Who knew that being a ball runner at soccer games in high school could turn into
being an athletic communicator at the Division I level?

As I think back to my career in athletics, it’s hard to believe that over 20 years ago I
started as a freshman in high school running the sidelines during boys soccer games
as a manager.

It was my introduction to athletics and paved the way to a career that featured
several stops at various levels of competition – from professional sports to NCAA
Division I and II sports.

After graduating from Towson High School, I didn’t have to go far to begin my
college career – just a couple of miles in fact. I attended Towson University due to
the fact it was the only school I could afford to pay for myself … with the help of
student loans.

That five-year experience set the groundwork for my professional career, which
included the first of two stints as the Director of Media Relations and Publications
for the Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse … while I was still in school.
During my time as an undergraduate, I made many connections, which also led me
on my professional path. I helped out at other schools, working games in whatever
capacity they needed. I worked NCAA Championship events and met many other
SIDs around the country.

Those connections provided the basis for my first two professional jobs after college
– a brief stint as the Director of Media Services at Major League Lacrosse and one
year as Athletic Communications Media Coordinator at Loyola College (now called
Loyola University Maryland).

But, while I was working at Loyola, I was asked to give my former boss at Towson a
phone call during the summer – he had someone leave the staff and he wanted me to
join the staff as a full-time member … in essence, he wanted me to “come home.”
And so I did. I left Loyola where I was part SID and part broadcaster and went back
to Towson where I spent nearly six years. During my time at my alma mater, I
worked with numerous sports and had the honor to serve as host media coordinator
for three NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championships.

They say that all good things must come to an end and that is true. In March of 2012,
I left my alma mater to take a position as Sports Information and Communications
Specialist at Goldey-Beacom College, a small Division II school in Wilmington,
Delaware. Prior to applying for the job, I had never heard of the school, but after
being there for nearly three years, I can assure you it is a school I will never forget.

I gained a lot of experience during my time at GBC and made an instant impact with
getting a new athletics brand and website implemented within my first six months. I
also had the chance to further my connections by working on the first-ever stats
crew for the Delaware 87ers of the G-League (now called the Delaware Blue Coats),
serve on the well-known Philadelphia 76ers statistics crew and be an official scorer
for the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Remember all of those connections I made during my times at Towson? Well, those
connections came back to provide me with an opportunity. Just over a month after I
got married, Joe Browning, senior associate director of athletics for communications
at UNC Wilmington (UNCW), called me on a Friday during the summer.

Joe had just found one of his staff members was leaving and he had an open position.
He called me, but I didn’t initially answer because I was getting ready to score a Blue
Rocks baseball game and it was a random Friday, so I had no idea he really meant to
call me.

He left a voicemail and I called him back … and the rest is history. My wife and I
moved down to Wilmington, North Carolina just a couple of months later and that is
where we have been ever since.

So, now that you know my background, let’s talk about the present. I am the main
media relations contact for five of our 19 NCAA Division I athletics teams at UNCW –
women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s golf. I also
help with other sports as needed and am a back-up broadcaster for our Seahawk
Digital Network.

We have a three-person SID staff in addition to a director of video services, so we
have to be able to help each other out and we do. Crossover season can be tough, but
our staff gets through it together.

I like to believe that my experiences have helped me become a better SID and a
better person. One such way is the handwritten notes I like to write to others. This
came about after Chris Yandle, former SID at Baylor, Miami and Georgia Tech, sent
me a handwritten note when I returned to Division I at UNCW. It was something that
meant a lot to me and something I won’t forget.

So, I have decided to pay it forward and while I haven’t sent out as many this year as
I did last year, it’s still something I take very seriously. It’s something that means
more to me than people will ever know.

So, that is a basic synopsis of my SID career to this point. I am sure there will be
more to come, but if I gave you everything, there would be no reason for you to read
more of my works.

Until next time … Hawk Yeah!!