Northern Illinois University Vice President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier on Friday announced three promotions within his executive team.

Matt Gonzalez has been added to NIU’s senior staff and promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director of Facilities and Events; Courtney Vinson has been promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director of Sports Administration/Senior Woman Administrator while Lisa DeRango has been promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director of Human Resources & Finance Administration.

“I am extremely excited to announce these promotions for Matt, Courtney and Lisa,” Frazier said. “Over the years, their efforts have been vital to ensuring that we have remained more than competitive both academically and athletically. In this day and age of consistent change in the college athletics landscape, having highly productive leadership without compromising standards is an absolute when trying to meet goals and objectives. We are proud and humble to have these outstanding staff members receive much-deserved recognition.”

Gonzalez, who has been promoted from his previous role as Associate Athletic Director for Facilities Operations, joined the NIU Athletics Department as a graduate assistant in Facilities and Event Operations in 2012 and became a full-time member of the athletics department staff in 2013. In addition to his duties in facilities and events, Gonzalez became NIU Volleyball’s sport administrator in 2023 and will add additional operational responsibilities along with sport administration duties for NIU Cross Country and Track and Field with this promotion.

A graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Gonzalez holds a master’s degree in sport management from NIU.

Vinson moves into her role as Executive Associate Athletic Director, having served as Senior Associate Athletic Director since her arrival at NIU in 2018. Vinson, who came to DeKalb following nearly three years at the University of Memphis, oversees the Huskie Compliance Office, represents NIU as the Huskies’ Diversity and Inclusion officer to the NCAA and chairs NIU Athletics’ Diversity Integration Group (D.I.G.). She coordinates NIU Athletics’ Gender Equity Plan as well as the department’s Strategic Plan and serves as the department’s Title IX Co-Coordinator. Vinson is the sport administrator for the NIU Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer and Gymnastics programs.

A former track and field student-athlete at Florida A&M, Vinson earned her bachelor’s degree from FAMU before receiving her master’s in athletic administration from Marshall University.

DeRango also moves up to Executive Associate Athletic Director from her previous position as Senior Associate Athletic Director. DeRango joined NIU Athletics in 2014 following two years working for the NIU Foundation. In her current role, she directs all aspects of the business office operation, developing the department’s annual budget and serving as the liaison between Huskie Athletics and the university’s financial offices. DeRango is also responsible for coordinating all human resources functions for the athletics department, oversees the campus Recreation Center, coordinates the Strategic Plan and serves as the department’s Title IX Co-Coordinator.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree from Kendall College and master’s from the University of Phoenix, DeRango also has a certificate of graduate study from NIU in sport management.