Tuesday morning, Marist College officially announced Andrew Elrick as the new director of the Center for Sports Communication within the Marist School of Communication and the Arts.
Elrick takes over for Chris Riviezzo, who was named interim director of the center in 2022 after former director Jane McManus departed from Marist to become the executive director of Seton Hall University’s Center for Sports Media.
A lecturer at the University of Vermont in his home state, Elrick has worked as a student media adviser with research focusing on the study of sports media production; he also served as a lecturer in the department of art and art history at the university. In the meantime, he has been completing his doctorate at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also received one of his two graduate degrees.
While Elrick is experienced in the world of academia, he boasts a two-decade long career in the world of sports media. After graduating from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism, Elrick started his career at ESPN as a producer for four years.
His career gave him experience on many different fronts, including work as a managing editor for College Sports Television, an editor for FIBA, and a coordinating producer for CBS sports for eight years.
The professor has done ample work to blend his working experience with teaching at the collegiate level. At UVM, he was the faculty advisor for three major media clubs on campus, including the student newspaper (The Vermont Cynic), radio station (WRUV) and the video production club UVMtv.
“Spending years in the classroom, I help students understand the practical aspects of media production and its broader significance beyond entertainment,” said Elrick in a Marist press release announcing the hire. “Having worked with a number of Marist alumni over the years, I knew their reputation for producing hardworking, creative, and passionate media professionals before arriving on campus.”
With experience working with students, Elrick should fit right at home with some of the student organizations promoting sports media for students. The Center for Sports Communication at Marist has added new opportunities for sports communication students over the past couple years, most notably the Red Fox Report, a student-run sports highlight production started by Riviezzo featured in the halftimes of Marist ESPN+ broadcasts. More recently, students have worked with adjunct professor Gary Sussman on “The Student Section” podcast to expand on the multimedia front within the center.
Consequently, Elrick will also partner with Center Field, with faculty advisor Leander Schaerlaeckens continuing to take on the lead role in providing students with faculty guidance and feedback.
Outside the classroom, Elrick also runs a production consultancy called “Normal Productions”, specializing in podcast and video production as well as media literacy. It’s no secret Elrick has the experience at the highest level, tackling production coverage of seven Super Bowls, three NCAA Final Fours, and the “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015.
While Elrick does not begin working at Marist until July 1, the new director has already been present at Marist, where he introduced commencement speaker and sports columnist Christine Brennan at Marist’s Class of 2024 graduation ceremony last week.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo Credit: Sophia Balunek
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Editor’s Note: Elrick’s role working with student media groups has not yet been confirmed; the article has been updated to reflect this.