Released by Virginia State Athletic Communications,
Virginia State University and the Department of Athletics announced the hiring of Shalyn Moore as the Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Communications.
“Virginia State University is proud to have Alumnus Shalyn Moore return to Trojan Country as Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Communications,” said Associate Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Peggy Davis. “Shalyn has an impressive background in sports media coverage and we look forward to her commitment as she builds her Sports Information team. We are excited for the future of our student-athletes.”
Moore brings a wealth of experience to the role after being heavily immersed in collegiate athletics and the sports communication field for several years.
Prior to her arrival at Virginia State, Moore was the Sports Information Director at Hampton University. She came to Hampton after two years as the Sports Information Director and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Advisor at Elizabeth City State University. She was solely responsible for overseeing the sports information duties for all intercollegiate sports during her time at both institutions.
“I have to thank Athletic Director Peggy Davis and President Dr. Makola Abdullah for their visionary leadership and the opportunity to return to VSU to join the athletic administration team. I know that greater truly happens at VSU because I have witnessed it, and I am it. I am honored to now help inspire, develop, and enrich the student-athlete experience and VSU’s overall athletics culture.”
The Hampton, VA native is a Virginia State University alumna who was most recently honored as a VSU Alumni Association Trojan 10 Under 10 honoree in February of 2023. She obtained a bachelors in Mass Communication in 2015 and a masters in Media Management in 2017. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Liberty University, where she has reached ABD status after completing all coursework in December of 2022. Moore has excelled as a scholar earning membership into the Omega Nu Lambda, Alpha chapter honors society of Liberty’s graduate program.
During the 2022-23 Basketball season, she worked for Black College Sports Broadcast Network as the only female talent covering eight weeks of men’s basketball on national television on over 30 channels in 25+ states.
In 2022 Moore was selected as a member of the inaugural College Sports Communicators formerly known as Co-SIDA Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship. In addition, in 2020, she was awarded the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Woman of Color Membership Scholarship. Moore strongly prides herself on providing superb coverage and resources for all sports across the board to authentically enhance the student-athlete experience. She has worked several NCAA championship events at the Division I and II levels.
Moore pioneered several new initiatives, grew all social media platforms, and re-branded the image of Hampton University in six months while overseeing the day-to-day internal and external sports information operations for all 17 sports. She hit the ground running at Hampton during the transition of Hampton from the Big South Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association. She was instrumental in handling the Pirate’s first big student-athlete Name, Image, and Likeness deal for one of Hampton’s standout linebackers selected for the WWE’s Next In Line NIL program. She orchestrated the nomination of the 1988 Women’s Basketball team into the 2023 CIAA Hall of Fame while supporting the return of the Hampton University Hall of Fame and aiding the selection process.
Moore also taught courses as an Adjunct professor for Hampton University’s Sports Administration graduate program in the Summer.
After leaving Hampton Moore began her journey into entrepreneurship launching Business, Brains, and Branding LLC and HER Sports Media Group LLC. She also worked full time with University Instructors.
During her tenure at Elizabeth City State, she was the primary contact for all sports and single handedly improved the department and student-athlete experience by enhancing the overall branding, marketing, social media presence, and game-day experience for the athletics department. In addition, Moore handled all sports information duties, gameday operations, marketing, digital content creation, social media, and website management. She played a substantial role in the planning and execution of marquee athletic events like the 2021 Down-East Viking Football Classic.
Moore was instrumental in the state-of-the-art Daktronics videoboard, scorer’s table and sound system installed in ECSU’s facilities in the Winter of 2021-22. She nearly doubled the department’s social footprint and followers. Moore also actively increased ECSU’s student-athlete recognition within the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, reeling in consistent all-conference weekly and seasonal awards. Her forward-thinking vision and creativity within digital content spaces were the driving force to lead ECSU’s live-streaming broadcast to its first A grade from Blueframe Technology since the conference adopted live streaming in 2018. She curated her own original feature content and initiatives like My ECSU Story, Classic on the Clock, Viking Views TV, MBB Top 30 for 30, the Vace Vault, and ECSU athletics’ diversity and inclusion statement and campaigns.
Personal, professional, and academic development are a priority for Moore. She has completed graduate assistantships with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference office and Virginia State University. Moore also gained experience working gameday public relations for the Washington Football team in 2018-19. She has served on the CIAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship and Volleyball Championship committees.
“Shalyn is one of the rising stars of our profession, and Virginia State is getting a gem back. She’s a rock star who is passionate and talented. Shalyn understands the value of telling stories and does a good job with that. She will help elevate the quality of sharing the student-athlete story because she is skilled in digital media and a strong writer. Her background of working in professional sports makes her an ideal fit for Virginia State. More impressively is her commitment and willingness to mentor young women who want to be in this profession. I completely endorse this hire,” said Rob Knox, College Sports Communicators Past President
Her dedication to professional development within sports is undeniable. Moore is a product of the NCAA Emerging Leaders Program, Women Leaders in College Sports Symposium, and NFL Careers in Football Forum. Additionally, in the past several years, she has assisted several universities in the peninsula area of Virginia with their marketing and media operations.
She participated in the MiLB/MLB Winter December Meetings program for three consecutive years during her undergraduate and graduate studies representing VSU in Orlando, Fl, San Diego, CA, and Nashville, TN. Moore also interned with the CIAA conference media relations department for several years in multiple capacities throughout her collegiate years and after. She has continuously mentored students from VSU, Hampton, Towson, and ECSU that are interested in working in sports and collegiate athletics. She also is a therapeutic mentor for at-risk youth.
Some of her other work includes sports marketing for the infamous Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA, working as a student-athlete academic success coach, and hosting her own workshops.
