As announced by NSU Director of Athletics Michael Momiey, Michael Stambaugh was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications, Digital Strategy and Marketing at Nova Southeastern University in June 2018. He is entering his second year with the Sharks, providing oversight to the program's communications, social media, creative design and marketing efforts. He is also the sport contact for Sharks baseball, women's tennis and track and field/cross country.
"I am extremely grateful to Mr. Mominey for his trust in providing me this opportunity to take lead for the Nova Southeastern strategic communications staff," Stambaugh said at the time of his hiring. "The Sharks have an impressive and established championship culture and are absolutely on the verge or an era of unprecedented success. I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity for myself and my family, and I look forward to working with the phenomenal staff already on campus to grow the NSU brand and share the stories behind the hard work and successes of Sharks student-athletes, coaches and staff."
After serving the prior three and a half years as an Assistant Media Relations Director at the University of Hawai'i, Stambaugh came to NSU from one of the nation's most recognizable programs in the 65th-largest U.S. media market in Honolulu, where daily coordination with media was a near necessity in covering the state's largest NCAA athletics program. At Hawai'i, Stambaugh was the primary media contact for the baseball program in the formidable Big West Conference, as well as track and field and water polo - as well as notable responsibilities for football. As UH Athletics' primary Social Media Coordinator, Stambaugh also provided oversight to the 56 Rainbow Warrior and Rainbow Wahine social accounts.
During his tenure at UH, Stambaugh also spent time managing publicity efforts for women's basketball, beach volleyball and swimming and diving. He also served a significant role with football, writing features, assisting heavily with practice coverage and coordinating the team's social media footprint. Across a three-season stretch at UH, he developed innovative video-based graphics for all Rainbow Warrior football signees. While at UH, Stambaugh worked directly as a with current Indianapolis Colts starting punter Rigoberto Sanchez, as well as Jahlani Tavai of the Detroit Lions and John Ursua of the Seattle Seahawks.
Familiar with NCAA athletics in the Sunshine State and the Florida media climate, Stambaugh served over seven years in Daytona Beach at Bethune-Cookman University, where he started his career in 2008. He worked his way from Assistant Sports Information Director to Associate Director of Athletic Communications, and served a term as Interim Sports Information Director.
During his time with the Wildcats, he publicized nine different sports, most notably the nationally-ranked football and perennial postseason participant baseball teams. He played a key role in technological improvements in the B-CU media relations practices, aiding in the introduction of video features to the athletics website that would later develop into the award-winning CatEye Network. He was also the driving force behind initiating B-CU's social media presence, growing it from a single Facebook account to a digital communications program with a full complement of accounts.
During his career in athletic communications, Stambaugh has had the opportunity to work with exceptional coaches and student-athletes, including eight conference Coach of the Year honorees and eight conference Players of the Year. Some of his most prominent student athletes were B-CU's first track and field Indoor/Outdoor National Champion and later Olympian Ronnie Ash, Olympian Joel Redhead, second-round MLB Draft selection Peter O'Brien and NFL defensive end Ryan Davis. He has also publicized the careers of 16 All-Americans, 12 MLB Draft picks, four NFL Draft picks and numerous NFL free agents, two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, five CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees and an NCAA Elite 90 winner.
Stambaugh cut his teeth in athletics working in operations and promotions with the Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League and in the football video coordinator's office at the University of Kansas. He developed skills in media relations, integrated marketing communications and administration while earning two degrees at Kansas: a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Communication in 2006, and a Master of Science in Sport Studies (Management) in 2008.
Married to the former Jey Jones, he lives in Plantation with their son Kieran (born June 2018 in Honolulu), dog Jack and cat Java.
