Hamilton Cook Jr. Joins Saint Peter's Staff as Associate Director of Athletics for Communications
MAAC Sports
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Hamilton Cook Jr., has been named the Associate Director of Athletics for Communications at Saint Peter’s University, announced today by Director of Athletics Belinda “Boe” Pearman. Cook joins Saint Peter’s staff after more than six years of service at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in Edison, New Jersey.
"On behalf of our entire department, we are thrilled to welcome Hamilton Cook Jr., to the St. Peter's University community," Director of Athletics Belinda "Boe" Pearman said. "He has established himself as a rising star in the industry over the past several years. Hamilton possesses a broad background in external affairs that will serve as an asset in promoting our student-athletes, coaches, staff and teams. Furthermore, his first-hand knowledge of the MAAC and the Metropolitan region will ensure a smooth transition into this role."
As the Associate Director of Athletics for Communications, Cook will serve as the athletic department’s main contact for all media relations. His main duties will consists of developing strong relationships with local, regional and national media outlets, maintaining the athletics website, writing and editing news releases and newsletters, and fund-raising correspondence. Cook will maintain statistics and historical records for all nineteen sports and he will supervise game day staff and statisticians at home events. He will also be responsible for producing videos and maintaining social media accounts.
“Excited to see Hamilton Cook Jr. advance his career at MAAC member Saint Peter’s University as its Associate AD for Communications,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “Hamilton has been an integral part of the transformation of the MAAC’s new media efforts during his tenure at the league office. Under his leadership the conference moved its focus from traditional sports information operations to one focused on social media, video and web based awards shows and other services.”
Cook joins Saint Peter’s athletic staff after serving as the Assistant Commissioner for New Media at the MAAC. In this role as the Assistant Commissioner, Cook served as the primary contact on the MAAC’s ESPN broadcast package, ESPN3 school productions, and the MAAC.TV network. He had oversight of the marketing support services including sponsor fulfillment, ESPN commercial inventory, promotions, and event specific items. Cook was also responsible for the media servicing of the league including MAACSports.com, the leagues social media platforms, statistics, ticket operations, and video operations. Additionally, Cook supervised the new media staff and served as the primary media contact for men’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, and softball.
Prior to being named Assistant Commissioner, Cook served as the Director of New Media since July of 2011. He joined the MAAC staff in March of 2010 as an intern before he was appointed the Assistant Director of Marketing & Ticket Sales in June of 2010.
During his time at the MAAC, Cook has served as the Host Media Coordinator for both the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional in Albany, New York and 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Northeast Cross Country Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York. He has also assisted with host operations during the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Second and Third Rounds in Buffalo, New York and the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Cook served as the primary ticket operations contact for the 2012 NCAA Rowing Championships at Lake Mercer in Mercer Park, New Jersey and also served as the assistant to the Tournament Director during the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A native of Edison, New Jersey, Cook earned his bachelor’s degree in sports/entertainment/event management with a concentration in sports management from Johnson & Wales University in 2010. While an undergraduate, he worked for Team Ops performing various operational duties at Gillette Stadium and Boston College and he also worked for SMG at the Rhode Island Convention Center. He holds professional credentials from the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).