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COLEMAN BARNES
PATRICK JOHNSTON
Senior Associate Athletics Director/ Chief of Staff
Assistant Athletics Director/ Football Operations
Coleman Barnes is the senior associate athletics director and chief of staff for the football program with emphasis on the external affairs. He joined the Mountaineer football staff as the associate athletics director for football external affairs in February 2019. At West Virginia, Barnes collaborates with the athletics administration and external units to further the West Virginia football brand and its effectiveness and efficiency. He promotes new ideas, development and growth to help position the football program for championship-level success. Barnes is the program’s liaison with marketing, tickets, Mountaineer Athletic Club, athletics communications and digital media. He is the liaison between the football program and Learfield IMG College and oversees the coordination of speaking engagements for the football program. Barnes is responsible for all program operations associated with recruiting, including hiring personnel, maintaining the budget and establishing branding and messaging. He also markets, promotes and brands the program to recruits, high school coaches, alumni and fans, including overseeing the digital and creative content, graphic design and social media platforms to promote the football brand. Barnes came to West Virginia from Utah State where he served since July 2017, first as the assistant vice president and deputy director of athletics for external affairs and most recently as the associate vice president and deputy director of athletics. Under the direction of the vice president and director of athletics, he was responsible for the overall administration, management and supervision of all department areas that engaged with external constituents. He led USU’s athletic development staff and also oversaw athletics’ external departments, which included marketing and promotions, media relations and video. He also served as the liaison for ticket operations and sales and Aggie Sports Properties. Prior to Utah State, Barnes spent four years at Miami University, where he served as the associate athletics director/senior director of development for threeand-a-half years, before being promoted to executive associate athletics director/ senior director of development his last year. During his time at Miami, Barnes served as a co-manager for the Graduating Champions Campaign, raising more than $65 million toward the $80 million goal. In 2015, Barnes’ team raised a then-record $28.3 million in gifts and pledges, including $5.02 million in cash. Barnes also boosted Miami’s Red & White Club membership to more than 2,000 members, a 27-percent increase since his arrival in 2013 and increased revenue by 24 percent, up to $880,000 per year. Prior to Miami, Barnes spent two years at UAB, as the associate athletics director for development. He oversaw Blazer Boosters, the fundraising unit for UAB Athletics, increasing the annual fund membership by 54 percent through a 16-month initiative. Prior to UAB, Barnes served from 2008-11 at Fresno State as the executive director of The Bulldog Foundation and associate athletics director for development. As an executive administrator, he oversaw all components of the development office that raised approximately $6 million annually. He also managed a development team that successfully secured funding for a $6 million sports medicine center and a $1.2 million turf project. From 2005-08, Barnes served as the assistant director for the UMAA Foundation, the fundraising unit for Ole Miss Athletics, playing an integral role in raising nearly $13 million annually Prior to Ole Miss, Barnes was a development associate for the Hurricane Club at the University of Miami (2004-05) and an intern in Harvard’s Athletics Ticket Office (2003-04). Barnes graduated from Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2002 with a major in kinesiology and a minor in business. He was a three-year letterwinner on the Wildcats’ football team as the team’s long snapper. In 2004, he earned his master’s degree from Kentucky in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management and completed his Ph.D. in higher education from Ole Miss in 2017. A native of Bardstown, Kentucky, Barnes, and his wife, Mary Beth, have two children, Caroline and William.
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Patrick Johnston oversees the internal operations of the football program as the assistant athletics director for football operations. He joined the WVU football staff in January 2019 as the director of football operations. He came to West Virginia with head coach Neal Brown after serving as the director of campus recruiting and assistant director of football operations at Troy for two years. At WVU, Johnston plays a key role in future capital projects. He works closely with external entities and internal parties surrounding facility improvements and branding. Johnston leads all planning and scheduling on behalf of the football program, including team travel, game day operations, preseason training camp and in-season practices. Johnston also serves as a lead bowl game management administrator. He organizes the team leadership council and handle all event management for the football program. Johnston spent two years (2017-18) as Troy’s director of campus recruiting and assistant director of football operations after he served as Troy’s recruiting analyst during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Prior to that, he spent one semester working with the Troy equipment department. The Montgomery, Alabama, native spent five years as the director of member services for Wynlakes Golf and Country Club before coming to Troy in July 2015. Johnston earned his master’s degree from Troy in sport management in 2017.
DAVID FAULKNER
Special Assistant to the Head Coach David Faulkner assists the head coach, assistant athletics director for football operations and the football staff with internal matters pertaining to the day-to-day operations of the football program. He joined the Mountaineer football staff in 2021 after serving as the offensive coordinator at Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Prior to that, he was the director of player personnel and high school relations at Troy University for two years (201921). He joined the Troy staff following seven years as the head coach at Enterprise High School, where he led the Wildcats to four playoff appearances at the highest level of Alabama high school football. Faulkner was named the Alabama 7A Coach of the Year following a 10-2 run in 2016. Prior to taking over at Enterprise, Faulkner led Fairhope (Ala.) High School to a 28-9 record over three seasons culminating with an 10-3 record in 2011. The Pirates made three straight postseason appearances and won four playoff games. Fairhope had won just three playoff games over the previous 20 years combined. Fairhope set a school record for points in 2011, and Faulkner guided the Pirates to a No. 4 ranking in the Alabama 6A polls during his first season in 2009. He spent two seasons (2007-08) as the offensive coordinator at Foley (Ala.) High School under current Alabama special assistant to the head coach Todd Watson. The Lions posted a combined 22-3 record and won a region title during his tenure. Faulkner preceded his stint at Foley with four seasons (2003-06) at powerhouse Hoover (Ala.) High School where he spent one season coaching the defensive backs before coaching the quarterbacks coach and play caller for one year before taking over as the offensive coordinator for the final two years. The Buccaneers won three Alabama 6A state titles and played in the championship game all four seasons. He, and current Mountaineer assistant head coach/ offensive line coach Matt Moore, worked together during the 2003-04 seasons. Faulkner began his coaching career at Clarke County (Ala.) High School (199899) in Grove Hill. After two seasons, he moved to the newly formed Alma Bryant (Ala.) High School, where he served as offensive coordinator (2000) and eventually head coach for one season (2001). He spent one season at Prattville in 2002, helping the Lions to a 12-2 record and a spot in the semifinals. Faulkner earned his bachelor’s degree from Troy in physical education in 1996. He is married to the former Christie Garrett and the couple has three children, Garrett, Grayson and Caroline.
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