Former well-known WV sports writer now injecting energy into Mountain East Conference
As the Mountain East Conference assembled for its basketball media day in Wheeling, Chuck McGill’s smile was as wide as his title long.
Associate Commissioner for External Engagement and Communications.
Perhaps it’s because that title is actually SHORTER than his previous title: Associate Director of Athletics for External Engagement and Fan Experience at Marshall University.
Most folks in West Virginia sports circles, however, know Chuck for his fine sports writing at the Charleston Daily Mail and Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Chuck and I worked together briefly in Charleston before my move to Wheelhouse Creative. And as fine as McGill’s writing was, he may have been as well known for his upbeat personality. Folks love being around him.
And now he’s been tasked by MEC Commissioner Reid Amos to help fans enjoy being around the league more.
“I met Reid on Labor Day at the Poky Dot in Fairmont,” McGill said. “I was convinced I wanted to get back into college athletics.”
Chuck has been teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Memphis and has written content for The Topps Company, which deals in sports cards. As many journalists, he jumped from the newspaper business because of the downturn and went to Marshall to work with then-AD Mike Hamrick. When Hamrick stepped down, McGill hung on for six months before moving on.
Now?
“Aside from media relations, I’ve been asked to develop corporate relationships for the league,” McGill said. “I covered WVU and Marshall. I’ve lived in Charleston. I have a lot of contacts.”
The smile then beamed.
“I’m just super stoked about it. I’m really, really excited. I went to our cross country championship at Oglebay and you wouldn’t believe the people there. There must have been 1,000 people involved or watching. They had a musket go off to start.
“I actually started crying because I saw how impactful college athletics still is to so many people. The Division I side has seen so much change. This (Division II) experience felt so pure.”
As for the basketball side, the preseason polls were released. Once again West Liberty is favored on the men’s side with Fairmont State and the University of Charleston next in line. Fairmont is the heavy favorite on the women’s side.
Also, McGill said Amos would like to add another football school to make it an even dozen.
In my eyes, Chuck’s task now is to help bring more fans to the MEC table, to get them to know the teams, to watch the standings, to, hey, get to games. As Amos pointed out, West Liberty’s basketball teams have had national success.
Kim Caldwell (formerly Stephens) led Glenville to the 2021-22 NCAA Division II National Championship before guiding Marshall to a 26-7 record and then jumping to Tennessee where she’s now the head coach.
Of course, former Wheeling standout Haywood Highsmith is now with the Miami Heat and ex-Fairmont State coach Joe Mazzulla just won an NBA title as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. Another former Fairmont coach, Jared Calhoun, was named the head coach of Utah State.
Heady stuff. Now, the trick is to parlay that into more and more success for the MEC, to tap into the local flavor and maybe draw fans somewhat turned off by Division I.
“It’s about getting people to understand the brand,” McGill said. “It’s about getting them to understand how strong we are.
“We have 23 championships. We’re continuing to make the best fan experiences possible, to get as many people involved as possible.”
The DuPont High grad again smiled, knowing the task isn’t small.
“I’ve had 100 things thrown at me,” he said. “I’m trying to grasp it all with this Eastern Kanawha County brain.”
There’s no doubt, though, he’ll be successful. Congrats on the gig, Chuck.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.