Early career Upon graduation, Benson became the head coach of
Fort Steilacoom Community College (n/k/a Pierce College) from 1976 to 1981. Benson won his 100th game as a head coach on March 9, 1982 after winning against
Everett Community College in the
Edmonds College Invitational baseball tournament. Benson got his first
Athletic Administration job by serving as the college's
athletic director from July 17, 1979–March 9, 1984. In January 1986, Benson left Utah to work for the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) initially as a Compliance Representative, then promoted to assistant director of championships in June 1987 and, finally, director of championships in 1988. As assistant director of championships, Benson played a role in coordinating the
NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships to the
Myriad Convention Center in
Oklahoma City for the 1989 and 1992 seasons. As the director of championships, Benson "actively supervised eight assistant directors in their administration of 68 NCAA championships". During Benson's four years with the MAC, he oversaw the
University of Akron becoming the 10th member of the conference in 1992. Benson also extended, for 2 years, the conference's existing
sports broadcasting deal with
ESPN in 1991 to televise its men's basketball championship tournament game. Benson was also partly responsible for forming the
Las Vegas Bowl starting in the 1992 season; which continued to give a each team from both the MAC and the
Big West Conference a bowl tie-in after the
California Raisin Bowl ceased operations the year before. Benson oversaw the conference's
Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament change venues from
Cobo Arena in
Detroit to
Battelle Hall in
Columbus, Ohio, beginning in the 1992-93 men's basketball season. Benson also oversaw the conference sponsor men's soccer in 1993. On October 22, 1993, Benson also helped renew the MAC's television deal with ESPN,
Pro-Am Sports System (PASS), and
SportsChannel to broadcast the members' men's basketball and women's basketball teams.
Commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) On April 21, 1994, Benson became the 5th commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference to replace, outgoing,
Joseph Kearney effective July 1, 1994. During his eighteen years with the WAC, Benson oversaw the conference's membership changing during
conference realignment. Benson also coordinated multi-year sports broadcasting deals for the conference to broadcast the conference's football, men's basketball, and women's basketball teams with
ABC Sports, ESPN, SportsWest, and
Fox Sports Networks.
Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) On February 16, 2012, Benson became the 5th commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference. During his seven years with the SBC, Benson oversaw the addition of the five following universities that most recently competed in the
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and to replace its outgoing members located in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida:
Appalachian State University,
Coastal Carolina University,
Georgia Southern University,
Georgia State University, and
Texas State University. Benson also extended the conference's television deal with ESPN, the conference's primary and sole sports broadcasting partner, into the 2027-28 season. Additionally, any game not selected to broadcast on ESPN's
linear television networks (ABC, ESPN,
ESPN2 or
ESPNU) would be streamed on
ESPN+. After leaving the Sun Belt Conference, Benson became an associate for CarrSports Consulting: A Florida-based consulting company that conducts nationwide searches for athletic administrators and athletics management. == Personal life ==