BALTIMORE – Donna M. Woodruff, Loyola University Maryland's assistant vice president and director of athletics, has announced a trio of promotions, as well as three new additions to her staff, to begin the 2019-20 academic year.
 
Chris Archacki and Ryan Eigenbrode have been promoted to serve as associate athletic directors, and Melissa Hassen moves to the title of associate director of gameday marketing. Three new faces have also joined the department, with Erik Pedersen coming on as assistant director of athletic communications, Jason Estes starting as associate director of strategic marketing and tickets, and Bailey Mathis '17 returning to her alma mater as assistant director of athletic development.
 
"This was the perfect time to assess and realign our staff, especially in the increasingly important areas of fan experience, strategic marketing, communications and development," said Woodruff. "These well-deserved promotions for Chris, Ryan and Melissa, coupled with our newest additions in Erik, Jason and Bailey, will not only strengthen our department but position us for tremendous success as we continue to move Loyola athletics forward."
 
Archacki has worked in the Loyola athletic department since 2011 and at the institution since 1997 when he came to the Evergreen campus as a member of Loyola's Department of Recreational Sports; he joined athletics as the director of business operations and was promoted to assistant athletic director in 2013.  Chris will now serve as the Associate Athletic Director for Business and Internal Operations.
 
Archacki is responsible for the budget management of Loyola's 18 varsity sports, capital budget expenditures and working with internal and external constituencies to ensure Loyola's compliance with school and NCAA budget standards. He is also the sport supervisor for Loyola's cross country, track and field, and rowing programs.
 
Entering his 13^th year at Loyola, Eigenbrode will now oversee both the athletic communications and strategic marketing areas of the athletic department after having led the communications wing since 2011. In that role, he has seen the university become a leader in digital broadcast technology, in-venue video board design, while also overseeing the Greyhounds' media, public, social and digital media content for all sports.
 
Eigenbrode's new position will be as the Associate Director of Athletics for Communications and Strategic Marketing where he will oversee the marketing and ticketing efforts of the Greyhounds on internal and external levels as Loyola continues to put forth a fan-forward experience on gamedays. He also works with the men's basketball program in a sport-supervisor role to assist with the operations of the team.
 
Hassen came to Loyola as the assistant director of marketing in 2010 and has worked with the gameday presentation of the Greyhounds sports since. She oversees the implementation of content on video boards at Reitz Arena and Ridley Athletic Complex and also works with campus and student groups to create mutually-beneficial programs that attract fans and the Loyola community to events and games.  Melissa will now serve as the Associate Director of Game Day Marketing.
 
Pedersen joins the athletic communications staff after spending the last three years at East Stroudsburg University where he was the sports information director and oversaw the publicity for the Warriors' 22 sports; he made prior stops at Lafayette College, Goucher College, the Landmark Conference and Auburn University at Montgomery. At Loyola, Pedersen will work directly with the men's and women's soccer teams, women's basketball, women's lacrosse, swimming and diving and rowing to promote the Greyhounds
 
Estes joins the Loyola staff after spending the last five years in professional baseball, most recently serving as the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks' director of marketing. He developed marketing plans for the Blue Rocks that increased ticket sales and brand awareness while engaging fans on social and digital platforms for a 70-game promotional schedule. At Loyola, Estes will provide support for all activities involving ticket sales, marketing and promotion of all sports programs, creating strategic marketing plans for increasing resources through ticket campaigns and other revenue streams for basketball, lacrosse and soccer programs.
 
Mathis returns to her alma mater where she was a three-time All-Patriot League honoree for the Greyhounds' nationally-ranked women's lacrosse team. She was named the Patriot League's 2017 Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received Loyola's Ernest Lagna award as the top female student-athlete. She recently completed her master's degree while serving as the director of women's lacrosse operations at the University of Denver reach the 2019 NCAA Quarterfinals. She also has played two seasons for the Women's Professional Lacrosse League's Command, helping the team win the 2018 WPLL title.