College Sports Information Directors of America

Young Professionals Spotlight: Four questions with Joseph Marvin - Sports Information Director at Brevard College

by Patrick Murphy – Colorado School of Mines, Athletics Communications Coordinator  //  CSC Young Professionals Committee

Joseph Marvin is currently in his sixth year at Division III Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina and first year as the Sports Information Director for the Tornados after previously serving as the Director of Digital Media/Assistant Sports Information Director.

Arriving at Brevard as one of the youngest full-time professional college sports communicators back in 2018, Marvin’s ascent from being a student worker at Western Carolina to his position now heading up all athletic communications efforts at BC comes as no surprise to his colleagues and as Tornados Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Phil de Montmollin put it, “So much of what happens behind the scenes and the media content that our supporters enjoy is the result of Joseph's hard work, dedication, and passion for the Tornados.”

Joseph Marvin (second from the right) volunteering at Brevard College’s annual “Pancake Break” before final exams (2019).

As part of his duties, Marvin oversees coverage of the Tornados’ 19 varsity programs and manages all game day staff, statistical management and record keeping, development of print and digital publications for marketing and promotional purposes, digital design and social media management and broadcast productions for more than 100 events per academic year. His relentless effort has seen Brevard’s broadcast viewership numbers and social media engagement set records year after year with no signs of slowing down in the future.

A five-year member of CSC, Marvin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Western Carolina in 2018 with a degree in Business Administration in Sport Management and a minor in Economics. During his time as WCU, he served as a Media Relations Game Day Assistant at Western Carolina University from 2015 to 2018 where he was responsible for game day functions such as statistical inputting, clock/scoreboard operations, and spotting for the Catamount basketball, football, baseball, softball, soccer, and volleyball teams. He also assisted in functions with marketing, video production, and game day operations at WCU.

Brevard College Athletics Adminstration (Joseph pictured second from the left) at the 2019 CSC (formerly CoSIDA) convention in Orlando.

How did you get involved with athletics as Western Carolina and how did your time there impact your decision to pursue a career in collegiate athletics?

JM: In my freshman year at Western, the Sport Management department brought everyone in for an apprenticeship-type program and I filled out a questionnaire and got in touch with Daniel Hooker, the Assistant A.D. for Media Relations my first semester on campus. After doing my apprenticeship, I got hired on as a work study and did it throughout college, balancing that with the full-time job I had off campus. I worked wherever I could and did every football game and did a lot during basketball season as well. During that time I met Royce Dunnivan, who was a graduating senior my first year, and stayed in touch with him and he got me in touch with the former SID at Brevard, Jon Cole. I was lined up to do an internship with him my final semester while I was in school, but he ended up leaving for another opportunity and left an open position at Brevard. I met with the administration at Brevard, who said they would love to have me still, and offered me the assistant SID position. I actually got hired before my boss Phil (de Montmollin) so it was kind of a trial by fire for a few months, but I fell in love with it as a student at Western seeing all the behind-the-scenes work and everything, then I got to Brevard and I've been here ever since.

Working at a Division III School like Brevard, what is it about the small school environment and atmosphere that you enjoy being a part of?

JM: Honestly, I think it comes down to the relationships on staff. We have a great group of coaches to work with and I’ve met some of my best friends here. Everyone is in it together and on the same team trying to achieve the same goals. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I got to Brevard, especially since when I arrived they were transitioning from Division II to Division III. I didn’t know much about DIII when I first started, but this is definitely the avenue I want to continue to pursue in my career. You get to know everyone on a small campus, you get to see everyone and build those relationships in a way you might not be able to at another school at a different level.

What has been the most rewarding part of your career thus far?

JM: Honestly, it is 100% seeing students go off, especially ones that have interned in our office or the athletics department in general, and where they go after Brevard. It might not necessarily be in athletic communications, but just working in sports and seeing them pursue their dreams in this industry. Like we’ve got kids who have gone on to do great things, like one of our former interns is a sales associate with the Philadelphia Flyer and one of our current play-by-play students who graduates in May and has an opportunity with 680 The Fan, which is the Braves Radio Network affiliate. With 65-70% of our campus being student-athletes, it’s so great being able to build those relationships and see them compete for four years, but even more really rewarding to see where life takes them after college, especially those who end up working in sports.

Most of us get the summers off and take time to relax, but you’re the official scorer and statistician for the Astros High-A affiliate, the Asheville Tourists. How’d you find your way into that position and how much fun is that job for you to help get away from the day-to-day of college athletics?

JM: The Tourists are great! I reached out to Doug Maurer, their media relations director and expressed interest in 2020 but things got shut down that summer due to COVID, but they were gracious enough to bring me on the following season and I’ve been there ever since. This will be my fourth year now working with them doing scoring and as someone who watches a lot of baseball and is a big Atlanta Braves fan, so it was just something that fit. They play in the evenings and it works well with my schedule. It’s a great experience and keeps me busy in the summer and is a great side gig so to speak!