Report: Arkansas State AD Jeff Purinton to accept job at Learfield

Arkansas State athletics director Jeff Purinton is leaving the school and accepting a job at Learfield, EPSN’s Pete Thamel reported. He previously worked at Alabama and Florida State, as well as the Orange Bowl, and his position with Learfield has not yet been reported.

Purinton spent 15 years at Alabama before arriving at Arkansas State. He started out as the associate athletics director for football communications from 2007-15 before moving up to senior associate athletics director from 2015-18.

After two years as the executive associate athletics director 2018-19, he became Alabama’s deputy athletics director from 2019-21 and executive deputy athletics director from 2021-22. That’s when he took over at Arkansas State.

Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, Purinton worked as the Orange Bowl Committee’s director of media relations and communications from 2006-07. That came after eight years at Florida State – his alma mater – working his way up from a sports information graduate assistant from 1998-99 to assistant SID from 1999-2004 and director of football communications from 2004-06.

Arkansas State recently underwent a coaching change following Bryan Hodgson’s departure for USF. Hodgson was one of Jeff Purinton’s first major hires with the Red Wolves, and he took the program to its second-ever postseason appearance in 2025 when it played in the NIT.

After Hodgson’s departure, the Red Wolves once again hired a Nate Oats assistant from Alabama, bringing Ryan Pannone in as head coach earlier this month. Pannone joined the Crimson Tide as part of Oats’ complete staff overhaul following the 2022-23 season when each assistant, including Hodgson, landed a head coaching job.

“The A-State basketball brand is on the rise amid great momentum, and that is a testament to the amazing job Hodgson, his staff and the players have done the last two years,” Pannone said in a statement. “They built a strong foundation, and I’m fortunate to be stepping into a fantastic situation – we’re in a great place to continue elevating this program together. Our staff and players will be committed to working extremely hard to put a fun and winning product on the floor while representing our community in a first-class manner.
 
“I also want to thank everyone associated with the University of Alabama, including head coach Nate Oats, Athletics Director Greg Byrne, the coaching staff and the players, for a wonderful two years in Tuscaloosa.”