College Sports Information Directors of America

FAIRFAX, Va. -- John Painter has joined the George Mason University Athletic Department as an assistant director in the Sports Information Office. Painter, who joined the staff on Sept. 11, is responsible for the publicity of and works directly with the women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's rowing, softball and men's and women's swimming and diving teams at George Mason. A native of Seaford, Del., the 31-year-old Painter served as the assistant director of communications for USA Softball in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the past three years. In addition to writing and researching historical information for various organization publications, he worked with the women's 2000 Olympic team and the women's 2002 World Championships team, both of which won the gold medal, and the men's 2000 World Championships team that took the bronze medal. Painter spent the previous three years as an assistant sports information director at the University of Evansville in Indiana. He was the direct contact for women's basketball, women's volleyball and softball for the Purple Aces. A 1993 graduate of West Virginia University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, Painter spent approximately three years as the sports editor for The Leader and State Register, both newspapers in southern Delaware. He graduated from Seaford High School in 1989.