College Sports Information Directors of America

Southern Connecticut State University has announced that Michael Kobylanski has been hired as Associate Director of Athletics/Communications. The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Patricia D. Nicol. Kobylanski joins the Owls with nearly two decades of combined experience in the fields of media relations and journalism. Most recently, he served as both Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director during a six-year run at Quinnipiac University.

Kobylanski will oversee all internal and external communications efforts for the SCSU Athletic Department and its 19 varsity sports, including, but not limited to: media relations, publications, marketing and promotions.

“We are excited to have someone of Michael’s enthusiasm, vision and expertise to convey the message of university and student excellence,” Nicol said. “His ability to work collaboratively with internal and external constituencies will greatly enhance the visibility of our outstanding coaches, student athletes and programs. We welcome him as a member of our team, one that is positioning itself to be the benchmark of excellence on the national level.”

“As a lifelong Connecticut native, I have always respected the outstanding athletic tradition and strong academic reputation of Southern Connecticut State University,” Kobylanski said. “I am thankful to Patricia Nicol for providing me with this opportunity. I look forward to working with and promoting a tremendous group of coaches, administrators, staff and student-athletes at SCSU.”

While at Quinnipiac, Kobylanski was responsible for the publicity and media relations for 21 Division I programs and oversaw the daily operations of the Sports Information office.

He upgraded the office on several fronts, including improvements to media relations, publications, statistics and the athletics Web site. Kobylanski helped Quinnipiac’s athletics teams garner acclaim in a wide range of local, regional and national media outlets.

Kobylanski also assisted with a variety of multimedia projects at Quinnipiac. He instituted Gametracker – live statistics available via the athletics Web site –  for numerous sports. He also served as the primary liaison for more than 100 audio broadcasts on AM 1220 WQUN and the athletics Web site.

In addition, he also assisted with the promotion and production of one of the largest television packages in New England – encompassing men’s and women’s basketball and men’s ice hockey – on outlets including the New England Sports Network (NESN), ESPNU and Madison Square Garden (MSG).

Kobylanski also provided support with game operations and event management for all teams at Quinnipiac. For his career, he has worked at more than 40 NCAA and conference tournaments, including the Men’s and Women’s ‘Frozen Four’ and NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Regionals.

A member of both the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Kobylanski was also elected to a pair of two-year terms as chair of the Northeast Conference Sports Information Directors Committee.

A strong promoter of the sports information profession, Kobylanski has assisted in the placement for several former direct reports within the industry. Iowa State University, Indiana University, the University of Connecticut, Ohio University, Stony Brook University, the University at Albany, the University of Vermont, Lafayette College, Manhattan College, Sacred Heart University, the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the America East Conference are among the institutions that have employed individuals whom once worked in the Sports Information Office at Quinnipiac.

A native of North Haven, Conn., Kobylanski graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

He has also completed studies towards two advanced degrees. Kobylanski earned a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in 2005. Most recently, he finished a second master’s degree in management of sport industries from the University of New Haven in July 2007.