LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock Athletics today announced the addition of
Patrick Walsh as the Trojans' Associate Director of Communications. A winner of nearly two handfuls of College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) national publications awards and multiple other writing and promotional honors, Walsh will serve as the primary contact for women's basketball, volleyball, cross country and track and field.
Prior to joining Little Rock's Team, Walsh spent two years at Indiana State. While in Terre Haute, he was responsible for growing the social media presence of the Sycamores, promoting the softball program during two of the most successful offensive seasons in school history in consecutive years and a women's basketball program that was challenged with constant change with three head coaches (two permanent and one interim) in an 18-month span. He also served as the play-by-play and analyst voice on a variety of broadcasts on ESPN3 and ESPN+ as well as the Sycamore Radio Network.
He arrived in the Wabash Valley following a year at Mercer in Macon, Georgia where he was responsible for promoting the football, men's basketball, softball and men's and women's golf programs.
Prior to his stint in Georgia, Walsh spent seven seasons as the associate media relations director at Louisiana Tech where he was responsible for three national award winners (Ryan Allen, 2011 and 2012 Ray Guy Award; Colby Cameron, 2012 Sammy Baugh Award) as well as two other national award semifinalists (Cameron, 2012 Davey O'Brien Award; Quinton Patton, 2012 Biletnikoff Award). Patton's award campaign, in particular, drew national attention for its originality. He also served as the play-by-play voice for several Bulldog Baseball games on the LA Tech Sports Network.
Walsh is also credited with promoting the 2016 Conference USA Men's Golf Champions – the first golf team in 36 years to claim a conference championship at the school – as well as promoting the football program to three bowl games in five years, the most the school had ever reached in that span at the time. During the 2011 campaign, he promoted the team's 2011 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship and subsequent Poinsettia Bowl bid, highlighting the team's successes to various bowl committees amidst a seven-game winning streak. He also promoted the Bulldogs to their highest ranking in school history during the 2012 season, finishing among the nation's top-20.
An experienced voice in crisis communication, social media and strategic communications, Walsh's promotional efforts hit the international stage in 2012 as he developed a strategic plan to promote Chelsea Hayes to the 2012 Joe Kearney Award, given to the WAC's top athlete as Hayes became the first athlete from Louisiana Tech to ever win claim that honor. That year, Hayes went on to become the school's most decorated athlete with her sixth All-America honor before she qualified for Team USA, competing in the XXX Olympiad in London, representing Louisiana Tech that year as one of three athletes competing in three different events from three different counties.
During the 2009-10 academic calendar year, Walsh promoted hurdler Antoinette Cobb as she won the Honda Inspiration Award, setting the school and conference records after first beating colon cancer at the age of 18. Another first thanks to his efforts, Cobb was the first athlete from the state of Louisiana and from the WAC to garner that award.
Walsh went to Louisiana Tech from The Citadel, where he served as the primary contact for baseball and secondary contact for football, as well as the athletic department's webmaster. He was also charged with game operations duties for baseball at Riley Park. At The Citadel, Walsh was involved with a trio of publications that were nationally recognized by CoSIDA.
He arrived at The Citadel following a seven-month stint as the Sports Information Assistant at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina, a Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference. At Newberry, Walsh was responsible for media relations and game operations efforts for baseball, cross country, tennis and volleyball.
Walsh is a 2005 graduate of the University of South Carolina where he majored in sport and entertainment management and was a member of the South Carolina Honors College. AT USC he worked as a student assistant in the sports information office where he worked with several Gamecock programs and was the public address announcer for South Carolina Baseball at Sarge Frye Field.
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