Virtually anyone who has spent time in his orbit calls him a friend.  

Selmon has been surrounded by student-athletes, coaches and administrators his whole life. Perhaps that’s why he seems so comfortable building relationships with all kinds of people in all types of environments.

Not only was Selmon born into a family of football royalty, he was also blessed with the opportunity to work for two of the titans of college athletics early in his career.

Selmon’s mentors include Oklahoma Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham and both men have had a profound impact on his career.

Both attest to the unique intangibles Selmon possesses that seem to impact everyone around him.

“Zac has an incredible ability to communicate with every constituency,” Cunningham explained. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 80, he can relate to you and you can relate to him.”

“He’s like a magnet,” added Castiglione. “People just love being around him.”

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Selmon was raised in the shadow of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where his father and uncles made history on the gridiron.

Selmon’s father, Dewey, and his uncles, Lucious and Lee Roy, are widely regarded as college football’s most iconic trio. The Selmon brothers led Oklahoma to National Championships in 1974 and 1975 and all three went on to play professionally. After their playing days were over, Dewey returned to Norman to begin work in the construction industry while Lucious and Lee Roy started careers in coaching and athletic administration, respectively.

Lee Roy later became the AD at South Florida, sparking a new career interest for his young nephew.

“When I was in middle school, I’d go spend some summers with him in Tampa and I got to see what he did,” Selmon recalled. “I saw how he impacted young people’s lives and I thought the environment of sport and higher education was phenomenal.”

Selmon graduated from Norman High School and earned a football scholarship at Wake Forest where helped the Demon Deacons win an ACC Championship and trip to the Orange Bowl.

“I loved how much I grew as a person, as a student, and as an athlete when I was at Wake Forest,” Selmon stated. “When I got done with school, I knew I wanted to do something with sports.”

After college, Selmon returned to Oklahoma and landed a good job selling corrugated boxes. A short time later he reconnected with Castiglione, who offered him a pathway to a career in athletics, he jumped at the chance.  

“He was so gracious to give a kid with no experience a shot,” Selmon recounted. “We had a great relationship from day one that allowed us to speak openly and honestly. I wanted to work for everything that was in front of me, so he let me volunteer for a semester, then I was a graduate assistant and then went into fundraising full-time.”

The soon-to- become an SEC colleague, Castiglione served as a role model and guide for Selmon.

“He taught me so much about being grounded by your purpose and your core values,” Selmon said. “He showed me how to cast a large vision, to be bold, but to always keep the students first and that’s what makes him special.”

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After five years at Oklahoma, Selmon returned to the Atlantic Coast Conference as an associate AD and special assistant to Cunningham at North Carolina.

“Working for Bubba was an unbelievable experience because I came up on the fundraising side and by being his chief of staff, he really helped me understand all the day-to-day operations,” Selmon explained.

Selmon credited Cunningham with teaching him how to manage internal operations and become a more effective communicator.

“Bubba’s a master of taking complex situations and putting them in simple terms for people in order to get buy-in and achieve alignment,” Selmon outlined. “He was instrumental in my growth because there were so many things about college athletics that I didn’t know, and he trusted me. He gave me so much more trust and belief in myself.”

Cunningham described the positive impact Selmon made throughout the UNC athletics department during his time with the Tar Heels.

“Zac was outstanding with our coaches, our students, the community as well as the faculty,” Cunningham boasted. “He has an infectious personality that people believe in and want to trust. And they trust him because he is a person of integrity and does what he says he’s going to do. He is very authentic.”

Selmon thrived during his time in Chapel Hill, but it wasn’t long before Oklahoma called him home.

“I remember telling Bubba, you’re hiring an awesome guy, but he’s on loan,” Castiglione said with a laugh. “I’m coming to get him again soon.”

True to his word, after a year in Chapel Hill, an executive staff position opened at OU and Castiglione lured Selmon back to Norman as senior associate AD and chief of operations.

At that point, Selmon’s preparation for an AD role was almost complete. Castiglione gave him oversight of fundraising, external operations and worked closely with him on multiple coaching searches. With potential AD jobs on the horizon, Selmon remained committed to the task at hand and the learning opportunities still in front of him.

“About six or seven years ago I decided to quit trying to put a time frame on things,” he said. “I just wanted to get better and grow every day and know that if I really focused on my daily input, the opportunities would take care of themselves.”

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The second tour of duty in Norman ultimately served as the final training ground for Selmon. On Jan. 13, 2023, he was named Mississippi State’s 18^th Director of Athletics.

Selmon said he knew he was ready to take the next step when MSU President Mark E. Keenum offered him the job, but admitted there’s still a learning curve when you move to the other side of the desk.  

“You immediately learn there’s a big difference between giving recommendations and making decisions.” Selmon admitted. “I’ve been so fortunate to be able to make recommendations to two of the best AD’s that have ever done it. I’ve learned so much from them, but there’s a big difference when you have to own the decisions.”

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Selmon just completed his first year in Starkville, and it’s clear that his skills as a communicator and a visionary are already paying dividends.

He’s been busy building his staff, hiring a new football coach and developing a strategic vision for the Bulldogs.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with everybody that we’ve met with,” Selmon said. “We talk about where we want to go as an athletics department and how we don’t want to take a back seat to anybody. We want to embrace the level of competition in the SEC and we want to be rock solid on the values that we have.”

His process for success at MSU sounds a lot like the way he’s approached his own career.

“If we take care of the daily inputs, the outputs will take care of themselves.”

For those who know him best, the grounded approach and his early success is no surprise.

“I know that Zac is going to be a phenomenal leader of his own program, and in fact, I already see it,” Castiglione said. “You can see the impact he’s having at Mississippi State as he finishes his first year.”

“He is an incredible leader,” Cunningham added. “Whether he finishes his career in college athletics or any other profession, he can solve problems. He has impeccable character and he will be a positive influence in any industry in which he works.”

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What does your role at Tulane entail?

My role at Tulane entails overseeing our external units (marketing, ticket operations and sales, strategic communications, broadcast, creative services, branding, our Learfield partnership as well as a liaison for development).  In addition, I’m the sport supervisor for four sports and oversee our NIL efforts.‍

A recent success of our external team was having the highest revenue year for football since our stadium opened.  This included records for ticket sales as well as philanthropic gifts.  Our football team had a great year in winning the Cotton Bowl, but our staff did a good job of grabbing the moment to maximize sales.

It’s always interesting to hear how people started their career. What was your path to your current role?‍

I was originally a pharmacy major at the University of Kansas after playing softball and volleyball in junior college.  After being accepted to pharmacy school during my junior year, I decided that didn’t really interest me or make me happy. I visited our career counselor, and she asked me what my interests were so of course I mentioned sports.  Luckily KU was one of the first programs with a sports management undergrad, so I switched majors.  I graduated with a sports management degree, which included a semester long internship. That led me to UMKC where I then stayed on to get my MBA as a grad assistant in the athletics department.  I was later offered my first full time position at UMKC handling marketing and ticketing and the rest is history.

During your career, you’ve spent time at other institutions and in other roles. Tell us a little about your path to your current position and how your previous experience helped shape you as an administrator.‍

UMKC: (2001-2006) – Promotions Coordinator, Director of Marketing, Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications

University of Richmond: (2006-2014) – Asst. AD Marketing and Fan Development

Rice University: (2014-2017) – Assoc. AD Marketing

Tulane University: (2017-current) – Assoc. AD External, Sr. Assoc AD External, Deputy AD External

I’ve been fortunate to be at some great institutions where I got the chance to do many things. By not being afraid to do tasks outside my job description, I was set up for future success by having a broad knowledge of the external side of the house.  I believe there’s a great advantage to working at a mid-major/smaller school during your career as you must wear many hats and work alongside everyone in your department to get things accomplished.

Who have been your role models/mentors to you in your career to this point and what have they offered you?‍

I’ve been blessed with so many great mentors in my career.  A few that stick out are Terry Mohajir, Keith Gill, Troy Dannen, Joe Karlgaard, and David Walsh.  Each of them offered tons of advice on my career, balancing my personal and professional life as well as believing in myself in this industry.  They also taught me not to take myself so seriously at times.  Each of these individuals remain my biggest cheerleaders and are always there to pick me up or answer any question when I need them.

How have you grown as a leader throughout your career?‍

I think I’ve grown by learning to let things go more easily, listening more to others, thinking about the broader good of the department as well as not taking myself so seriously. However, I think I’m still growing and learning every day from my colleagues on how to be a better person and leader.

What is some advice you give to people just starting out in their career in college athletics? ‍

Be sure to take the time to do a good job at each task you are given, no matter how insignificant it may seem, someone is watching and noticing.  Network as much as you can but stay grounded and present where your feet currently are.  And make sure to make time for yourself and your loved ones so you don’t burn yourself out.

Discuss the role that professional development events like CALS and others have played in your career.

Professional development and networking in this field is so important as it is such a small industry where almost everyone knows someone and can help you get where you need to go. CALS is the best event for mid to upper management professionals as it takes the next step in showing you how to invest in yourself and take the next step professionally while listening to some of the best leaders and great minds in our industry.

Share something fun or unique about being at Tulane that you’ve really enjoyed.

New Orleans is a gem in itself with so many things to do and see (yes, there are tons of fun things outside Bourbon Street).  Tulane Athletics is great about engulfing the culture of the city into our branding and messaging.  Our student-athletes get to enjoy all the culture, food, events, and unique personalities in our city on a regular basis.  Mardi Gras is coming up soon which will be a key to telling our story over the next few weeks.  Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest are must on your calendar if you haven’t experienced them.

What book/podcast/tv show are you currently recommending?

I’m bad about reading and listening to podcasts on leadership and industry items, but I’m currently watching Shrinking on Apple TV and it’s hilarious. Would recommend!