HAMILTON, N.Y. — Colgate University Director of Athletic Communications Bob Cornell has announced his retirement at the end of the 2008-09 season. He is ending his tenure after serving 33 years on the Raiders staff.
Cornell was inducted in the Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008 and received the inaugural Peter Nevins Award for Distinguished Achievement given to a media relations professional in recognition of their advancement of the field of athletic communications and advocacy for intercollegiate athletics.
“We’re saddened, but also very understanding that after 42 years in the business it is time,” said Colgate athletic director Dave Roach. “I have always joked with Bob that he has gone from the minimal machine to all-access, to Twitter and everything else in between. Colgate has been a better place because Bob Cornell has been here for the last 33 years as our director of athletic communications and there is nobody in the profession that cares more about student-athletes and coaches then a Bob Cornell.”
For the past 33 years, Cornell has served as Colgate’s Director of Athletic Communications. During his tenure, he has been responsible for all publicity and public relations matters concerning the Raiders athletic department, encompassing 25 intercollegiate sports.
“While Bob is retiring we will certainly hope to see him around a lot,” stated Roach. “As time goes on we will have some special projects that we would want him to be involved in because of his expertise, knowledge, and history of Colgate Athletics.”
In 2001, Cornell was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors Association Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the SUNY-Cobleskill Athletic Hall of Honor, where he was an all-region player in baseball.
Cornell finishes his career working 387 consecutive football games - the fifth longest active streak in the nation among athletic communication directors.
In 1992, he was the recipient of the Irving T. Marsh ECAC Service Bureau Award, presented annually to the sports information director who has contributed the most to the work of the Bureau during the year and throughout his or her career. Then in 2003, he received the Scoop Hudgins Outstanding Sports Information Director Award from the All-American Football Foundation, and in June of 2006, he was the recipient of a Maroon Citation given to him by the Colgate Alumni Corporation for his record of service to the university.
Cornell also served on the press liaison staff for the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.
A native of Rochester, New York, Cornell received his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of New Haven and an AAS in Business Administration from SUNY-Cobleskill. He holds membership in several professional organizations. Cornell resides in Hamilton, N.Y. with his wife Shirley and their two children, Rob and Ashley.