Cullowhee, N.C. – Ashleigh Simmons, the senior associate athletics director for student success at Western Carolina University, was among two appointed to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, the NCAA announced on Tuesday. Simmons is joined by Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics at George Mason as the two newest appointees on the committee.
 
Simmons replaces Alex Gary, previously of Western Carolina, while Lewis fills the position vacated by Jill Bodensteiner of Saint Joseph's, who has served on the committee since 2022. Both appointments are effective immediately, and both terms expire Aug. 31, 2027. 
   
Simmons joined Western Carolina as the associate athletics director for student success on July 1, 2022. She was promoted to senior associate athletics director for student success in January 2024 and serves as the senior woman administrator for the Catamounts, the seventh in WCU's history, dating back to 1984.
 
A former women's basketball student-athlete standout and an athletics administrator at her alma mater, the University of Louisiana Monroe, Simmons held a variety of athletic administration positions at Louisiana from 2014-22 before joining Western Carolina.
 
"I am deeply honored to be selected to serve on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee," Simmons said. "The opportunity to have an impact on the game that's shaped me both personally and professionally is incredibly humbling. I take great pride in representing Western Carolina University and the Southern Conference, and I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the continued growth and advancement of women's basketball."
 
Lewis was named George Mason's sixth director of athletics on July 1, 2023. Before joining George Mason, he held senior roles at Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Georgia State. A former two-time captain of Georgia Tech's basketball team, Lewis led the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 national title game. He earned his bachelor's in management from Georgia Tech, became a licensed CPA, and completed a master's in taxation at Georgia State.
 
Lewis and Simmons will be part of the 12-member committee that will be chaired in 2025-26 by Amanda Braun, director of athletics at Milwaukee. Other committee members are Vicky Chun of Yale; Liz Darger of Brigham Young; Amy Folan of Central Michigan; Josh Heird of Louisville; Jeff Konya of San Jose State; Jill Redmond of the Missouri Valley Conference; Colleen Sorem of Maryland; Candice Storey Lee of Vanderbilt; and Lynn Tighe of Villanova.
 
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