Former University of Kansas basketball guard Niko Roberts has been named associate commissioner of men’s and women’s basketball in the Mountain West Conference, it was announced on Friday.
Roberts, a 2014 KU graduate, will oversee the men’s and women’s basketball operations of the conference. His duties will include scheduling, television, game operations, officiating and communicating with the NCAA selection committees.
He arrives at the Mountain West offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after working as NCAA coordinator of men’s basketball championships and coordinator of the NCAA College Basketball Academy since January of 2017. Prior to that, he worked for the NCAA a year as a postgraduate intern in the organization’s office in Indianapolis.
“I’m very excited to join the Mountain West team,” Roberts told The Star on Friday. “The NCAA opened so many doors for me, and I’m very appreciative to them, specifically Dan Gavitt (NCAA senior vice president of basketball) and JoAn Scott (managing director men’s basketball championships) for all of the guidance and opportunity over the past five years. I’m looking forward to getting to Colorado Springs and doing everything I can to make Mountain West men’s and women’s basketball as successful as possible. “
During his five years with the NCAA, Roberts, according to his Mountain West bio, implemented several initiatives at the Final Four, forecasted budgets for men’s basketball and also served as a site representative during preliminary rounds of the Division I men’s basketball championship. He was in charge of media, lodging and game operations in the tourney.
He also worked on the development of the NCAA College Basketball Academy, which annually plays host to 1,200 invited high school players/prospective college players. The Academy was created in response to recommendations from the Commission on College Basketball that was chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
Roberts managed 11 interns throughout planning and execution of the academy and collaborated with staff to establish a marketing plan for the academy. He also interacted with the National Association of Basketball Coaches regarding selection of Academy coaches and managers and daily schedules. He was in charge of all aspects of the Houston regional site of the Academy, including apparel, media, competition venue, lodging and game operations.
A native of Huntington, New York, Roberts, 29, earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from KU in 2014. He also received his Masters of Sports Administration from Ohio University in 2020.
KU coach Bill Self spoke to the New York Daily News about Roberts, son of KU assistant Norm Roberts, at the Final Four in 2012: “Niko … he wanted to come to school at Kansas. I’ve known him since he was a year old probably, maybe two . . . He wanted to be at KU. He’s a little different because he’s a coach’s son. Sometimes they add extra value because they are a coach in the locker room, which I think he’s done a great job with.”