Adrian Barajas was promoted to Director of Sport Services and Student-Athlete Engagement in July, 2024. He previously served as the league's Communications Assistant since 2022.
In his role as Director of Sport Services and Student-Athlete Engagement, Barajas oversees NEC championship and regular season sport administration for men’s soccer and swimming & diving, while also serving as the secondary contact for men's and women's lacrosse. He will also facilitate coach recommendations through the conference’s Sport Management Committee, develop regular season schedules and oversee day-to-day responsibilities of assigned sports officiating coordinators.
On the student-athlete engagement side, Barajas, who has been heavily involved in the NEC’s SAAC since his hiring in 2022, will take over as the organization’s primary contact. In that role, he will handle the day-to-day operations of the NEC SAAC, which includes the coordination of monthly calls and the annual in-person meeting, along with the oversight of the SAAC’s Awards Program. In addition, Barajas will serve as the primary contact for the league’s Academic Advisors and SAAC Advisors.
In his new role, Barajas will continue to serve as an NEC Overtime! Podcast host.
A native of Freehold, NJ and standout men’s soccer player at charter NEC member FDU, Barajas arrived at the conference office in February 2022 after he departed Hackensack with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology along with a Digital Marketing & Advertising minor in December 2021.
As a Communications Assistant, Barajas assisted in the communications efforts of the conference. He served as the primary media relations for a host of sports, including baseball, cross country, golf, men’s soccer and swimming & diving. Barajas helped implement the NEC's social media strategy, updated recordbooks, produced and hosted content related to NEC Champions For Change and NEC Speaks Up activation, provided support at NEC championships and assisted in the day-to-day operations of the league office.
As a five-year student-athlete on the FDU soccer team, Barajas played an instrumental role in the Knights capturing the 2019 NEC title and was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
During his time in Hackensack, Barajas served as a digital marketing intern for the FDU athletics program in Fall 2021, a role in which he conceptualized and produced social media content for several different teams. That same semester he hosted his own campus radio show on WFDU.
A three-time selection to the NEC Academic Honor Roll, Barajas also served as the men's soccer representative on the FDU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during the 2018-19 academic year. His duties as a SAAC member included organizing events, raising awareness on various social justice initiatives and fundraising.