Tyler Costello joins the VWU athletics staff from NCAA Division II Tiffin University in Ohio. He replaces Alysse Scripter as the Director of Athletic Communications. This interview was done by Sports Correspondent Josh Heller.
Featured Image: VWU’s athletics new Director of Athletic Communications, Tyler Costello, stands in front of the Marlins sign in the athletic suite in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Colette Kearney | Marlin Chronicle
Josh Heller: What is your academic and work background?
Tyler Costello: I graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a Sports Management degree. I then was working as an Assistant Sports Information Director at Southern for two-and-a-half years. Next, I got my master’s degree from the University of New Haven. I was hoping to become a nursing major at Southern. I went there originally to be a nursing major, but quickly realized that I don’t really like needles or blood. I played men’s soccer, I ran track and I also was on the men’s lacrosse team during the spring in high school. I missed that team atmosphere and just wanted to find a chance to get back into that. So I became a Sports Management major and the rest is history. I came from Tiffin University. I’ve been there for the past two years.
JH: What are your hobbies?
TC: I love to play pool. Before I moved, I was in the American Pool Association (APA). We have teams, I got to play other teams and there’s a national ranking. Though I’m not nationally ranked, it’s just a hobby that I really like to do.
JH: Are you excited to be the Director of Athletic Communications?
TC: I’m super excited, I have a lot of responsibility as far as the social media aspect of it. I ran social media and I was the marketing point for all 24 sports at Tiffin University. Every school wants to have a great social media presence and that’s something that I’m really excited to help this program do and grow. Finally, during my interview process, I came to visit and I was really blown away by everyone’s enthusiasm. The culture and overall energy of the athletic department was just amazing.
JH: What are your favorite sports to play or watch?
TC: My favorite sport to play and just watch weekly is soccer. I’m a big Tottenham fan so every single week I watch the Premier League. I grew up playing soccer and have been playing since I was four. The only reason I didn’t really play in college was because I tore my ACL two different times. I sort of play casually now. But I also like volleyball, I think it’s one of those sports that just brings a lot of energy and I think people really do seem to like it. At my last school, one sport that was a little surprisingly fun to watch was wrestling. The fact that they like to make a certain weight and the way that they contort their bodies is just crazy.
JH: What is your favorite movie?
TC: The movie is “A Beautiful Mind,” which is about a professor who develops schizophrenia and he’s a genius. He basically gets a grant to go to school for free and he’s smart enough to realize that the images that he’s seeing are not real. Which is, I think, a really impressive discovery. It’s just a great movie overall. But that’s something to especially like in today’s age with all these mental health problems, it’s just super amazing that he was able to overcome that.
JH: Cats or dogs?
TC: That’s always a tough question because I like both truly. But I grew up with cats, so I’m going to have to say cats.
By Josh Heller
Jmheller@vwu.edu
