Ziobrowski named new Sports Information Director

A headshot of Ziobrowski featured on the Utica Pioneers website.

Utica Pioneers

A headshot of Ziobrowski featured on the Utica Pioneers website.

Isabella Hudziak, Editor in Chief

Upon entering the Clark Athletic Center, a student may notice a row of offices to the left of the entrance with nameplates visible on wooden doors. One such nameplate and door belongs to Adam Ziobrowski, a 2020 Utica University alum and the new Director of Sports Information.

On Aug. 9, the former Sports Information Director Laurel Simer finished her last day after 10 years working for Utica. After less than a month of searching, Ziobrowski was hired for the position.

“Adam’s jumped right into it,” Director of Athletics Dave Fontaine said. “He has taken charge. He is responsible, he is excited, he has the knowledge and skill sets, so we’re really excited to have him in that role. We’re fortunate. He has all of my confidence, and not just me.”

Rotterdam native Ziobrowski is an avid sports fan who played football in high school but has since stepped away from playing the game. He chose Utica University, then Utica College, to attend because he loved the environment and began classes in 2016.

Throughout his time as a student, Ziobrowski worked as WPNR 90.7 FM Sports Broadcasting Manager and later as an intern at the Sports Information Department in 2019. He graduated during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with a B.S. in Sports Journalism and in 2021, he returned to Utica University as a graduate assistant under Simer.

“I always knew I wanted a career in sports,” Ziobrowski said. “For me, it wasn’t exactly knowing what I wanted to do– after playing, you kind of have a void you need to fill, so after high school, I was looking at the options of how to stay in tune with athletics.”

The position of Sports Information Director encompasses several skillsets and demands more than a 9-5 job. Ziobrowski is the liaison between athlete’s coaches and the media for interviews, photos and more. He and his team are also responsible for writing pre and post game articles, press releases, coordinating sponsorships and running Utica Pioneers’ social media.

A major facet of the position is communication with stakeholders and assistants to make sure information is put out smoothly.

“[There’s] a lot of behind the scenes things,” Fontaine said. “It’s a big production and people wouldn’t know.”

A mantra for the new Sports Information Director, who has many responsibilities behind the scenes, is: “day by day”, in which he creates a daily checklist and refuses to overthink things.

“The way I see it, this is my job, this is what I’m doing and I love what I’m doing and that’s all I really care about right now,” Ziobrowski said.

According to Ziobrowski, one of the most rewarding aspects of working in Utica Athletics is being able to watch athletes grow.

“It’s getting to watch the athletes come through,” he said. “The freshmen that were here when I came in are juniors now, so getting to see their careers take center stage and unfold, I think that’s really cool for me.”

In his free time, Ziobrowski cheers on the Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins and Green Bay Packers. When he’s not watching sports, he can be found laughing at comedy shows or hiking during the summer.

However, during the academic year, Ziobrowski leads information efforts for all 26 of Utica’s NCAA Division III sports.

“When you go to uticapioneers.com, those write-ups come from either myself or two other people, the social media posts come from myself or two other people,” Ziobrowski said. “The reason these coaches have stats are because of SIDs, the reason that they can have cool photoshoots is because of SIDs. Everything that our teams can do, besides buying apparel and playing the game, comes from us. [Everybody in the industry] works our tails off.”