College Sports Information Directors of America

Tim Tolokan – former University of Connecticut Associate Director of Athletics-Communications and Associate AD-Licensing and Traditions (retired)

CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2024 

By Phil Chardis, University of Connecticut athletics senior staff writer (retired)

When the University of Connecticut finally made its splashy entrance onto the national stage in the world of big-time college athletics, not many in the Storrs community were prepared for the transition.

Fortunately for UConn, men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun and sports information director Tim Tolokan were.

Their collaboration helped give UConn the national name it now proudly carries. Calhoun went on to induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Tolokan will receive a forever legacy of his own as he is inducted into the College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024 in June.

Tolokan was chosen by the CSC Special Awards Committee veteran's sub-committee from among a significant number of nominations.

Growing up nearby to the UConn campus, the Willimantic, CT., native was far ahead of his time, pushing UConn Athletic Communications into the electronic age before most of the rest of the college athletics world. But beyond that, Tolokan was involved in almost every phase of UConn Athletics, forcing himself to become knowledgeable enough to help make intelligent decisions for the good of the department.

Yet Tolokan always remembered the basic responsibilities of his position, perfectly walking the fine line between servicing the media and understanding the needs of the UConn coaches. As a former member of the media himself, Tolokan was well-aware of what the writers and broadcasters, local and national, were looking for when it came to covering the Huskies.

Meanwhile, his close relationships with the coaching staffs of UConn athletic teams kept him and his communications staffers in touch with their roles in making those teams successful.

"Timmy was impeccable," Calhoun said. "He was the guy who did everything at UConn and did everything right. From day one, Tim took his job personally. He thought his job was very important and it was. He was incredibly hard-working…running his department differently and better than everybody else. I came from Northeastern, where the biggest word was 'co-op.' But in many ways, we were more ready at Northeastern than they were at UConn. People now think UConn has always been there, but it was Timmy who helped put us there – the way he conducted himself, extremely professional in everything he did. I bet all the kids who worked for Timmy, when they left UConn, they knew how to be a great SID."

Calhoun had that right. Tolokan's "SID/athletic communications tree" stretches far and wide.

"The most remarkable thing about Tim being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 is I mistakenly took for granted he had been inducted 20 years ago," said Steve Kirschner, a former intern in Tolokan's UConn office who has been senior associate AD for media relations at North Carolina (Chapel Hill) for more than 30 years. "There are so many members of his staff – full time, students and interns – that have gone on to long sports communications careers in college and pro sports. His coaches and student-athletes always had such respect for him, and the UConn and national media long considered Tim to be one of the very best in our profession - so I thought it was a given he had already received this honor.
 

"I learned from the best. Tim's attention to detail, his knowing the difference between promoting your school and providing the media everything it needed to cover your team, the wisdom to provide advice and counsel to coaches and players are gold-standard qualities and Tim has them all. I have been blessed to do this job for nearly 40 years and it all began with Tim and the good people in Storrs. Tim cared about our profession enough to teach it to people like me, and I am humbled and honored to say I got my start by working for and learning under Tim."

Tolokan was the sports editor of the Norwich (Ct.) Bulletin when he got the offer from UConn to join its athletic department staff in the summer of 1980 to work in communications. UConn was just one year into its membership in the new BIG EAST Conference.  

"I thought it was a great opportunity," Tolokan said. "They didn't think they were where they needed to be for what was coming as part of the BIG EAST."

Tolokan immediately took over as sports information director for many major sports at UConn, which included a national championship in women's field hockey (1981), the first-ever women's championship under the NCAA banner. By March, 1983, Tolokan had moved up to become the Director of Media Relations and by January, 1986, he was the Associate Director of Athletics/Communications. For 18 years, he directed Athletic Communications, overseeing the promotion of UConn's 24 intercollegiate athletic programs. 

"I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this honor than Tim," said Kyle Muncy, now UConn's director of brand partnership and trademark management who served as Tolokan's assistant before taking over as head of athletic communications in 2001. "He was an incredible mentor to me and so many others and is a massive reason that UConn is known today as The Basketball Capital of the World. The media coverage that Tim managed on behalf of UConn was unprecedented and we all were fortunate to have him showing us the way and letting everyone know what we were building in Storrs. I am so happy for him to receive this well-deserved recognition."

"I will always be grateful to Tim for not only introducing me to the possibility of becoming a sports information professional, but also for setting an example of what it meant to work hard," added Pat McKenna, former women's basketball SID under Tolokan, former director of UConn athletic communications and now a director in the UConn office of Governmental Relations. "He possessed a tireless work ethic, but it came from a place of selflessness that resulted in great benefit to UConn and to anyone Tim interacted with. He was always there with an encouraging word or a helping hand and there is no one who is more deserving of this honor."  

Almost from the beginning, Tolokan extended his role at UConn far beyond team promotion. He served on the search committees that hired Hall of Fame basketball coaches Calhoun and women's coach Geno Auriemma, and chaired the committee that recommended Jim Penders as the Huskies' baseball coach.
 

Starting in 1984 and continuing for 18 years, he was a member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Media Coordination Committee. In 1985, he oversaw the beginning of UConn's worldwide licensing/merchandising program that has brought royalties worth millions of dollars back to the university. 

In 1987, he added the UConn athletics marketing/corporate partner program to his supervisory umbrella. He served for three years as one of three college basketball representatives on the Content Advisory Committee for the new Basketball Hall of Fame being constructed in Springfield, Mass. He also created and was the first curator of the Husky Heritage Sports Museum on campus.

"Tim set the stage for how sports communicators professionals should approach their work, and how to build and manage local and national media coverage. He was a leader by example and demanded excellence in himself in all he did, and when you saw that as a staff member - that is how you approached your work as well," noted Barb Kowal, a CSC Hall of Famer who served as an associate director of athletic communications under Tolokan before moving to the University of Texas and now to the College Sports Communicators organization where she serves as director of professional development and operations.

"Tim showed us the importance of being detailed and thorough and encouraged his staff to take on more responsibility and grow. His commitment to how to find - and then tell - the stories of the student-athletes, coaches and the University of Connecticut was second to none. He was ready to assist at every turn, jumping in to assist and teach by example. Tim was a great mentor, and due to that, his "tree" of former assistants, interns and students who have remained in the sports enterprise is so impressive. The way he and his wife Diane welcomed us all into their home and how he built a great office culture was admirable. I know I carry many "Tim Tolokan ways" with me today from what is deservedly his Hall of Fame career."

"Tim's induction into the CSC Hall of Fame is a testament to the impact he had on the athletic communications profession at UConn and nationally," said Mike Enright, an intern under Tolokan who went on to sports information positions at Boston College and Notre Dame and returned to UConn as head of athletic communications. He now works for UConn Internal Communications and has taken over as curator of the Husky Museum.

"Tim brought UConn into the modern age of sports information. He directed the office when national championships, and thus national media attention, became the norm in Storrs," Enright noted. "For years, he was a familiar face at the NCAA Final Four as part of the media relations team. Tim started UConn's marketing and corporate relations efforts, which has now blossomed into a multi-million dollar source of revenue for UConn. His 'coaching tree' includes former students, interns and assistants who have made their mark at institutions, media corporations, and companies around the country."

Tolokan's list of many awards and recognitions include the 2000 Katha Quinn Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for individuals who have rendered a special service to college basketball; the 2000 Outstanding Contribution Award from the UConn Club; and the 2023 Dean of Sports Award from the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist.

In 2001, after nearly 20 years as head of athletic communications, Tolokan transitioned to a new role as Associate AD/Licensing and Athletic Traditions, supervising the museum as well as UConn's expanding international licensing/merchandising program. He directed that program until 2011, expanding UConn's brand worldwide. Even after retiring from a full time role in 2009, he continued to serve UConn Athletics on a part-time basis as special assistant to the Athletics Director until 2020, when he officially left the university.

After 40 years, more than 2,500 athletic events, 24 NCAA championships, national and international brand recognition, and service to UConn in countless other ways, Tim Tolokan can surely be proud of a Hall of Fame career.