CSB Athletics hires Meredith Mahoney as Director of Athletic Communications

A new face has joined the CSB athletic department with Meredith Mahoney becoming the new Director of Athletic Communications. The Illinois native started at CSB on July 13 and oversees all communication efforts for the CSB athletic programs.  

“I had the perfect opportunity fall into my lap,” Mahoney said. “It just really felt like home. The first conversation I had with Kelly was really good, it felt very natural, and I think that speaks volumes. Everybody here is super nice and super welcoming.”  

At Illinois Wesleyan University, where Mahoney spent the past four years, she served as a graduate assistant for two years before being elevated to assistant director of athletic communications in 2024. 

“We had a really good finalist pool,” CSB Athletic Director Kelly Anderson Diercks said. “What separated Meredith was definitely her energy and her passion. I liked how she thought about, ‘How do I tell Bennie stories in a new way that will get these stories out to as many people as possible?’ I love hearing a young up-and-comer in the field who is really excited about thinking outside of the box.” 

Mahoney is in charge of a plethora of responsibilities including updating the CSB Athletics website, writing previews, updating bios and stats, making sure historical records are up to date, responding to emails, sending out rosters and game notes, taking stats at events and post-game writing, as well as handling social media duties.  

Mahoney says she is excited to continue working at the Division III level.  

“I’ve always been passionate about Division III athletics,” Mahoney said. “It’s the most pure form of athletics. It’s really just a bunch of athletes that have their heart in the sport, the program, and the people.”  

While searching through job openings, Mahoney’s attention turned to the position at CSB, where she already had a connection. 

“I’ve known Jordan Modjeski (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications for CSB and SJU) for four years now, and I reached out to her, and we had a good conversation,” Mahoney said. “I went for the job knowing that having her as an assistant is incredible. It was a huge plus to being a first-time director, knowing that I have somebody that I can rely on to be a partner and not just my assistant.” 

Mahoney said a key aspect of her decision was the opportunity to work with a university that has a winning culture.  

“Wanting to be around that atmosphere and around good people that care about each other was a really big thing that caught my eye right away,” Mahoney said. “We’re coming off a year where three teams made the NCAA tournament as well as having a lot of successful individuals, so winning doesn’t just come around once in a while, they win a lot, and they’re only doing better every year and getting further.” 

While Mahoney’s role and responsibilities increase, she said her mindset is staying the same.  

“I think that my job and my mentality is still the same,” Mahoney said. “It’s to give the best coverage of athletes and best coverage of sports as I can. Whatever it takes to do that, I’m willing to do.”  

Mahoney said she wants to take full advantage of the rise of social media in the sports industry.  

“At Wesleyan, our students were running around getting videos of games that would turn into highlight reels, and we had all these really cool clips that athletes really loved,” Mahoney said. “So, trying to find ways of how I can bring that here, bring that value. People see the videos, the photos, and that’s what really clicks. It’s what gets attention and that’s what brings more eyes to St. Ben’s. We want to promote our student athletes and the great things that they’re accomplishing.” 

Anderson Diercks said that the CSB athletics department has put in work to incorporate social media into media communications. 

“Both her and Jordan Modjeski have a really clear vision about where they want to take our social media that hopefully stands out to both recruits and other users of social media,” Anderson Diercks said. “I think she has already elevated our social media, and they have goals about growing our number of followers, growing our interactions, and they are already well on their way to doing that. They have some new ideas to continue to elevate our media days for our student athletes who really enjoy them.” 

Despite the uncertainty that can come with starting somewhere new, Mahoney said she has enjoyed her start at CSB.  

“Being in a new place can be scary, but I think that when you’re surrounded by good people it’s really fun,” Mahoney said. “I get paid to watch sports, I get paid to cover sports, and that’s the coolest job in the world. It never feels like I’m ever doing the same thing. Every day is a little different and it feels like it’s new and rewarding.”