Amber Cox (born 1973 or 1974) is a sports executive and current

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

(COO) of the Kansas City NWSL since 2021. Before joining Kansas City, Cox had various sports positions at William Woods University and Columbia College from the 1990s to 2000s. Cox went on to join the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in 2004 and began working as the director of marketing and promotions for the WNBA team. During her tenure with the Mercury, Cox became the team's

and president in the 2010s. She also was an interim general manager for the team in 2013. After leaving the Mercury, Cox was a college basketball commissioner for the Big East Conference in 2013. Years later, Cox went to the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

in 2015 and became chief marketing officer for the Houston Dash and the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

. The following year, Cox was selected as the vice president of the New England Black Wolves and Connecticut Sun. While part of the Black Wolves, Cox won the 2017

National Lacrosse League Executive of the Year Award The Executive of the Year Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League executive who is chosen as having the most positive impact on his or her team. Past winners References {{Lacrosse topics Executive Executive ( exe., exec., ex ...

Early life and education

In the early 1970s, Cox was raised in

Monett, Missouri Monett is the most-populous city in the Barry and Lawrence counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The city is located in the Ozarks, just south of Interstate 44 between Joplin and Springfield. According to the 2020 census, the population of the ...

. Growing up, Cox began to play basketball at the age of five and worked with her family at a greenhouse until she was a teen. For her post-secondary education, Cox was on the women's basketball team at William Woods University from 1992 to 1996. Her 1,283 points with the Owls placed her in the top 15 career points for the university during the late 2010s. For her studies, Cox focused on communications and physical education for her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1996. A few years later at William Woods, Cox received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 1998. While completing her education, Cox was a trombonist.

Career

While completing her post-secondary education in the 1990s, Cox worked at the Missouri Department of Conservation as an assistant in the forestry department and the Missouri House of Representatives as an intern photographer. During the late 1990s, Cox held additional assistant positions at William Woods coaching basketball and working as a

sports information director A sports information director is a type of public relations worker who provides statistics, team and player notes and other information about a college or university's sports teams to the news media and general public. Abbreviated "SID," sports inf ...

. At Columbia College, Cox held assistant positions in

media relations Media Relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with medi ...

and sports directorship from 1996 to 2000. While at Columbia, Cox led the media relations for the college's sports teams between 2000 and 2005. During the late 2000s, Cox worked for the Phoenix RoadRunners in the hockey's team marketing department. She later continued her sports information career primarily with the American Midwest Conference before becoming the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

of William Woods in 2011. After becoming part of the

in 2004, Cox was the Mercury's director of marketing and promotions until 2010. While with the team during the 2000s, Cox also worked in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

. Cox began her position as

(COO) of the WNBA team in 2010. After becoming president of the team in 2011, Cox was named the interim general manager of the Mercury in August 2013 after Corey Gaines was fired. Cox remained with the Mercury until October 2013. After her tenure with the Mercury, Cox went to work in college basketball when she became a commissioner for the Big East Conference in late 2013. At the beginning of 2015, Cox moved from basketball to

when she was named chief marketing officer for both the Houston Dash and the

. In October 2016, Cox became the vice president of both the New England Black Wolves and Connecticut Sun. While with the Black Wolves, Cox received the 2017

. Cox continued her soccer career in 2021 when she was selected by the Kansas City NWSL to become their COO.

Honors and personal life

In 2012, Cox was named one of the 40 Under 40 by the '' Phoenix Business Journal''. In her personal life, Cox played guitar in the 2000s and 2010s. Cox is also in a

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Amber Basketball executives Women's National Basketball Association executives Women's National Basketball Association general managers Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff Living people Year of birth missing (living people)