After spending the last five years in Rockford, Ill., as the sports information director for Rockford College, David Howell was named to the same position at Cabrini College on Tuesday, Aug. 30. Howell officially began his tenure at Cabrini on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
A native of Wilmington, Del., Howell had been hoping to land a job on the East Coast so that he could be closer to his family.
“Location was a huge factor for me,” Howell said. “Once I saw the listing [for the job at Cabrini] I looked at the school a little bit and as I learned more it seemed like a good fit for me.”
Howell graduated from Kettering University with an undergraduate degree in marketing and then went on to Wayne State University to receive his master’s degree in sports management. Before his job at Rockford, he was a strategic communications intern with Palace Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns and works with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
Howell’s duties as sports information director include seeing over all game day sports information operations, maintaining the Cabrini Athletics website and acting as the main media contact for the Cavaliers.
“The organization at Cabrini is a lot more than it was at Rockford, so that allows me to focus more on my job responsibilities like doing stats for games and monitoring the website,” Howell said.
Still a new face on campus, Howell envisions himself working in Radnor, Pa., for years to come.
“I had told the staff on the interview that I was hoping that my next job would be my final job,” Howell said. “I was looking for a place that I could be for the next 30 or 35 years.”
When interviewing for the position, Howell mentions that he asked the staff what they like about the school and why they stay here. They all told him the same thing: the people.
“Everyone said it was the people,” Howell said. “The location of the school is fantastic, but if you get the right location and the wrong people it’s still a bad fit. I’ve already met a lot of people who have a lot of pride about the school and a lot of pride about what they do.”
With a location near his hometown of Wilmington and a campus full of pride, Howell felt that Cabrini was his best option.
“Working in the Dixon Center, you see a lot of people who are not necessarily associated with athletics; people who come in to work out and spend time in the center,” Howell said. “That’s kind of a testament to what the school is about.”
Despite a busy schedule, Howell feels that his job as sports information director allows him to watch sports while still interacting with other people. He always has sports on his mind, whether he is working in his office or relaxing at home.
“Being a sports fan and working in collegiate athletics, especially Division III athletics, it’s like a dream job,” Howell said. “I love what I do.”
