship coverage has doubled from two to four games on CBS Sports Network, while media rights revenue has increased more than 1,500 percent during his tenure. The continued growth of the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus has further expanded opportunities to showcase student-athletes, member institutions and the conference's brand to audiences nationwide.
Beyond competition and media, Fenton has strengthened the League's financial position, increasing overall distributions to member institutions by more than 35 percent. He also helped expand men's soccer through the addition of affiliate members UMass and Delaware, led the creation of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge and partnered with the Missouri Valley Conference to establish a new management model for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, marking the first time The Summit League has played a leadership role in administering Division I football.
A respected voice nationally, Fenton has helped lead a coalition of mid-major conferences advocating for federal legislative solutions impacting college athletics, contributed to the development of the NCAA Women's Basketball Performance Unit, led CCA22 advocacy efforts during the House settlement process and Division I governance restructuring, served on the NCAA FCS Working Group that developed the Division I Educational and Student-Athlete-Centric Model, and currently serves on the NCAA Division I Nominating Committee.
Through strategic leadership, collaborative partnerships and a commitment to innovation, Fenton continues to position The Summit League for sustained success while enhancing opportunities for its member institutions, student-athletes and fans. He arrived in Sioux Falls following a nine-year run leading the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was appointed Commissioner of the NCHC on July 1, 2013 and that stretch concluded with the University of Denver winning the conference's fifth NCAA Division I National Championship during Fenton's tenure in April of 2022. In his nine seasons with the NCHC, Fenton guided the eight member institutions through a period of tremendous success. Under Fenton's leadership, NCHC member institutions accomplished the following on the ice:
· Thirty-two (32) combined teams in NCAA Tournament;
· Thirteen (13) combined teams in NCAA Frozen Four;
· Five (5) NCAA National Champions (2016 – 2019, 2022)
· Fifty-one (51) American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America honors
· Two Hobey Baker Award Winners (2017, 2020), two Goaltender (2016, 2017), one Rookie (2018), and two Coach (2017, 2020) of the Year Awards.
One of Fenton's latest achievements was spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, as he came up with the idea, planned and executed the NCHC Pod. The NCHC Pod was held from Dec. 1-21, 2020 at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb. All eight NCHC teams were brought together to play in one venue and limit travel at the start of the 2020-21 season, while undergoing regular COVID-19 testing. The Pod was a rousing success with 38 games played over 21 days and no active COVID-19 infections detected among student-athletes, coaches and team staff during the duration of the event.
In addition to the on-ice success, the NCHC experienced numerous successes off the ice under his watch. Fenton negotiated a five-year agreement to move the conference’s tournament championship (Frozen Faceoff) to Xcel Energy Center (home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild), which commenced with the 2018 event.
Beyond the success of the conference tournament, Fenton and the NCHC developed one of the best direct-to-consumer, subscription based digital video platforms (NCHC.tv) in college athletics. The total number of active NCHC.tv subscribers during his time with the conference grew over 50 percent and subscription revenue grew more than 175 percent since 2014-15 (NCHC.tv’s first year). The 2020-21 campaign saw NCHC.tv's highest-grossing revenue in its history.
Fenton was integral in developing partnerships with TV networks to gain national and regional exposure for the NCHC and its member institutions. In 2018-19, Fenton helped the conference distribute 32 games through a national (CBS Sports Network or FOX College Sports) or regional sports network (FOX Sports North).
Fenton has a wealth of intercollegiate athletics experience, previously serving as senior associate athletic director for finance and administration at Miami University prior to joining the NCHC. He was responsible for assessment and management of the athletic department’s $21 million annual budget, human resource operations, and was the sport administrator for men’s ice hockey, football, field hockey & men’s golf. Fenton served on the athletic director’s executive leadership team and was the athletic department’s liaison to the university president, vice-president for finance and university general counsel.
Fenton was appointed senior associate athletic director at Miami in 2012 after spending the previous two years as Miami’s associate athletic director for external relations. From 2010 to 2011, Miami saw a 20-percent increase in football season ticket sales and a 65-percent increase in overall football revenue. Additionally, Fenton was integral in developing the ticket sales strategies for the men’s hockey program, consistently selling out Steve Cady Arena since it opened in 2006. He was involved in donor strategies for numerous sports programs, resulting in over $3 million raised for scholarships, salaries and capital projects.
Fenton joined Miami in 2002 as a volunteer assistant hockey coach while completing his master’s degree. Upon completion of his degree, he was hired as the ice hockey program’s first director of hockey operations, while also doubling his time within the department’s sponsorship area as an assistant director of corporate relations. In 2006, Fenton was promoted to assistant athletic director where his focus was sport administration (ice hockey, men’s golf, baseball, volleyball, and field hockey) along with overseeing department strategic planning. From 2010 to 2012 Fenton served as the associate athletic director for external relations, overseeing marketing, ticketing, and serving as the department’s liaison to sponsorship operations with IMG.
A native of Litchfield, Minn., Fenton received a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2001 from Iowa State University, where he was a member of the men’s golf team for one year. He earned his master’s degree in sport studies from Miami in 2004. His family includes his wife, Lindsay, and three sons Ryan (17), Luke (14) and Drew (11).
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