University of Tennessee Athletics
Men's Basketball
Satkowiak, Tom
Tom Satkowiak
- Title:
- Sports Information Director
- Email:
- tomsid@tennessee.edu
- Phone:
- (865) 974-7501
Updated: July 2023
Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Tom Satkowiak provides oversight of Tennessee Athletics' Strategic Communications umbrella, which coordinates promotional efforts for 20 sports and more than 550 student-athletes.
A two-time University of Tennessee graduate with 20 years of experience on the communications staff, Satkowiak (pronounced: sat-KO-vee-ACK) has served as the official spokesman for Tennessee Athletics, providing public relations counsel for the director of athletics and executive staff.
He also maintains his role as primary communications contact for the Tennessee men's basketball program, entering his 16th year with that program in 2023-24. He directed the basketball program's media relations efforts during two SEC championship campaigns (2018 and 2022), three Sweet Sixteen seasons (2014, 2019 and 2023) and the historic 2010 Elite Eight run.
In the spring of 2019, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA, now CSC) named Satkowiak as the third-ever recipient of its Bud Nangle Award, as one who has displayed "ethics, integrity and bravery under unusual or stressful situations while carrying out their job duties." Satkowiak received a liver transplant in October 2018 after spending more than four years on the UNOS waiting list.
During his tenure with the Volunteers basketball program, Satkowiak has promoted and provided media training and personal branding consultation for 10 NBA Draft picks, 12 first-team All-SEC selections, one Freshman All-American and more than two dozen student-athletes who went on to sign professional basketball contracts. He also has developed strong working relationships with local and national media as well as television network production and broadcast crews.
On the digital media front, Satkowiak helped to devise the earliest social media strategies for several Tennessee athletic programs. His list of 50 tips for responsible Twitter use by collegiate student-athletes—initially published online in September 2011—was featured on ESPN.com, CoSIDA.com and NACDA.com and also was used by athletic departments around the country as a training tool for student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
Satkowiak—who has been a member of UT’s full-time staff since September 2005 and was promoted to assistant AD in April of 2016—has successfully collaborated with other departments under UT's athletic communications umbrella on numerous projects. Prior to the 2012-13 season, he conceptualized and then collaborated with both the athletic broadcasting and marketing teams to execute Tennessee basketball's "Make a STATEment" recruiting/marketing campaign, which helped land one of two five-star recruiting targets.
During the 2021-22 academic year, Satkowiak contributed to the development of Tennessee Athletics Rise Glorious Strategic Plan by serving on the Mission, Vision & Values Committee.
A native of Bay City, Michigan, Satkowiak transitioned to basketball after four years as the primary media contact for the Tennessee baseball program, during which he publicized the team's run to the 2005 College World Series and promoted 11 players who earned All-American or Freshman All-American acclaim. Six Vols from that era went on to make MLB rosters.
After initially joining Tennessee's media relations staff as a student in the fall of 2002, Satkowiak spent two years as a graduate assistant in the UT office before being promoted to a full-time position. He served as editor of the Tennessee football game program and yearbook from 2005-10 and has coordinated logistical and stat crew operations in Tom Elam Press Box during home football gamedays since 2008.
A 2002 summa cum laude Tennessee graduate with a degree in Communications/Public Relations, Satkowiak also earned a master's in Sport Studies from UT in 2005.
Satkowiak and his wife, Brooke, of Athens, Tennessee, reside in South Knoxville with their Bernese Mountain Dogs, Neeko and Ripley. They worship and serve at Sevier Heights Baptist Church.
Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Tom Satkowiak provides oversight of Tennessee Athletics' Strategic Communications umbrella, which coordinates promotional efforts for 20 sports and more than 550 student-athletes.
A two-time University of Tennessee graduate with 20 years of experience on the communications staff, Satkowiak (pronounced: sat-KO-vee-ACK) has served as the official spokesman for Tennessee Athletics, providing public relations counsel for the director of athletics and executive staff.
He also maintains his role as primary communications contact for the Tennessee men's basketball program, entering his 16th year with that program in 2023-24. He directed the basketball program's media relations efforts during two SEC championship campaigns (2018 and 2022), three Sweet Sixteen seasons (2014, 2019 and 2023) and the historic 2010 Elite Eight run.
In the spring of 2019, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA, now CSC) named Satkowiak as the third-ever recipient of its Bud Nangle Award, as one who has displayed "ethics, integrity and bravery under unusual or stressful situations while carrying out their job duties." Satkowiak received a liver transplant in October 2018 after spending more than four years on the UNOS waiting list.
During his tenure with the Volunteers basketball program, Satkowiak has promoted and provided media training and personal branding consultation for 10 NBA Draft picks, 12 first-team All-SEC selections, one Freshman All-American and more than two dozen student-athletes who went on to sign professional basketball contracts. He also has developed strong working relationships with local and national media as well as television network production and broadcast crews.
On the digital media front, Satkowiak helped to devise the earliest social media strategies for several Tennessee athletic programs. His list of 50 tips for responsible Twitter use by collegiate student-athletes—initially published online in September 2011—was featured on ESPN.com, CoSIDA.com and NACDA.com and also was used by athletic departments around the country as a training tool for student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
Satkowiak—who has been a member of UT’s full-time staff since September 2005 and was promoted to assistant AD in April of 2016—has successfully collaborated with other departments under UT's athletic communications umbrella on numerous projects. Prior to the 2012-13 season, he conceptualized and then collaborated with both the athletic broadcasting and marketing teams to execute Tennessee basketball's "Make a STATEment" recruiting/marketing campaign, which helped land one of two five-star recruiting targets.
During the 2021-22 academic year, Satkowiak contributed to the development of Tennessee Athletics Rise Glorious Strategic Plan by serving on the Mission, Vision & Values Committee.
A native of Bay City, Michigan, Satkowiak transitioned to basketball after four years as the primary media contact for the Tennessee baseball program, during which he publicized the team's run to the 2005 College World Series and promoted 11 players who earned All-American or Freshman All-American acclaim. Six Vols from that era went on to make MLB rosters.
After initially joining Tennessee's media relations staff as a student in the fall of 2002, Satkowiak spent two years as a graduate assistant in the UT office before being promoted to a full-time position. He served as editor of the Tennessee football game program and yearbook from 2005-10 and has coordinated logistical and stat crew operations in Tom Elam Press Box during home football gamedays since 2008.
A 2002 summa cum laude Tennessee graduate with a degree in Communications/Public Relations, Satkowiak also earned a master's in Sport Studies from UT in 2005.
Satkowiak and his wife, Brooke, of Athens, Tennessee, reside in South Knoxville with their Bernese Mountain Dogs, Neeko and Ripley. They worship and serve at Sevier Heights Baptist Church.
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