Razorbacks name new communicator for men’s basketball, golf teams

Patrick Pierson, who was responsible for all communication efforts at Florida Gulf Coast University as assistant athletics director for communications, has been named associate media relations director at Arkansas, it was announced Saturday.

Pierson will be the primary contact for strategic communications for the Razorback men’s basketball and men’s golf teams, according to the UA press release.

Named FGCU’s fourth full-time director of sports information in July 2010, Pierson was elevated to an executive administrative role within the department in the summer of 2012.

He was responsible for the publicity and branding of all 15 sports at FGCU, the Eagles’ official website, the department’s social media efforts, Atlantic Sun TV broadcasts and overseeing FGCU’s radio and TV negotiations in addition to serving as the primary contact for men’s basketball, men’s soccer, baseball, men’s golf and men’s tennis. He also added sport administrator duties for baseball and men’s soccer in his time at FGCU.

During FGCU’s run to the Sweet 16 of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the first by a 15-seed in tournament history, Pierson helped catapult Dunk City to a household name and consistent national trending topic by implementing a season-long strategic, pointed messaging strategy made more aggressive by the program’s opportunity on the sport’s biggest stage.

Pierson handled the media crush that came to the Fort Myers, Fla., campus in the week after the Eagles’ third-round victory before traveling for the Sweet 16, making FGCU one of the most recognizable schools in the tournament, and after the tournament he helped FGCU keep the Dunk City moniker after head coach Andy Enfield was hired by USC.

A native of Frewsburg, N.Y., Pierson graduated from Robert Morris University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in sport management. During his stay at Robert Morris, Pierson worked in the athletic department's sports information office for three years and had a one-year stint as a marketing intern.

Also, while in Pittsburgh, Pierson served as a promotions intern for the nationally recognized Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio 1250 AM and as a NFL Experience intern for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two years.