GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Luke Stillson, who has spent the last 16 years as the Director of Athletics Communications and Marketing at McDaniel College, has been named the Director of Athletic Communications at Gettysburg College according to an announcement by Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation Mike Mattia.
 
Stillson returns to the site of his first professional foray into athletic communications as he served as an intern at Gettysburg from 2003-05. He'll begin his second stint with the Bullets on June 20 and becomes the department's sixth director since CoSIDA Hall of Famer Bob Kenworthy '59 took on the role following his graduation from Gettysburg 63 years ago.
 
"I'm excited for the opportunity to rejoin the Gettysburg staff and take over as Director of Athletic Communications," said Stillson. "Gettysburg is a great institution with great people and I'm looking forward to building on what the greats in the Bullets athletic communications office have done."
 
Stillson rose to the top of a national search and is another piece in the hiring puzzle for Mattia. Mattia inherited a veteran staff when he took the lead athletics position at Gettysburg four years ago, and the past few months have seen the retirement of several long-tenured staff members, including head coaches Carol Cantele '83, John Campo, and Barb Jordan.
 
"We are very excited to welcome Luke back to Gettysburg," stated Mattia. "Luke's familiarity with all of the sports we sponsor, the Centennial Conference as a whole, and Gettysburg College will make this a relatively smooth transition."
 
After graduating from SUNY Oneonta with degrees in English and secondary education in 2003, Stillson came to Gettysburg where he served under then director Matt Daskavich. Stillson served as the primary media contact for 11 varsity teams and acted as the media liaison for the 2004 NCAA Division III Volleyball Mid-Atlantic Regional.
 
Stillson left Gettysburg to serve as the Interim Director of Sports Information for Division II Millersville in 2006 where he oversaw 21 varsity sports, including a Division I wrestling program.
 
For the last 16 years, Stillson has been instrumental in uplifting the accomplishments of student-athletes and staff members at McDaniel. He has been solely responsible for publicity and marketing for the Green Terror's 24-sports varsity program. During that time he has covered 10 Centennial Conference championship teams, 16 All-Americans, 16 Centennial Conference Players of the Year, 22 individual conference champions, and eight Academic All-Americans.
 
Stillson has led McDaniel into the digital age, establishing the department's social media presence and ushering in live video streaming through partnerships with Stretch Internet and BlueFrame Technology. He has also served key roles within the athletic administration and submitted his expertise and insight into a range of institutional projects, including upgrades to Kenneth M. Gill Stadium in 2012.
 
"I count myself lucky to have had some great teammates over the last 16 years at McDaniel," noted Stillson. "Beyond the coaches and athletes are those who have worked on the sidelines with me. There's no way I can name them all. Each one brought something special to the table and I am forever grateful for what I've learned from them."
 
Aside from his role at McDaniel, Stillson has been an active and engaged member of the athletic communications community. He has held a number of administrative roles within the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (EAST-COMM), including Director of Online Services, 2nd Vice President, President, and Past President. Stillson has helped EAST-COMM maintain a strong connection amongst athletic communications personnel in the region through distinctive programming as part of its annual conference.
 
Since 2014, Stillson has served as chair of the Centennial Conference Athletic Communication Directors Committee. In this role he has organized meetings, gathered insight and information from colleagues, and communicated ideas and requests to conference officials, athletic directors, and college presidents.
 
"He has done wonderful things during his time at McDaniel, and has made McDaniel one of the leaders in the Centennial Conference during this digital age of athletic communication, especially with the live streams of games," noted Mattia. "Luke has some very creative ideas that came up during the interview process, and I look forward to him implementing them and building upon the wonderful work that was done before."
 
Stillson will join an athletics program that carries a history of success going back more than a century. Gettysburg was a founding member of the Centennial Conference and has won a total of 117 conference team championships. Student-athletes have garnered more than 1,000 All-CC First Team nods over the last three-plus decades, as well as more than 500 All-America mentions over the last century of competition.
 
With McDaniel less than an hour away from Gettysburg, Stillson has been privy to many Bullets highlights over the last 16 years, often making the trek north to assist with postseason coverage throughout the fall, winter, and spring seasons. In 2010 and 2014, he helped Gettysburg host the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships and he has been onsite for a range of conference championship events.
 
For Stillson, moving away from the legacy he established with the Green and Gold will be difficult, but he's excited about the opportunity to tell the stories for a new crop of student-athletes and staff members with the Orange and Blue.
 
"With the leadership of Mike Mattia and the entire administration at Gettysburg, I know the support is there to be at the forefront of the Centennial Conference and to be a leader in Division III athletic communications," said Stillson. "I have always believed that storytelling needs to be a main focus and I'm looking forward to telling the story of Gettysburg student-athletes in new and exciting ways."