Isa Cruz

Over the summer, the Athletic Department hired Matt Taylor as the new assistant director of athletic communications. Taylor joins the Bowdoin community, having most recently worked as the director of athletic communications at Michigan Technological University. With a career in collegiate athletic communications, Taylor brings considerable experience in fields ranging from media relations to statistics.

Bowdoin’s recent athletic excellence landed the school on his radar. Though having previously worked with DI programs, Taylor kept up with other NCAA divisions as well.

“I was first drawn to Bowdoin for their successful athletics. Finishing 24th in the final 2025-26 Division III Learfield Directors’ Cup standings released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) showed me that athletic success is important here and that the NESCAC is the premier conference in DIII,” Taylor wrote in an email to the Orient.

It was Taylor’s in-person impression of Bowdoin that heightened his interest. Bowdoin’s athletic and campus cultures contributed to his interest in the role.

“After initial talks with Associate Director of Athletics for Communications Jim Caton followed by a campus visit, I thought I got a great understanding of how special of a place Bowdoin is and knew that I wanted to be a part of the communications team to help enhance the storytelling of Bowdoin Athletics,” Taylor wrote.

Before his time at Michigan Technological University, he served as a communications graduate assistant at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Additionally, Taylor is a former collegiate student-athlete himself, having competed in track and field and cross country at his undergraduate alma mater, Lock Haven University.

“I believe that, being a former collegiate student-athlete, I share a lot of similarities with today’s student-athletes,” he wrote. “Although back in my day, the communications office was a lot less media-driven, I still have the understanding of what the communications department does to enhance the experience of the student-athletes, and, in this day and age, it’s much more content-driven, which is where I believe I can make the most immediate impact here at Bowdoin.”

Taylor has quickly settled into his role since joining this summer. His many responsibilities include being the lead sport contact for his assigned teams.

“A typical week in the communications office is often centered around preparing for and covering home events,” Taylor wrote. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into making sure we’re ready before an event, whether that’s getting information out, coordinating coverage or preparing content and then making sure everything is updated afterward. No two weeks are exactly the same, especially as we move through different sports seasons, which is one of the things I enjoy most about the job.”

In addition to his standard workload, Taylor has long-term aspirations for what he hopes he can bring to the Athletic Department. His communications experience and specialty in social media have given him ideas for Polar Bear promotion.

“A big goal of mine is to help increase the amount of video content we produce and continue finding creative, new ways to tell the stories of our teams and student-athletes,” Taylor wrote. “Whether that’s through social media, photography, graphics or video, I want to help showcase Bowdoin Athletics in ways that engage our current fans while also reaching new audiences.”

And although Taylor is no longer a collegiate athlete, you may still be able to catch him on the court or out on a run, as well as at Bowdoin home sporting events.

“I still run,” he wrote. “Although not nearly as much as I used to. Last year’s Elite Eight run reminded me that ball is, in fact, still life, so I’ve found myself drawn to shooting hoops a little more over the past year. That said, the change of scenery has me excited to explore my new home and hopefully get back into running more consistently.”