Sport management major, Colby-Sawyer College men's basketball player and 2015 Colby-Sawyer Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Ethan Casson '96 has been hired as the Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. He begins his new role Aug. 8.

Read more about the hiring of Ethan Casson, and how it all began at Colby-Sawyer.

Prior to arriving in Minneapolis, Casson had a successful six years with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, holding positions of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President of Corporate Sales. Casson was an integral part of securing one of the largest naming rights deals in NFL history as the 49ers partnered with Levi Strauss & Co. for a 20-year, $220 million naming rights deal.

Casson returns to the Minnesota franchise where he spent 11 years as the Vice President of Corporate Sales & Services and Game Presentation.

Ethan was recognized by Sports Business Journal as a member of the Forty Under 40 Class of 2014. He was previously recognized as a Forty Under 40 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

A member of Head Coach Bill Foti's first recruiting class, Casson was instrumental in propelling the Colby-Sawyer men's basketball team into notoriety during the program's third varsity season. Ethan helped the Chargers to a 70-31 record in his four years as the floor general while collecting a school record 454 assists, which he held for 16 years. When he wasn't on offense, Casson was getting the ball away from the opponent, leading to 152 steals, which ranks ninth all-time. His outstanding efforts were recognized with the 1995-96 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award. Ethan was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.