Rocky Silvestri begins his first year as assistant athletic director for marketing and special events at Northern Arizona University. Silvestri has eight years of marketing and sales experience at the NCAA Division-I level, having worked at Hofstra University and the University of Connecticut.

Silvestri's professional skills include development and fulfillment of marketing plans and sponsorship proposals, budget management, ticket sales, and development of marketing communications. From June 2007 and to September 2010, Silvestri served as the assistant director of athletics for marketing and promotions and as the director of marketing for intercollegiate athletics at Hofstra University, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) located in Hempstead, N.Y.

Among his duties, Silvestri developed all marketing and ticket sales plans, game day scripts and special presentations in addition to enhancing student interaction at games to produce a traditional college game day atmosphere. His ticket sales efforts resulted in a 48% revenue increase between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, while he also incorporated a new database and sales tracking system.

Prior to joining the marketing team at Hofstra, Silvestri worked for eight years as both an undergraduate and as full time staff member at Connecticut. After serving as a marketing assistant and ticket representative as a student, Silvestri was hired as an athletic marketing assistant in August 2003, where he managed promotions and game day operations for the NCAA National Champion men's basketball program and women's soccer team.

He was named assistant director of marketing for ticket sales and fan development at UConn in August 2004, directing all advertising sales, media trade agreements, and sales and marketing strategies before leaving the university in May 2007.

A native of Huntington, N.Y., Silvestri earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Connecticut in May 2003 and completed a Master of Arts degree in sports management and education in August 2006, also at Connecticut.