Thursday, July 2, 2020
by Montana State Billings Athletic Communications

BILLINGS, Mont. - Evan O'Kelly has been named the director of communications for the athletic department at Montana State University Billings, returning to a position he held for five years from 2014-19.

In September 2019, O'Kelly accepted the director athletic of communications position at Concordia University-Portland. He served in that capacity for eight months before the university announced its permanent closure upon the conclusion of the 2020 Spring semester. O'Kelly will begin his second stint with Yellowjacket Athletics on July 1.

"We are thrilled Evan has accepted our offer to return to MSUB as our director of communications," said athletic director Krista Montague. "We are proud to welcome him back and excited because he will be able to hit the ground running right away. I know he gained even more valuable experience during his time at Concordia-Portland and will be able to share those experiences with us moving forward. We are confident Evan will strengthen our communications outreach and engage all MSUB Athletics stakeholders in creative and impactful ways."

In his roles both at MSUB and Concordia, O'Kelly was responsible for the media coverage of 15 varsity sports, including the athletic programs' presence on the web and across all social media platforms. "I am grateful to have the opportunity to rejoin the team at MSUB, led by Krista Montague, and return to a role I am familiar with and enjoyed thoroughly throughout my previous five years in Billings," said O'Kelly. "I greatly look forward to working with the Yellowjacket coaches and athletes who have been some of the most influential people in my professional career and personal life."
 
In February of 2018, O'Kelly was selected for the CoSIDA Rising Star Award, presented to one professional at the NCAA Division I level and one professional among other college divisions with 10 years or less of experience in the industry. He has also received several of CoSIDA Fred Stabley, Sr., Writing Contest Awards for his work at MSUB.
 
In 2018 and 2019 he successfully managed all media relations and sports information for the Desert Stinger Classic softball tournament, one of the largest NCAA softball events in the nation. In the fall of 2018, he took the lead in managing the NCAA Division II West Region Cross Country Championships for the third time in the last five years.

Aside from his duties at MSUB, O'Kelly has worked for the Billings Mustangs professional baseball club (short-season affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) since the 2015 season. He is also the official scorer and media relations coordinator for the American Legion Central Plains Regional Championship tournament.

Prior to joining the MSUB staff in 2014, O'Kelly spent one year as a media relations assistant in the GNAC office in Portland where he worked with legendary sports information director Bob Guptill.

O'Kelly earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon, in 2013, where he served as an assistant in the sports information office for two years. At Linfield, O'Kelly worked with many of the school's NCAA Division III varsity teams to provide a variety of coverage.