GREENWOOD, Ind. – On Tuesday afternoon, College Sports Communicators announced its 30 Under 30 Class of 2024, an honor that recognizes emerging athletics communications professionals at all levels of collegiate athletics in strategic, creative, and digital spaces. Among those named to this year's class was Capital University Sports Information Director Nick Astalos.
"I am incredibly proud and honored to be recognized in the 30 Under 30 Class of 2024," said Astalos. "There are many outstanding young professionals in our industry who do excellent work, so to be included in this class is extremely humbling and rewarding. I have learned from phenomenal mentors along the way, and I would specifically like to thank Jeff Garvin for giving me my first opportunity in Sports Information and helping shape me into who I am today."
"I also want to thank my Leadership at Capital University, my Assistant SID - Brendan Eagan, my student staff, our coaches and our student-athletes for their support and trust in me to conduct my work. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for all that they do to support me in my career!"
Since arriving at Capital in the spring of 2021, Astalos has completely transformed the sports information department and has had a tremendous impact in the athletic department as a whole and the student-athletes it serves. The 2024-25 academic year is his fourth overseeing communications and marketing for all 22 of Capital's athletic programs.
Under Astalos' watch, the Capital sports information office has grown with the addition of Assistant Sports Information Director Brendan Eagan as well as a number of student interns. Working alongside Eagan, Astalos has bolstered Capital's social media presence, more than doubling the athletics' Instagram following and launching the athletics TikTok account which has quickly grown to over 3,100 followers with over five million views and over 879,000 likes.
In addition to Eagan, Astalos has also mentored Kyla Primmer, who rose from a sports information student intern to now being the university's head social media manager. Primmer, with the backing of Astalos, devised the Pride of the Purple, a renewed version of Capital's student section to give the Comets a better home field advantage at every game and bolster school spirit and student support.
One of Astalos' most recent accomplishments has been that of re-launching Capital Sports Network, providing streaming coverage for all on-campus athletics events. With this, he has also assumed responsibilities as an adjunct faculty member in the Film and Media Production department, teaching a sports broadcasting class with the voice of Capital football, Curt Ashcraft. As part of this program, Astalos leads a class of students through the production of multi-camera broadcasts and increasing the viewer experience as a whole.
Quite possibly the highlight of Astalos' career so far was this past year when he served as the Media Coordinator and on the Host Planning Committee for the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Semifinals and National Championship hosted at Capital. He, along with Assistant Athletic Director Dustin Rudegeair, worked with the NCAA and the Columbus Sports Commission to coordinate this event involving media from all over the country, including two national broadcasts by NCAA.com and CBS Sports Network.
In addition to his responsibilities at Capital, Astalos also serves on the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Division III Player of the Week Committee, the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Committee, and is a member of the College Sports Communicators Young Professionals Committee.
Astalos also regularly assists nearby Ohio State University with inputting statistics, while also serving on the Stat Crew for notable events including the Division I Volleyball Tournament, Division III Stagg Bowl, and various OHSAA State Championships.
