RADFORD, Va. - Radford Athletics is excited to announce the appointment of Matthew Schaefer as the new Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications. Schaefer joins the Highlanders from Northern Kentucky University, where he most recently served as the Associate Athletics Director for External Operations.

In his new role at Radford, Schaefer will oversee the Athletics Communications and Video Production and Creative Video departments, to go with serving on the Highlanders leadership team. He will also serve as the main media contact for the Radford men's basketball and men's and women's cross country and track & field programs. His extensive experience in external relations and strategic storytelling will be instrumental in enhancing the visibility of Radford Athletics at both the local and national level through traditional and digital media.

"We are excited to have Matthew Schaefer join our Radford Athletics family," Deputy Athletics Director Cory Durand said. "Matt brings exceptional communication and digital media expertise, coupled with strong leadership skills. He will play a pivotal role in shaping our narrative and engaging our Highlander audience to help strengthen our brand within our community."

At Northern Kentucky, Schaefer was responsible for the oversight of the NKU Athletics communications, creative content and storytelling units, marketing and fan engagement and ticketing operations for the Norse. Under his watch, the NKU Athletics Communications team completely rehauled the office into a digital-first department, putting it on the same level as P5 and G5 programs with a fraction of the resources. To go with the social media success, the NKU Athletics staff capitalized on its biggest moments with local, regional and national media, which included multiple appearances on ESPN and SportsCenter. While at Northern Kentucky, he ran coverage for three Horizon League Champions and NCAA Tournament squads across men's basketball, softball and baseball.

To go with his success with his communications and creative content staff, Schaefer oversaw a marketing unit that won Gold for NACMA's 2023-24 "Best Of" for Ticket Revenue Campaign and added a Bronze for Lead Generation Campaign. He also helped orchestrate a NKU volleyball sellout vs Ohio State, the program's first sell out in school history. The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program finished with an average attendance of 3,270 in 2023-24, the fourth-highest attendance number in school history. The Norse men saw a five percent increase overall and a 16.5 percent increase for conference contests while the NKU women's basketball attendance also saw large growth with an average attendance of 1,283, over a 17 percent increase from the season before.

"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Robert Lineburg, Deputy Athletics Director Cory Durand and the entire search committee at Radford for affording me this exciting opportunity," Schaefer said. "I am lucky to inherit a standout team in (Athletics Communications Coordinator) Greg Wolfe, (Athletic Communication Assistants) Victor Guadarrama and Christian Paolantonio, (Graphic Design Graduate Assistant) Shavon Spencer, (Director of Broadcasting) Rick Watson and (Director of Video and Creative Services) Brian Yohe and I look forward to our group making a mark for Highlanders athletics at both the local, regional and national level."

Schaefer brings a wealth of experience to the Highlanders program, having previous stops as an Assistant Athletics Director of Athletics Communications at Cleveland State (NCAA Division I), an Assistant Director of Athletics Communications at the University of New Orleans (NCAA DI), a Communications Assistant at the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), an Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant at Northern Arizona University (NCAA DI) and as a Sports Information Assistant at both Kutztown University (NCAA DII) and Buffalo State University (NCAA DIII).

He also has experience in the professional ranks as he served as a Communications Staff Game Day Worker for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA for three-plus years and as a credentialed member of the NFL media with ProPlayerInsiders.com for two-plus seasons. To go with two-plus years of Buffalo Bills coverage for the site, Schaefer's standout work with the organization came during his week-long, on-location coverage of Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco. He also just finished a two-year stint with NEP Broadcast Services as a camera operator for FC Cincinnati 2 of the MLS NEXT Pro League.

Schaefer, a Buffalo, New York native, earned his bachelor's degree in journalism with a concentration in sports communications from Buffalo State University. He also holds a master's of education degree from Northern Arizona University in Higher Education Leadership.