Hollins University has announced that Justin McIlwee is the school’s new sports information director. He previously served as the assistant director of athletic communication at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.
“I am thrilled for Justin to join our team because of his experience and his enthusiasm for the field of sports information,” said Hollins Athletic Director Myra Sims. “He has a strong skill set that will serve Hollins athletics very well. After working in a different field for a few years, he found his calling in athletic communications and has pursued this career with great intention. I have no doubt that Justin will earn the respect and admiration of our coaches and student-athletes, and will be a strong colleague across the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.”
“I am excited to be a part of the Hollins family,” McIlwee said. “I want to thank Myra Sims for giving me the chance to come in and lead the Hollins sports information office. After meeting with her, seeing what she has done for the athletic department, and learning about her vision for the future, it was clear that Hollins was where I wanted to be. I also want to thank Richie Waggoner (whom McIlwee succeeds as SID) for laying down the foundation of the university’s sports information office over the past 13 years.”
During his time at Millsaps, McIlwee worked with all of the college’s 16 sports and was the primary contact for the Majors’ volleyball, men’s soccer, cross-country, women’s basketball, softball, and track and field teams. He got his start in collegiate sports information as the statistician for James Madison University’s women’s volleyball team during their 2017 Colonial Athletic Association championship season. He also worked for various newspapers in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley as a sports editor and general news and features writer. In 2015, while working on his Master’s degree in sports journalism at Indiana University – Purdue University of Indianapolis, McIlwee was the media relations intern for the Indianapolis Indians, the AAA minor league baseball affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
