Gamecock Athletics Announces Several Changes in Communications Department

University of South Carolina Athletics has announced several changes to its communications department with four promotions and the addition of two new staffers.

Steve Fink, who has headed up the department since 2005, has been promoted to Senior Associate AD/Communications & Public Relations. In addition to overseeing the 10-person communications team, Fink has day-to-day responsibilities promoting the South Carolina Football program. Led by Fink, South Carolina was recognized in both 2021 and 2022 as a “Super 11” department for outstanding achievement during the college football season by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

Diana Koval, who is in her 18th year in the department, has been promoted to Associate AD/Communications and Public Relations. Koval, who serves as Fink’s right-hand person, is the primary communications contact for the three-time national champion women’s basketball program.

Michael DeBates, who is in his ninth year at Carolina, has been promoted to Assistant AD/Communications & Public Relations. DeBates is the primary communications liaison with the Gamecocks’ men’s basketball program and serves as the communications contact for the men’s and women’s golf teams.

Kent Reichert, who handles the communications efforts for the Carolina Baseball program and serves as a secondary contact for football, has been promoted to Director of Communications & Public Relations. Reichert is in his eighth year in Columbia.

Samantha “Sammie” Grant, recently joined the department as an Assistant Director of Communications and Public Relations. Grant, a 2022 South Carolina graduate and former Gamecock swimmer, returns to her alma mater after a stint as a media relations assistant at Towson University. She oversees the communications efforts for men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams at South Carolina.

Gamecock alum Paige Hutchinson has been named as the athletics department’s Director of Social Media. Hutchinson, who has gained experience over the past three years as a social media coordinator with the Baltimore Orioles in Major League Baseball and with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, will begin her duties in January. She will have oversight of the Gamecock Athletics social media main accounts and assist with the individual sport accounts across all social media platforms.