PROVIDENCE, R.I.- Dr. John Nazarian of Rhode Island College, President of the Little East Conference Council of Presidents, announced the appointment of Jonathan C. Harper this morning to serve as the first full-time commissioner of the Little East Conference. Harper joins the Little East Conference after serving as the Commissioner of the Division II East Coast Conference (ECC).

The Little East Conference Executive Committee commissioned a nation-wide search at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) meeting in June of 2007 after Commissioner Dr. William M. Moore formally announced his retirement in March. Moore officially ended his eight-year tenure as commissioner on Feb. 14, 2008.

"It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of Bill Moore," said Harper. "I look forward to the challenge of continuing his high standard of leadership and ethics. My goal is to continue to build on the strengths of the Little East and thus make it as strong as we possibly can both on the field and in the classroom."

Harper was named the Commissioner of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in August 1, 2007. The chief administrative officer for the ECC, he managed the budget for the conference's 14 intercollegiate programs and presented an annual financial report to the Council of Presidents. Harper supervised the coordination of publicity and media relations, including the development and launching the East Coast Conference official Web site, as well as, streaming all conference sports on the internet through http://www.eccsports.tv/. The official spokesperson of the ECC, he represented the conference at NCAA meetings and conventions.

Prior to joining the East Coast Conference, Harper served as the Vice President for Sports Operations at Penn Atlantic, Inc following seven years with the Northeast-10 office. He was the primary liaison for sales and marketing operations for Penn Atlantic with NCAA member conferences and institutions as well as professional sports organizations.

During his tenure at the Northeast-10, Harper was involved in all facets of the conference, serving as Director of Media Relations in 1999 before being promoted to Assistant Commissioner in January 2002 and Associate Commissioner a year later. He developed exposure for the NE-10 in the several media mediums, including creating a web casting program for football, basketball, and all 10 conference championships on the internet. Harper designed and maintained the conference Web site, and streamlined the conference award program. He also assisted in the establishment of the first Northeast-10 Hall of Fame,

Harper received his bachelor of science in physical education from Bridgewater State College in 1997, while earning his master of science in education with a specialization in sports management from Nova Southeastern University in December of 2003.