The SWAC named the Alabama A&M University Athletics Communications Office its 2024-25 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Sports Information Staff of the Year. The annual award is based on votes from the league’s sports information directors and is significant within the HBCU sports community.
“What an accomplishment for our staff,” Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications Brian Howard said on social media. “Just so thankful and blessed for the staff and all the interns we have. Couldn’t have been possible without all their hard work and dedication throughout the year.”
Alabama A&M’s Athletic Communications staff saw tremendous growth in the 2024-25 calendar year, including the launch of the athletic streaming platform Bulldogs All-Access, using the HUDL program.
“I am extremely proud of this staff and the direction we are going,” Brian Howard said. “None of this would be even possible without the outstanding group of interns we had this year and their dedication in making us the best in the conference.”
Howard, Assistant Director Aliyah McDaniel, Creative Content Coordinator Jordan Norswearthy, and Athletics Digital Media Specialist Thai Floyd played incomparable roles in telling the Alabama A&M Athletic story.
Alabama A&M saw exponential growth in numerous categories during the 2024-25 season, including social media presence, website stories, highlighted videos, featured videos, and many postseason conference accolades. On the social media side, the official athletics Instagram page saw over 1 million views and interactions for three consecutive months during the 2025 season and saw five videos with over 100 thousand views.
Howard, a veteran of 19 years in athletics communications, was appointed as the SWAC SID Committee Chairperson for the upcoming two seasons. His term will begin in the 2025-26 sports season.
“I am extremely excited to be named as the SID Committee Chairperson,” Howard said. “This is a testament of the hard work and dedication I have within the profession. In addition, it is the relationships I have built during the process, and I look forward to continuing to help brand this outstanding institution and conference.”
During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Howard received consecutive honors as the Black College Nines Baseball Sports Information Director of the Year. He is the only representative from the SWAC on two committees for college sports communicators: the NCAA Division I Cabinet and the Advocacy Committee.
Alabama A&M’s sports information department had a special year with head coaching announcements of Dawn Thornton (Women’s Basketball), Sam Shade (Football), and Donte Jackson (Men’s Basketball). Sadly, they had to handle the untimely passing of football player Medrick Burnett Jr.