Gloria Nevarez

A Bay Area native, Nevarez graduated from Santa Clara High School.[7] Nevarez went on to attend the University of Massachusetts, where she was a scholarship student-athlete in basketball.[8] Nevarez graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Cum Laude) with a B.S. in Sports Management.[9][6] After completion of her career at the University of Massachusetts, Nevarez attended the University of California, Berkeley, Law where she graduated with a Juris Doctorate.[10]

Finishing the completion of her J.D. degree, Nevarez began a career at a law firm.[7] After a brief time practicing law, Nevarez was hired as the first full-time Director of Compliance for athletics at San Jose State University.[10] From there, Nevarez was hired by the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as the Assistant Athletics Director of Compliance and Legal Affairs, while also serving as the interim Senior Woman Administrator.[11] Following that, Nevarez began a term as the Associate Commissioner and Senior Woman Administrator for the West Coast Conference for the next 5 years.[5] On August 2007, Nevarez was named Sr. Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at the University of Oklahoma.[12]

In March of 2010, Nevarez was named Senior Associate Commissioner and Senior Woman Administrator of the Pac-12 conference.[11] During her time at the Pac-12, Nevarez oversaw all sports and championships except football and was the leagues' point person for men's basketball.[5] Additionally, Nevarez was instrumental in the Pac-12's expansion from ten institutions to twelve, the relocation of the men's basketball tournament in Las Vegas, and the women's basketball tournament in Seattle.[13] She was the lead on various international trips to China and Australia taken by Pac-12 teams, notably, Nevarez was instrumental in assisting UCLA when three players were arrested in China for stealing.[14]

In March of 2018, the West Coast Conference Presidents' Council selected Nevarez as the fourth full-time Commissioner to serve the West Coast Conference.[5][15]

Nevarez is married to fellow University of California, Berkeley, Law graduate Richard Young.[5] Additionally, Nevarez has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco teaching on topics in sports law.[5]