Torye Hurst Named Director of Athletics Media Relations

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Athletics announced the hiring of Torye Hurst as Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Media Relations. A veteran in the media relations field, Hurst comes to Georgia Southern after 11 years at Virginia Tech where he served as Associate Director of Athletics Communications. He joins the department August 1st.

"We are excited about the level of experience Torye brings to our Athletics Media Relations staff," said Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Sam Baker. "I felt it very important to find an individual that had a breadth of exposure and participation in intercollegiate media relations, which made him an appealing choice."

Hurst was the primary communications contact for the Virginia Tech Women's Basketball team as well as the Men's and Women's tennis programs. In that role he composed media guides and game programs as well as game notes. Additionally, Hurst has handled the play-by-play duties for the Tech baseball program for the last six years and served in the same capacity for webcasts of the 2005 and 2006 ACC Baseball Championships.

"I want to thank Athletics Director Sam Baker for offering me this tremendous opportunity and I look forward to working with all members of the Athletics Department staff," said Hurst. "I also want thank everyone at Virginia Tech for their support. I have met some wonderful people in Blacksburg I will never forget. I have already met some really friendly people at Georgia Southern and I think Statesboro will be a great place to call home."

During his tenure at Virginia Tech, Hurst served as the media coordinator for the 2004 NCAA Women's Basketball first and second rounds in Blacksburg, Va. He also served as the Media Coordinator for the 2003 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Women's Eastern Tournament and the 2004 ITA Men's Eastern Tournament. In 2004, he was the Assistant Media Coordinator for the 2004 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship, hosted by Virginia Tech.

Prior to arriving in Blacksburg, Hurst was the director of marketing and media relations for the Peach Belt Conference in Augusta, Ga., for eight years. At the Peach Belt, he was responsible for the publicity of the 12-member Division II conference. While in Augusta, he also served as the public address announcer for the Augusta GreenJackets Class A minor league baseball team. During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Hurst managed the interview room at the tennis venue.

Hurst completed a bachelor's of science degree in radio, television and film in 1982 from the University of Southern Mississippi and worked for the university for eight years as the program manager of WUSM-FM. While at USM, he received the "Best Sports Story Award" in 1991 from both the Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Association and the Mississippi Broadcaster's Association. Hurst completed a master's degree in sports administration from USM in 1992.

Category: Athletics

Published on Monday, 18 July 2011 14:35