Mark LaFrance was promoted to associate athletic director for digital media and marketing in August 2021. A 6-year veteran of the Mason athletic department, he served as assistant athletic director for communications from 2016-21.
LaFrance oversees the department’s digital footprint, including strategy and content production for athletics social media, digital communication, paid advertising and media buys. He also manages the marketing and promotions department, while continuing to serve as the sports information director for men’s basketball, in addition to men’s tennis and rowing.
Under LaFrance’s guidance, the athletic department has vastly expanded its social media presence while growing its follower base at an unprecedented rate. That includes the men’s basketball Twitter and Instagram accounts, which have nearly tripled in followers and impression generation since his arrival. Behind the strategic leadership of his staff, the main athletics Instagram account improved its reach by nearly 400 percent in 2022-23.
In addition, under his strategic content plan, the athletic department website received a record 1.075 million visits in 2022 and set a single-month pageview record in March 2021.
LaFrance possesses more than 15 years of media relations experience within the collegiate basketball landscape. He has successfully pitched George Mason men's basketball feature stories which have appeared in the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and Bleacher Report, among others. He also works regularly with on-air talent for ESPN, USA Network and CBS Sports Network as part of thr Atlantic 10's television package.
Outside of his communications and social media work, LaFrance is actively involved in promoting diversity & inclusion within the athletic department and received the Rose Pascarell & Ric Chollar Professional Service Award for his efforts in May 2020.
Under his leadership, Mason became one of just 10 Div. I schools nationally to achieve a perfect score in the Equality Index in 2021. The metric, developed by Athlete Ally, measures LGBTQ inclusion policies and practices in collegiate athletic spaces. In addition, he is a member of the Mason Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Committee and recently wrapped up a three-year stint on the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
LaFrance came to Fairfax from High Point University, where he served as assistant athletic director for communications from 2014 to 2016. In that role, he oversaw the communications, multimedia, broadcasting and licensing departments while serving as the primary media contact for men’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, cross country/track & field and athletic director Dan Hauser. Under his guidance, the department vastly expanded its digital reach, including a record for highpointpanthers.com website visits in 2015-16 (868,000) as well as a 200+% increase in video viewership and more than 100% increase in social media interaction. He also successfully pitched and organized on-campus media visits for a cover story in NCAA Champion Magazine and an in-depth Sports Illustrated feature during his time in the Piedmont Triad.
Prior to his time at HPU, he spent two years as an assistant media relations director at Ohio University, where he acted as the primary media contact for the men’s basketball team and also performed all communications duties for the volleyball, field hockey, men’s golf and track & field programs. His social media work led to an increase in followers by more than 200 percent for the men’s basketball and nationally-ranked volleyball team's Twitter accounts. LaFrance also promoted four All-Americans and three MAC Players of the Year during his tenure in Athens.
From 2010-12, LaFrance worked as the communications associate for the University of Notre Dame’s Monogram Club – the preeminent letter winner’s association in the country. In that position, he was responsible for developing the organization's overall communications strategy while managing the Club's website and editorial content. LaFrance also served as the contact for Heritage Hall and oversaw the museum's annual updates. He created and managed a Monogram Club social media network through Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn while serving as communications liasion for the Club's board of directors, which included former NBA lottery pick Pat Garrity (basketball), Women's World Cup and Olympic champion Kate Markgraf (soccer) and U.S. Associate Attorney General Kevin O'Connor (lacrosse). His feature work included profiles and features on NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, NBA Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley, three-time Olympic soccer champion Shannon Boxx and two-time Olympic bronze medal-winning fencer Gerek Meinhardt.
LaFrance graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. During his tenure at Syracuse, LaFrance spent three years as a student assistant in the Orange athletic communications office from 2006-08. While studying as an undergraduate, LaFrance also served as a summer media relations intern for the New England Patriots prior to the team's undefeated regular season in 2007. He continued working with the team in a game-day media relations role from 2007-2010.
Upon graduation, LaFrance moved back to his native New England to serve two years as a sports information graduate assistant at Providence College, receiving his MBA in May 2010. While at Providence, he worked as the primary media contact for men's lacrosse and women's volleyball and was the secondary contact for men's basketball. During his tenure with the Friars, LaFrance also acted as an assistant media coordinator for the NCAA Division I men's basketball first-and second-round games held in Providence.
LaFrance has served on NCAA Division I men's basketball media relations staffs at the 2010 East Regional in Syracuse, N.Y. and 2019 East Regional in Washington, D.C., as well as second-and third-round action in Cleveland, Ohio in 2011. He acted as press conference moderator during 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament first-and second-round games held in Notre Dame, Ind. and was part of the PGA of America's 2012 Ryder Cup media relations staff at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago. In 2018, he served as the NCAA site representative for the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship second round in College Park, Md.
He is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and serves as the vice chair of the organization's Academic All-America Hall of Fame committee. He also is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA).
A native of Bridgewater, Mass., LaFrance resides in Washington, D.C.
