Thursday, August 29, 2019
PORTLAND, Ore. – After five years as the director of communications at Montana State University Billings, Evan O’Kelly was named to the same position at Concordia University.
“We are fortunate to have Evan, with his experience and dedication to Division II athletics, joining Concordia as our director of athletics communications,” said associate director of athletics Jessica Harbison Weaver. “He will be a great addition to the Cavalier family, and we are excited to have him join the team.”
O’Kelly will begin his position at Concordia University on September 3 and will be in charge of sports information and media relations for the Cavaliers’ 15 men’s and women’s varsity sports.
“I couldn’t be more excited to begin a new step in my career at Concordia, and I want to thank Jessica Harbison Weaver for this opportunity,” said O’Kelly, who is a native of Portland. “My time at MSU Billings has been very special, and the people there have impacted my life in immeasurable ways. I want to extend my gratitude to Krista Montague for giving me the opportunity to join the team at MSUB, and I credit my career development to this point to being a member of her staff with the Yellowjackets.”
O’Kelly began his tenure at MSUB in July of 2014, and has led the athletic department’s media relations efforts for each of the past five academic years. In addition to his role at MSUB, O’Kelly served as the official scorer for the Billings Mustangs professional baseball club and worked for the American Legion Baseball Central Plains regional tournament as well.
In 2018, O'Kelly was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with its Rising Star Award. Presented annually to one Division I and one non-Division I athletic communications progressional, the Rising Star Award honors CoSIDA members with 10 years of service or less whose work at their institution and service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm to the profession make that individual a "rising star" in sports information.
Prior to his tenure in Billings, O’Kelly spent one year as the media relations intern at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference office in Portland. He provided media coverage for each of the conference’s sports and assisted in managing the conference championship events.
O’Kelly is a 2013 graduate of Linfield College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. He grew up in Northeast Portland and attended Grant High School.