Peach Belt Conference Administration
David Brunk, Peach Belt Conference Commissioner
David
Brunk is in his fourth year as commissioner of the
Peach Belt Conference. He came to the PBC after serving as
commissioner of the Northeast-10 Conference for the previous nine
years. Brunk is only the second commissioner the conference has
ever had in its 20-year history.
Under Brunk's leadership, the PBC has expanded to its largest membership ever with 13 member schools as the University of Montevallo and Flagler College joined in 2009-10. Brunk has also overseen the establishment of the conference's corporate partnership program and led the PBC to new endeavors in community engagement, outreach and charitable giving.
He has also seen a restructuring of the league's championships, establishing the league's first new championship sport, women's golf, in nine years.
Brunk was the first full-time commissioner for the Northeast-10 beginning his tenure in 1998. Under his leadership, the NE10 has added five new institutions and expanded the number of championship sports offered to 23, currently the most offered by any NCAA Division II conference. The NE10 has also led the nation consistently in graduation rates and academic success rates and has been brought to the forefront in the region and the nation.
Brunk began his career in intercollegiate athletics at Morehead State University where he served as Director of the Eagle Athletic Fund before being named Assistant Athletic Director. He also served as the school's head softball coach for two years. He moved from there to work for the NCAA for eight years, beginning work in compliance services which was later merged into membership services. He left the NCAA offices to join the Northeast-10 just prior to the NCAA's move to Indianapolis.
Prior to his involvement in intercollegiate athletics, Brunk owned and operated several minor league baseball franchises for the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He garnered numerous awards for overall business and marketing/promotional excellence.
Brunk has been highly involved within the NCAA committee structure. He currently serves on the Division II Membership Committee and has served as chairman of the Division II Management Council and served on the Division II Convention Planning Project Team, the Division II Community Advisory Group, the Division II Media Advisory Group, Division II Identity Subcommittee and the Division II Game Environment Advisory Group.
Brunk is a graduate of Ball State University and holds a Master's degree in Sports Science and Sport Management from the United States Sports Academy. He and his wife, Brenda, have two daughters, Ashley and Alexis.
Diana Kling, Assistant Commissioner for Internal Operations
Diana
Kling enters her fifth year as Assistant Commissioner
for Internal Operations for the Peach Belt Conference and also
serves as the Senior Woman Administrator. She came to the league
office after five years as a compliance specialist at the
University of Florida.
Kling began her tenure at the Peach Belt as Director of Compliance before being elevated to Assistant Commissioner in 2008.
Kling was involved in all areas of compliance and eligibility for the Gators program including student-athlete certification, financial aid, waivers and records. She conducted education programs dealing with NCAA Rules, gambling and sports agents and administred conference and NCAA championships events. She also compiled and edited UF’s compliance policies and procedures manuals and coordinated the school’s YES Clinics.
Her role for the Peach Belt focuses on compliance and eligibility issues for the more than 1,500 PBC studentathletes. She also assists the compliance teams at the 13 PBC member institutions and administers the NCAA coaches certification test as well as the National Letter of Intent program among other duties. She also established and coordinates the league's annual Women in Athletics Seminar and serves as chair of the NCAA legislation committee.
A native of Auburn, Ohio, Kling graduated from Pepperdine in 1994 with a degree in business administration and received her MBA from Ashford University in 2008. She and her husband Steve have a son, J.T.
Ken Gerlinger, Assistant Commissioner for Communications
Ken Gerlinger enters his 10th year as the
Assistant Commissioner for Communications for the Peach Belt
Conference. He joined the league after serving for three years as
the Sports Information Director at Charleston Southern
University.
Gerlinger began his time at the Peach Belt as Director of Media Relations and was elevated to Assitant Commissioner in 2008. At the Peach Belt he coordinated the first live televised basketball championship games, has overseen the PBC website through three evolutions and has coordinated media efforts with 13 member schools. In 2009 he was honored with a 'Best in the Nation' writing award for event coverage by CoSIDA.
Gerlinger began his sports information career at the College of Charleston where he served as a student assistant and later as assistant SID from 1991-95 where he became the primary contact for the women’s basketball and golf programs. He also assisted with the men’s basketball program and served the team at their first NCAA tournament appearance.
From there, Gerlinger moved on to Clayton State University, which began its membership as a part of the Peach Belt Conference during his tenure. He spent two years with the Lakers, earning a publication award for the 1996-97 basketball media guide and was also recognized for his website design.
Gerlinger returned to his native Charleston in 1997 to begin work at Charleston Southern where he served as the radio voice for the Buccaneer basketball team for the 1997-98 season.
He has also done statistical work for the Charleston RiverDogs and Augusta Greenjackets Class A baseball teams, the Arenafootball 2 Charleston Swampfoxes and the Southern Conference baseball tournament. In 1996, he was a volunteer for the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he did courtside basketball statistics in over 20 games including stats for the Dream Team and U.S. Women’s National Team.
Gerlinger received a B.S. in business and a B.A. in communications from the College of Charleston in 1994.
Carl Segura, Director of External Operations
Carl Segura begins his first year as the Director of
External Operations for the Peach Belt. Segura joins the
league after serving as an independent contractor and governance
intern at the NCAA national office.
Segura will head the league’s corporate partnership program, oversee all community engagement initiatives and serve as the PBC liaison to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) conference officiating bureaus , and the CHAMPS/Life Skills program. In addition, Segura will assist with conference promotion and marketing efforts, coordinate special events, assist with championships and develop the league’s multimedia strategies.
At the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Segura designed the Division II Strategic Communications Toolkit and the Division II Yearbook. He co-Chaired the annual Emerging Leaders Seminar and did work with the Division II Presidents Council and Management Council.
A native of Amherst, Mass., Segura graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn., where he played men’s soccer for four years. He was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team his senior season and twice received the school’s Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Eastern Connecticut with a degree in psychology.
Segura earned his masters of science in educational leadership from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Ok., where he worked as a residence director and served as an athletics compliance intern.