Oxford, MS (Sports Network) - Ole Miss named its new athletic director on Wednesday, saying Western Kentucky University's Ross Bjork will take over the position when Pete Boone retires next month.

Bjork, who was a senior associate athletic director at UCLA for five years before WKU named him athletic director in 2010, will be introduced at a press conference on Thursday.

Former Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning co-chaired the search committee for Boone's replacement and expects Bjork will quickly gain the respect of the Ole Miss fan base, the school said.

"Ross will bring incredible energy to the Ole Miss family, and I'm looking forward to seeing that grow," Manning said in a statement.

Ole Miss said Bjork was chosen based on his many years of experience as an administrator and student-athlete. Bjork was a two-year starter at fullback for Emporia State University in the 1990s.

03/21 22:15:25 ET