June 5, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV Associate Athletics Director Mark Wharton has resigned from his position after accepting an offer at East Carolina University to become the Executive Director of the ECU Educational Foundation. He will remain at UNLV until June 23.

For the past two years, Wharton headed all development and fundraising activities for the UNLV Athletics Department including all annual giving, major gift and capital campaigns for the Rebel Athletic Fund.

The new endeavor will mark a return home for Wharton, who graduated from East Carolina in 1993 and was a four-year ECU staff member as the Pirate Club's assistant director (1996-2000).

"I really enjoyed my time working at UNLV and would like to thank Mike Hamrick (UNLV Athletics Director) for providing me the opportunity," Wharton said. "Michelle and I really fell in love with the community and developed a lot of great friendships. We accomplished a lot with the Rebel Athletic Fund, but the opportunity to return home to lead the department that gave me my start was too much to pass up and we are looking forward to living in the same area as our families."

Any UNLV RAF inquiries after June 23 should be directed to Ben Murray, UNLV Assistant Director of Development at (702) 895-1533.

A national search is underway to fill the vacant position.