Cougar Sports says goodbye to SID

Sports Information Director Kirk McDonnell has left MVNU. McDonnell, known for his comic relief in the press box, will fill the role of Director of Athletics Communication at Michigan Tech University in the western half of the Upper Peninsula.

McDonnell began his MVNU journey as an undergraduate student. He graduated in 1999 with a degree in broadcast communication.

Current Director of Broadcasting Joe Rinehart, who was just beginning at MVNU, remembers McDonnell as an undergraduate.

“He stood out because of his professional demeanor and desire to improve,” Rinehart said.

McDonnell came back four years after graduation to serve as a Resident Director from 2003 to 2007. When Dave Parsons left the role of SID in 2014, McDonnell stepped in.

He took on many new responsibilities in this position. Over the last two years, McDonnell wrote countless press releases, consistently updated Cougar Sports social media, tracked live stats for all varsity sports, filled the role of adjunct professor and assisted with WNZR’s live broadcasts.

He said one of his most rewarding projects while at MVNU was “redesigning the athletics website and launching new apps for athletics over the summer.”

The new website can be seen at mvnucougars.com.

Now, McDonnell is headed to MTU, an NCAA Division II school with both hockey and football programs. As part of a larger staff, McDonnell will concentrate his skills on the football, men’s and women’s basketball teams.

“Kirk will help MTU because he will be a positive force in their athletic department and will get back to one of his first loves, football,” Rinehart said. “MTU is fortunate to get him – it’s a big loss for us.”

McDonnell still loves MVNU and the people that formed him into the professional he is today.

“MVNU has been and always will be a special place for me,” he said. “My career was launched here as an undergraduate student and I got to meet and learn from great people.”