The Southern Conference today announced that Bryan McGowan has joined the Conference staff as the assistant commissioner for public affairs and Mandi Copeland has been promoted to director of media services.
McGowan joins the staff after six years in the media relations office at the Mid-American Conference. He served as the assistant media relations director for two years prior to his promotion to associate media relations director in July 2001. McGowan’s duties with the MAC included the publicity of volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball as well assisting with football. He also produced the women’s basketball and volleyball media guides and maintained the MAC’s website.
Prior to his stint at the MAC, McGowan was an assistant sports information director at Southern Illinois, working with eight sports while serving as the Web master for the intercollegiate athletics website. He received his bachelor's degree in education from Bowling Green in 1991 and attended graduate school at Southeast Missouri State where he was a graduate assistant in the sports information office. McGowan has served on the NCAA Women’s Final Four media coordination committee for the last three years and was a member of the game-day communications staff with the Cleveland Browns for five seasons.
McGowan will be responsible for managing the publicity and media relations efforts for the Southern Conference as well as serving as the staff liaison for baseball. He will serve as the primary media contact for football and men’s basketball as well as the media coordinator for the men’s basketball tournament.
Copeland assumes the duties as director of media services after serving as the assistant director for public affairs for the past five years. She will be responsible for all publications and graphic design as well as maintaining and operating the Southern Conference web site, www.SoConSports.com. She will also continue to serve as the technology consultant for the conference office and the staff liaison for men’s soccer and men’s and women’s tennis as well as the media coordinator for the women’s basketball tournament.