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Coleman Named MIAA Director of Communications
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kellen Coleman has been chosen as the new Director of Communications of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), the conference office announced Thursday.
Coleman joins the MIAA after spending the past year as the media relations assistant at the University of Kansas. The Leander, Texas, native will begin work at the MIAA Monday, July 13.
"I'm honored to be selected for this position by such a great group of people," Coleman said. "The MIAA has given me the opportunity to work for one of the best Division II conferences in the nation, and I am going to strive every day to make sure the MIAA is represented with the same excellence that its athletic teams display year in and year out."
At Kansas, Coleman was the primary contact for men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field in addition to publicizing KU's 18 varsity sports. He received four College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) publications awards for his work designing Kansas' media guides. The KU men's basketball media guide, which Coleman designed, co-wrote and edited, received "Best in Nation" and "Best in District" accolades for Division A men's basketball guides. His track & field guide also won "Best in Nation" honors for Divison A women's track & field guides, while his cross country guide finished third in the nation (Division A).
"We are very excited for Kellen to join the conference as a member of our staff," MIAA Commissioner Jim Johnson said. "His experience speaks for itself, and we look forward to the creative contributions Kellen will make."
Some of Coleman's other duties as a Jayhawk included coordinating the press box at the 2009 Kansas Relays, writing press releases, designing meet notes, facilitating interviews, updating men's basketball bios and inputting stats for KU women's basketball games. He helped maintain content and style on KUAthletics.com, the official Web site for Kansas Athletics hosted by CBS College Sports. Coleman assisted in game management duties at home football, men's and women's basketball games, including work with ESPN doing official stats and talent stats. He has also gained significant experience working with social media networks and promotional mediums such as Twitter and Facebook.
Coleman graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor of arts in journalism (public relations emphasis) in the spring of 2008. At OU, he spent three and a half years in the school's athletics media relations office as a student assistant, including serving as the primary contact for Oklahoma women's golf for the 2007-08 season. He designed, wrote and edited the 2007-08 women's golf media guide (voted second in the nation by CoSIDA), coordinated OU's home tournament, wrote press releases, coordinated interviews and designed tournament notes for the women's golf team.
Coleman's work in Norman also included assisting in game management duties at home football, men's and women's basketball games and track & field meets, contributing to the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Oklahoma football media guides and several other OU media guides as well as contributing feature stories to the Sooner Gameday football program. Coleman worked closely with OU's director of internet services and helped maintain content and style on SoonerSports.com, OU Athletics' official Web site that was hosted by both XOS Technologies and CBS College Sports during Coleman's time at the school.
In addition to his work at OU and KU, Coleman also has a significant amount of experience as a volunteer. Some of the events at which he has helped out include the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds in Kansas City, the 2008 Big 12 Football Media Days in Kansas City, the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Gymnastics Championships in Norman, Okla., and the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Coleman and his wife, Jody, have a six-month old son, Cade. Jody Coleman graduated from Texas State University-San Marcos in December 2008 and is now a teacher in the 4-year old program at the Baldwin Elementary School Primary Center in Baldwin City, Kan.
"We have enjoyed living in the Lawrence-Kansas City area this year," Coleman said. "We are really excited to be able to stay in the same area. We feel like it's a great place for our family."
