One of the next mammoth projects for the ISU athletic department will be the construction of an academic center for student-athletes. Frank Nogel will play a key role in making this happen.

ISU athletics director Bruce Van De Velde announced Friday that Nogel has been hired as associate athletic director for external affairs.

Nogel, a 1991 ISU graduate, isn’t new to the athletic department, just to the position. Nogel has worked as the assistant athletics director for major gifts from the ISU Foundation since 1999.

Nogel worked with the ISU Foundation in October 2002, when ISU officials broke ground on a $10 million athletic facility, paid for entirely through private gifts.

The Stephen and Debora Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility was made possible after three years of work by Nogel. The indoor training facility will be used by many ISU athletic teams for practice and by the athletic department to host events.

After the completion of the training facility, Nogel said he will begin another project — a new student-athlete academics building.

Though the plan has been discussed and made public, it will be a while until the project gets off of the ground, Nogel said.

“We’ve got new programs, and a great staff,” Nogel said. “It’s exciting.”

Nogel said he hopes to help increase the athletic department’s revenues after becoming responsible for marketing, promotions and development.

Nogel has worked with the Iowa Barnstormers, a defunct Des Moines Arena Football team, as director of marketing and operations — two of the main responsibilities he will have with the ISU athletic department.

Nogel replaces former associate director for external affairs Laird Veatch, who was named general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties, which controls corporate sales and television and radio network rights for Missouri athletics. Veatch left Iowa State in July.