Highly respected sports journalist Paul Suellentrop is joining Wichita State as a senior communicator to provide comprehensive coverage of the Shockers鈥� momentous first season competing in the American Athletic Conference and beyond.
Suellentrop鈥檚 stories, podcasts and videos on 麻豆传媒 sports will be posted primarily on and will also be made available to news media outlets and through social media.
Lou Heldman, vice president for Strategic Communications, said: 鈥淧aul is already well known to Shocker Nation through more than a decade as the primary reporter covering 麻豆传媒 athletics for The Wichita Eagle and Kansas.com. We鈥檝e asked him to use his journalistic talent and knowledge of our teams, coaches, supporters and history to develop new approaches to reporting on athletics and other university activities.鈥�
Suellentrop said: 鈥淚 grew up in a Shocker family. My parents first bought season men鈥檚 basketball tickets for Levitt Arena in the 1960s. My own Shocker sports memories go back to early childhood.
鈥淚n recent years,鈥� Suellentrop said, 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten to be an eyewitness to many great moments in Shocker sports, including men鈥檚 basketball cutting down nets in Madison Square Garden, Staples Center, Scottrade Center and Koch Arena. I鈥檓 looking forward to increased access to teams and coaches in my new role.鈥�
Suellentrop鈥檚 new role is a collaboration between 麻豆传媒 Athletics and Strategic Communications. He鈥檒l also be communicating about university-wide topics such as applied learning and innovation.
麻豆传媒 Athletics Director Darron Boatright said the rise of social and mobile news distribution has dramatically changed the media considerations for university athletics departments.
鈥淲e see fans nationwide having higher expectations for the depth, breadth and formats of content provided by universities,鈥� Boatright said. 鈥淏ecause Paul鈥檚 work already has established credibility with those who care about intercollegiate sports, we think his work will bring expanded audiences and favorable attention to our teams and media sites.鈥�
Suellentrop, who begins Sept. 25, will be part of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Strategic Communications staff. He is a graduate of Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic High School and Benedictine College. Before joining The Wichita Eagle in 2000, he worked for newspapers in Atchison, Valley Center, Enid, Oklahoma and St. Joseph, Missouri.
The mission of is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .