AUSTIN, TX (CelebrityAccess) – John Graham, the longtime Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of the Frank Erwin Center, announced that he's planning to retire.
Graham is only the second director of the Frank Erwin Center, following Dean Justice, CFE who opened the venue in 1977.
Graham got his start in the arena industry in 1980 as the Events Manager of Assembly Hall (now State Farm Center) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He spent nine years at Assembly Hall, working his way up to Assistant Director and then Associate Director, before moving to Austin to join the Frank Erwin Center as Associate Director in May of 1989. He was then promoted to Director in October of 1990.
During Graham’s 28 year tenure, he was instrumental in bringing world renowned events to the Frank Erwin Center including the first ever WWF (now WWE) event in 1989, which was a sellout with approximately 17,000 fans in attendance, the Davis Cup quarterfinal between the U.S and Spain in 2011, two nights of Paul McCartney’s 2013 “Out There” tour, a project which took approximately two years to come to fruition, and most recently, the iHeartCountry Music Festival, which returns for its fourth year this May.
“John Graham has one of the most difficult jobs at The University – managing the Frank Erwin Center. He is responsible for the financial integrity of the Erwin Center, as well as maintaining an excellent relationship with the performers, staff, and patrons of the Erwin Center. John’s drive for excellence in all endeavors will be greatly missed at The University when he retires.” – Dr. William Cunningham, Former Chancellor, The University of Texas System. – Staff Writers
