Sweet Briar names new sports information director

Sweet Briar College has hired Casey Grogan as its new sports information director. Grogan most recently served as the assistant commissioner for communications with the Northwest Conference and as the assistant sports information director at Pacific University.

“Casey brings exactly the kind of integrated communications experience we were looking for,” said Vice President for Communications and Enrollment Management Melissa Richards. “Going forward, communications and athletics will be working hand in hand to advance our messaging through a cohesive content strategy.”

Grogan will report to Richards, who heads up the College’s admissions and communications offices, but will also be part of Sweet Briar Athletics.

“We are excited to welcome Casey to Vixen athletics,” said Interim Director of Athletics Donna Hodgert. “He brings valuable experience and enthusiasm in marketing athletics, enhancing game-day experience and creating a cohesive athletic image. We are looking forward to bringing the entire Sweet Briar community even closer together through athletics, and Casey will lead that charge.”

Grogan comes to Sweet Briar with more than eight years of experience in collegiate athletics across all three divisions of the NCAA, while also bringing experience in professional soccer with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League.

With the Northwest Conference, Grogan was tasked with growing the social media presence of the conference. Over a three-month period, he helped the NWC to a 266-follower growth on Twitter and a 209-follower increase on Instagram, while raising Twitter impressions to over 100,000 during the same three-month period. Grogan also helped the conference utilize student-athlete takeovers of Instagram Stories and created a standardized set of graphics for award announcements.

At Pacific University, Grogan assisted in the coverage of 23 NCAA Division III teams and helped spearhead social media strategy. Grogan was tasked with designing and implementing a cohesive and unique brand identity for promotion of student-athletes and individual teams on social media and on the Boxers’ website. In 2016, by a vote of NWC sports information directors, Grogan was named the Jack Sareault NWC Sports Information Director of the Year.

Grogan spent time as a game-day public relations staff member with the Portland Timbers, Portland Thorns and T2, working with OptaSports to provide official statistics for MLS, NWSL and United Soccer League. With the Timbers and Thorns, he also provided post-game media assistance and served as a talent stats representative for the Lifetime Networks’ NWSL Game of the Week broadcasts in Portland.

Prior to the Oregon State University graduates’ return to Oregon, Grogan spent three years as the assistant director of athletic communications at Newberry College and was a sports information intern at the University of Portland.