Illinois State University Athletics

For more than 49 years, the former Illinois State University sports information director and current ISU School of Communication faculty member has combined his interest in sports, his love for communication and his passion for teaching often in support of the Redbirds and the Missouri Valley Conference … his sports information career began in 1975 at College of DuPage and continued at the University of Evansville after the tragic 1977 Aces basketball team plane crash … arrived at Illinois State from Evansville in time to help with the Redbirds' application for membership in the Valley in 1980 … his SID work over more than 26 years at ISU included football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball at different times … concurrently, he taught two classes per year in the ISU School of Communication (SoC) and worked with hundreds of SoC student interns and graduate students in Redbird Athletics Communications … retired from Redbird Athletics in 2006 to join the ISU SoC faculty full-time, but stayed connected to the MVC as a staff member at Arch Madness and all 17 Hoops in the Heartland tournaments and also worked at 24 NCAA Basketball Tournament sites—including two Final Fours in St. Louis hosted by the Valley … during the 2022-23 academic year as part of the MVC's Celebration of Title IX, he researched, interviewed and wrote profiles of pivotal pioneer personnel to recognize their trailblazing actions as vital administrators in the evolution of league women's athletics … became the 17th Illinois State Athletics representative in the MVC Hall of Fame in 2024, when he was honored with the prestigious Paul Morrison Award of Merit.