Jacksonville, FL -- Ken Free, Commissioner of the Eastern
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIAC), has appointed Larry
Barber to the staff post of Publicity and Media Relations Coordinator.
The move is a professional reunion, the two having worked
and collaborated for 18 years in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
(MEAC) front office. Free was named the MEAC's first full-time
Commissioner in April 1978 and hired Barber as Director of its
News and Service Bureau in October of that year. Free left the
MEAC office, located in Greensboro, NC; in 1996 and Barber in
1998 for private business ventures.
Free, who has guided the EIAC since 1996, tabbed Barber primarily
for the 2003 basketball tournament push. The EIAC men's and
women's tournaments will be held February 28 through March 2
(Friday - Sunday) in Fayetteville, NC at the Cumberland County
Coliseum Complex-Arena.
While at the MEAC, Free and Barber watched the league expand
membership, elevate to NCAA Division I conference status for
all sports and its basketball tournament gain national notoriety.
"Barber is an experienced media relations professional, a
talented journalist and a welcomed addition to the EIAC family,"
said Free. "His eye for detail and penchant to complete projects
will assist us in the ongoing effort to enhance public awareness."
The EIAC membership include Allen University (Columbia, SC),
Barber-Scotia College (Concord, NC), Claflin University (Orangeburg,
SC), Edward Waters College (Jacksonville, FL), Morris College
(Sumter, SC) and Voorhees College (Denmark, SC).
The EIAC home office is in Jacksonville, FL. "Barber will
work out of Greensboro and we hope that our acquaintances and
associates will provide support," added Free.
