5 minute read
MEC Staff
Mountain East Conference STAFF
Advertisement
Hunter Given was named Director of Championship and Internal Operations at the Mountain East Conference in June 2019.
Prior to joining the MEC, Given served as the Sports Information Director at Salem University where he oversaw the promotion and publicity of the Tigers’ 17 varsity sports, the athletic department website, social media and all department publications.
The Cowen, W.Va., native graduated from Glenville State College in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and Sports Management. He went on to work as a graduate assistant in the sports communications office atFrostburg State during the 2017-18 yearand earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 2019.
At Glenville State, Given was a member of the men’s basketball team at Glenville State from 2014-17. He was a member of the 2015 MEC Tournament championship team that also earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. He also served as the chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for both Glenville State and the Mountain East Conference from 2015-17.
Given was as an intern for the MEC during the 2016-17 year assisting with various tasks and championship administration. He also served a media relations assistant with the MEC while the league served as the host for the NCAA Division II Softball Championships in 2017 and 2018 season. Allie Kolezynski Associate Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator
Allie Kolezynski was named Assistant Commissioner for Communications and Operations at the Mountain East Conference in January 2017 and was promoted to Associate Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator in July 2019.
Kolezynski manages the overarching aspects of the MEC financial, bookkeeping, and accounting processes while maintaining responsibilityforthe day-to-daybusiness operations ofthe conference office. She assists in the review and implementation of the conference strategic plan and manages the funds received as part of the NCAA Conference Grant program.
Kolezynski plays an active role in the governance structure of the MEC as the Senior Woman Administrator and liaison for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Faculty Athletic Representatives, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and various committees of head coaches. She also coordinates all operational aspects for the MEC’s championship events.
Kolezynski is a member of the NCAA Division II Softball National Committee and was selected to participate in the NCAA Division II/ D2ADA Mentoring Program for 2019-20.
Prior to joining the MEC staff, Kolezynski spent four years as Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Communications at her alma mater, Chowan University. In that capacity, she handled all communications for the 18 varsity sports that included website maintenance, social media and publications. She earned CIAA Sports Information Director of the Year accolades in 2014 and 2016.
In addition to her athletic communications duties, Kolezynski also oversaw all business transactions for the CU athletic department and accounts for individual sports, including fundraising, camps and clinics. Kolezynski served as head coach for the school’s newly created women’s cross country team during her first two years on staff before moving into full-time administration.
As a student-athlete at Chowan, Kolezynski was a four-year starter and captain on the softball team. She was a three-time All-CIAA selection, three-time CIAA Commissioner’s All-Academic Team honoree, two-time NCCSIA All-State selection, NCCAA All-American, Capital One Academic All-American and Daktronics All-Region team member. Kolezynski led the team to three consecutive CIAA Northern Division titles and the program’s first-ever CIAAchampionship in 2010.
Offthe field, she served a three-yearterm on the NCAADivision II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), including a two-year stint as vice-chair, and went on to be a co-adviser during her time as an administrator at Chowan.
Adam Zundell was named Associate Commissioner of Communications at the Mountain East Conference in July 2013. He was promoted to Senior Associate Commissioner in August of 2015.
Zundell directs and oversees all communications efforts for the league’s 23 sports and 22 championship events. He also serves as Chief of Staff in addition to working in an advisory capacity to the commissioner. Zundell oversees and administers the all-conference awards, in addition to the academic awards given each semester and the league’s annual awards. He was also heavily involved with the creation and implementation of the league’s conference-wide digital network, which delivers hours of streaming MEC content online and on OTT devices. Zundell was a member of the D2SIDA Board of Directors from 2013-16, and currently serves on the NCAA Atlantic Region Advisory Committee for men’s soccer. Additionally, he is also Atlantic Region coordinator for the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association men’s basketball team.
In 2018-19, Zundell helped spearhead efforts for the league’s “Dear Sport” initiative where student-athletes were featured writing letters to their sport. The letters were promoted on the league’s website and via social media, and video of select letters were also published. That initiative was recognized by the NCAA as one of the “examplary” strategy.
Zundell came to the MEC after spending seven years at Fairmont State as the Director of Athletic Communications and Marketing. He was in charge of the publicity of all 15 sports for the Falcons. He served as the editor and provided a majority of the content for fightingfalcons.com, in addition tooverseeing thesite’sre-design in 2010. Zundell wrote and edited all of Fairmont State’s media guides. The 2009 football media guide was rated third-best in the country by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the 2010 women’s basketball guide was awarded fourth-best in the nation. In addition to his media relations responsibilities, he was instrumental in leading Fairmont State’s award-winning community engagement initiatives from 2009-12. FSU was recognized as having the top initiative in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for three-straight years, and the 2011 campaign, “Put Your Best Fairmont Forward,” was recognized by the NCAA as the best in country.
Prior to coming to Fairmont State, Zundell spent three years at the University of Maryland as an assistant sports information director. At Maryland, he was the primary media relations liaison for men’s soccer, wrestling and women’s lacrosse. He received national awards from CoSIDA and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for publications and articles he generated.
The Fairmont, W.Va., native earned his bachelor’s degree from Wheeling Jesuit where he was a four-time All-WVIAC and threetime NCAA Division II Academic All-America performer in cross country, in addition to winning three individual conference titles in track. He was inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He earned his master’s degree from West Virginia University and spent three years working in the sports communication office at WVU.
In addition to his work with the Mountain East Conference, he has also served as commentator for West Virginia University men’s and women’s soccerhome broadcasts forthe lastfive years.