COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West announced today that Lance Pedersen has been hired as director, sports administration and championships, and Jessica FitzWilliam has been hired as assistant director, operations, sports administration and championships.

Pedersen comes to the MW after serving as a coordinator, championships & alliances, operations at the NCAA since October 2023. There, he administered event operations for multiple NCAA championships in addition to serving as the primary liaison to governing sport committees.

Prior to his stint at the NCAA, Pedersen was the assistant director of operations for the University of Arkansas’ men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs from July 2019 to October 2023. During his tenure, the Razorbacks hosted the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships as well as the 2022 USATF Combined Events Championships and multiple SEC championship events.

Pedersen began his career in banquet event operations at Omni Tucson National Resort, where he worked from 2014-19.

A native of Tucson, Arizona, Pedersen was a distance runner at the University of Arizona from 2016-18.

He graduated from Arizona with a degree in health sciences and added a master’s in recreation & sports management from Arkansas.

Fitzwilliam comes to the MW from member school Nevada, where she served as a game operations & event coordinator since May 2023.

There, she oversaw all gameday operations for the Wolfpack’s women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, softball and swimming and diving programs. She also oversaw a gameday staff of 50 and was responsible for tickets, ushers and security.

A native of Agoura Hills, California, FitzWilliam served summer internships at Capitol Insurance from 2019-22 and worked as a timeout coordinator for Program Productions Inc. since January 2023.

A former student-athlete in the MW, FitzWilliam was a four-year member of Nevada’s women’s soccer team.

FitzWilliam graduated from Nevada with degrees in business administration management and business administration marketing. She later added an MBA from Nevada.

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