Carl Hairston joined the ACC in December of 2021 and serves as the Associate Commissioner of Marketing & Content Strategy.
Prior to joining the conference office, Hairston worked at North Carolina A&T as the Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations. In that role, he oversaw the marketing and sponsorship unit focusing on revenue generation, corporate relations, branding, ticket sales, promotions and game day experience while serving on the athletics senior leadership team. Hairston also handled football non-conference scheduling.
Hairston currently sits on the executive board of NACMA, the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators. He graduated from the prestigious NCAA Leadership Institute in 2016. In 2021 he was chosen to participate in the NCAA Pathway Program, which is designed to elevate senior-level athletics administrators to the next step as directors of athletics or conference commissioners.
Before his tenure with the Aggies, Hairston worked at Elon University as the Assistant Director of Marketing. At Elon he assisted in the creation of marketing plans for all home sporting events, and created the ONE Phoenix student rewards program. He was also a member of the Presidential Task Force on Black Student, Faculty and Staff Experiences.
A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Hairston graduated from Elon University in May 2011 with a bachelor's degree in marketing and an emphasis in sales. He earned his master’s in business administration from Elon in December of 2015. He is member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. and also serves on the Elon University Young Alumni Council.
Hairston enjoys family time, cooking, exercising and traveling. He and his wife Veronica currently reside in Greensboro.