INDIANAPOLIS - Gallaudet University Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Sam Atkinson has been selected to serve as a member of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee, where he will help coordinate and oversee all aspects of the Division III Men's Basketball Championship.

Atkinson replaces Rochester Institute of Technology men's basketball head coach Bob McVean as the East Region chair after he completed his term on the committee. Atkinson will serve a four-year term that will run through Aug. 31, 2020.

The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee will evaluate teams throughout the season prior to the selection of the tournament field. Members of the committee will serve as chairs on regional advisory committees and partake in numerous regional and national committee calls during the season.

"This is a great opportunity to represent Gallaudet University and the North Eastern Athletic Conference while serving as a member of this NCAA committee," said Atkinson. "I am honored to accept this appointment and work with seven excellent committee members throughout the basketball season leading up to the NCAA championship game."

Atkinson begins his eighth year at Gallaudet University, the world's only university with programs and services specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students, this fall while managing the Sports Information office and the media and public relations for Bison athletics. Under Atkinson's leadership and creativity the @GallaudetBison social media platforms have been ranked No. 1 in Division III by www.d3socialmedia.com for the past two years.

Atkinson is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Board of Directors and is currently starting the second year of a three-year term. He helped to represent CoSIDA in its annual meetings with the NCAA in Indianapolis last week.