One of the first words that comes up when describing Illinois Wesleyan’s student body is “athlete.” Over one-third of students participate in a sport, and many students not involved in athletics still go to games to support their fellow Titans.
But this would not be possible without one of the most helpful, yet maybe least known, offices on campus: the athletic communications office.
Consisting of 20+ student workers and six staff members, the athletics communications office is the heart of the athletic department at IWU. They run essential services, including management and upkeep of the iwusports website and live streams of all home athletic events for family and friends to enjoy.
Five staffers, Katie Gonzalez, Meredith Mahoney, Emma Thorman, Kody Hofer and Matt Sosler are responsible for creating social media graphics and releases, overseeing gameday operations and managing all statistics for IWU’s 30 sports.
“My day-to-day is never the same, which is super exciting,” Gonzalez said, “For some people that can be overwhelming, but I think the fun part is I never know what the day is going to hold.”
Gonzalez serves as Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Marketing at IWU. She oversees all athletic media for the Titans and is the primary media contact for the football, softball, and basketball teams.
Gonzalez is aided by Assistant Directors of Athletic Communications, Mahoney and Thorman. Mahoney handles media for IWU’s volleyball, lacrosse and swim and dive teams, while Thorman works with Titan golf, track and field, cross country and women’s soccer.
Mahoney graduated from Illinois State with her master’s in sport management. During her time at ISU, she worked as a graduate assistant for Illinois Wesleyan for two years before taking on a full-time position.
“I knew athletics was in the realm I wanted to work in, and Division III is what I’m passionate about, so it was the perfect fit.” Mahoney said.
Thorman graduated from IWU in 2024 and was a four-year member of the Titan golf team. She spent a year at Northern Illinois University before returning to her alma mater in the athletic communications office.
“Getting to work alongside a lot of the same coaches in a different way has been really exciting,” Thorman said, “I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t have those relationships to begin with.”
In Thorman’s senior year at IWU, she placed third in the Division III NCAA golf national championship. Both Gonzalez and Mahoney went to watch the tournament in 2024 and said that was one of their favorite memories with the athletic communications staff.
“Emma was a four-year student worker for us,” Gonzalez said, “I don’t think she talked to us her entire freshman year. We used to joke that she hated us.”
Thorman said it was “really special” to have so many people show up to support her last collegiate golf tournament.
Gonzalez said it’s been rewarding to give student workers like Thorman the opportunity to go beyond IWU’s campus. In the 2024-25 men’s basketball season, the team and a group of athletic communications staff traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., for an exhibition game against Butler University.
“For us to take a group of students who haven’t had that Division I experience and bring them in there and see them be stunned, it really makes you remember how cool it is that we get to do this.” Gonzalez said.
One of the many student workers in the office this year is senior business major Caroline Gatchell. She is in her third year as a student worker and has taken on an internship in the office.
Student workers typically assist with in-game stats, video board operation, social media content and photo and video creation. Gatchell helps out with all of the regular tasks along with acting as the primary contact for IWU’s spirit squad and secondary contact for cross country and track and field.
“I’ll try and assist with pretty much whatever we need in the office,” Gatchell said.
Gatchell said that she didn’t think athletic communications would be a long-term career path for her, but her time working in the office gave her more opportunities in the field after graduation.
Alongside the office’s large student staff, the athletic communications department employs Sosler, a graduate assistant from ISU and Hofer, a post-grad intern. Sosler oversees wrestling, tennis and flag football, and Hofer works with the men’s soccer, baseball and bowling teams.
In his third year with the program, Sosler became a GA after serving as a freelance broadcaster for Titan livestreams. Sosler still acts as a voice on IWU’s broadcasts, as well as his work in athletic communications and hosting the department’s podcast, “Titan Table Talk.”
“During the day it’s updating the website and making things for social media,” Sosler said, “it’s also working with almost every sport on the broadcast side.”
Hofer joined the Titans this fall after graduating from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. When soccer and baseball aren’t in season and bowling is slowing down, Hofer and other office staff will help out at basketball games on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“It can be chaotic especially in the fall when you have soccer and basketball overlapping,” Hofer said, “It’s just how you prepare yourself for it.”
Equally hectic is the office’s sixth member, Tyler Wilson, who is responsible for organizing the live streams for all IWU sports.
“It’s busy, of course,” Wilson said. “It’s sometimes really fun when things go well and we’re at multiple venues.”
Multiple-venue work days are more common in late spring. IWU can sometimes have events at the baseball field, softball field and Tucci Stadium all at the same time.
“Those are awesome,” Wilson said, “More can go wrong, on those days, of course. So they’re more stressful days, but they are pretty fun.”
It’s hard to describe what kind of person it takes to work in a field like athletic communications, so the staff said it themselves in one word. Gonzalez described herself as “honest.”
Mahoney said “hardworking.” Sosler described himself as “tenacious” while Hofer said he was “easy-going.” Wilson said he was “empathetic.”
Thorman said “hilarious.”
