CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University Director of Athletics Jordan Harmon announced the hiring of Matt Harman as the department's Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Revenue Officer, Monday.
Harman brings over a decade of experience to Clarksville and most recently served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Revenue Officer at Coastal Carolina, a position he had held since Oct. 2024.
"We are thrilled to welcome Matt Harman to Austin Peay Athletics," said Harmon. "His proven track record of building strong partnerships, driving revenue growth, and creating meaningful experiences for fans and student-athletes makes him an outstanding addition to our department. Matt brings a wealth of experience across Division I athletics, and his ability to connect vision with execution will be invaluable as we continue to grow the Austin Peay brand. We look forward to the relationships that he will build and seeing the impact he will make on our department, university, and the community!"
During his nearly two years in Conway, South Carolina, Harman oversaw the Chanticleers' full external revenue portfolio, which included corporate partnerships, ticketing, licensing, premium seating, and special events. He also negotiated and executed a 10-year, $40 million multimedia rights partnership with Playfly Sports.
Harman also delivered record-setting revenue performances across CCU athletics, which featured a 12% growth in football and a 23% baseball season ticket growth. He helped in increasing licensing royalties by 71% through expanded brand monetization and strategic partnerships.
Prior to his time at Coastal Carolina, Harman served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Business Development at Radford, leading corporate partnerships strategy and inventory expansion where he led a 227% growth in sponsorship revenue. He also developed integrated partnership platforms across in-venue, digital, and community assets.
Harman began his career at Learfield, holding various positions with the organization from 2016-22. He worked with West Virginia from 2016-18, beginning as a sales representative and later becoming a Senior Account Executive. He then was an Associate General Manager while working with Iowa, before serving as an Associate General Manager and later Manager of Data and Analytics for Virginia Tech.
Harman earned his bachelor's degree in business of administration from Radford in April 2014 before then earning his master's in sport management from West Virginia in Dec. 2015.
