Joey Knight of Winston-Salem has joined Catawba College as the Director of Athletic Development, responsible for athletic fund-raising and cultivation of major donors. His appointment, effective October 1st, was announced by Rex Otey, Catawba's Vice President for Development.
"I'm very excited to be joining the Catawba College family and support the overall mission of the college by enriching the financial sustainability of Catawba Athletics; which will provide a stronger support system for our student-athletes for years to come," Knight said.
Knight comes to Catawba from Winston-Salem State University where he worked since August of 2013 as Director of Corporate Development for Athletics. There, he fundraised for Athletics, managed a portfolio of donors, and was responsible for implementing an initiative that allowed online sales of football season tickets for the first time in the university's history.
Prior to Winston-Salem State University, he was employed for three years by Boy Scouts of America (BSA), first as a District Executive with the South Florida Council in Miami Lakes, Fla., and later as a District Executive and Senior District Executive at the Old Hickory Council in Winston-Salem. Knight managed fundraising, events, sales, volunteers and membership for BSA.
Before launching his career in advancement, Knight played professional basketball in Europe for four years. That experience saw playing stops in three different countries, including Austria, Turkey and Finland. In 2009, while playing in Istanbul, Turkey, Knight averaged 21.4 points per game, 6.0 assists and 2.6 steals on his way to being named Eurobasket.com TBL2 Guard of the Year, Import Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Knight, who hails from Columbia, Tenn., was an all-state basketball standout for Columbia Central High School, in addition to becoming state champion in the long jump in 2001. He entered High Point University as a freshman and led all freshmen in points, assists, steals and minutes played while leading his team to a Big South Championship game. He was named Big South Rookie of the Year for his efforts and was also named to the Big South All-Tournament team.
Knight transferred to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., after his sophomore year and made his mark there as well. He finished his career at Lehigh ranked ninth all-time in scoring with 1,350 points, and fifth in three-pointers with 178. He also holds the Lehigh and Patriot League Tournament record for threes made in a single game, tallying 10 in a win over Colgate. His 45 points in that game against Colgate was the highest-scoring game in all of Division I in 2004-2005 and still stands second in Lehigh history. As a senior, he was named a Second Team All-Patriot League performer.
He earned his bachelor's degree in Social Psychology from Lehigh in 2006 and accolades including Lehigh Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Patriot League Sportsmanship Award, and Lehigh University Sportsmanship Award during 2005-2006. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in Human Development and Leadership from Murray State University.
Knight serves on the Old Hickory Council's Membership Strategic Planning committee and has served as the past Community Advisor for the Alpha Phi Omega Tau Chi Chapter. He has also served in partnership roles with the Boys and Girls Club and the Salvation Army.
Married to wife Glenda, a microbiologist with Proctor and Gamble in Greensboro, the couple has a daughter, Alexcia, age 5.
