BEAVER TOWNSHIP — As coordinator of social media and creative content for all of Youngstown State University’s intercollegiate sports programs, Madison Chapman has had a busy first year at the helm.

The Heartland Christian and YSU graduate has been entrusted with getting the word out about all 21 – nine men’s and 12 women’s varsity sports – programs, its athletes and coaches while barely having time to catch her breath due to the success those teams have enjoyed since her hiring last May.

“I work out of our athletics communications office,” Chapman told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center. “I am the first person to hold this position and my role is to increase the department’s presence on social media platforms, looking to showcase our student-athletes through creative media. A large part of my role is working with our undergraduate student staff who have interests in photography, videography, graphic design and social media management. We look to accomplish the social media initiatives of our department while aiding in their professional development.

“My main goal is to highlight and promote the accomplishments of all student-athletes through engaging content that celebrates their success in competition, also showcasing their personalities through compelling content outside the arena so our audience can connect with them beyond the game.”

Chapman grew up playing and watching all sports and loved the rush she received from competing.

Her parents and sister received their degrees from YSU and she knew early on that the Penguin campus would be her home away from home.

“I fell in love with the competitive energy sports gave me and knew that I wanted to be involved in sports in some way, somehow the rest of my life,” Chapman said. “When I was graduating high school, I knew I wanted to attend YSU and major in sports management.

“That major, however, was not offered by YSU so our Williamson College of Business Administration worked with me and made it happen through an Individualized Curriculum plan. I got to study what would best prepare me for my future in sports and it was YSU that prepared me to take the next step in my professional career through hands-on learning in the classroom. Working with the athletics communications department as I earned my undergraduate and graduate degrees was essential in my professional development.”

While working in athletics, first as an undergraduate then as a graduate assistant, her duties grew from helping on game days to later assisting with writing previews and recaps for YSUsports.com, updating graphics for social media and assisting with statistics for multiple sports.

She was responsible for all communications with their cross country, swimming and diving and lacrosse teams.

Her duties now include overseeing the athletic department’s account while looking to promote each program equally.

“A large part of my role is to promote consistency across our social media platforms,” Chapman said. “I make sure each program feels their social media presence meets the needs of their team. We have posted more content than ever for our teams this year and implemented an effective, in-game strategy to showcase our student-athletes’ competitive successes. We also produce studio content for each team, create videos that highlight their personalities while sharing their unique stories.”

The recent national championship by its bowling team had Chapman’s fingers barely taking a break.

“Promoting our bowling team and their national championship on social media was such an honor,” she said. “I was a part of an incredible group that had the opportunity to promote that title and the last time I checked the numbers, we had nearly a million impressions and climbing on social media, reaching people all across the country. I’ve joked with several people that on the night of the national championship, my fingers had never moved faster. John Vogel was on the ground in Las Vegas sending us photos and videos while Trevor [Parks] and I were back here making sure everything hit our social media channels in real time.

“We didn’t just cover the championship match, we captured the full experience from the team leaving the hotel to hoisting the trophy. In the weeks since, we have been just as busy celebrating and promoting their national title. One of my favorite moments was taking the trophy around YSU and photographing it with different campus landmarks. The NCAA even collaborated with that post on Instagram, which has over 500,000 followers so the extra exposure was a huge win for us and our social channels.”

Then when you factor in their sustained success in cross country and track, the Horizon League title won this past Sunday by the women’s tennis team and the ascension by their men’s basketball team to the upper tier of the conference standings, among other team and individual successes, it’s a nonstop effort for Chapman.

“For the first time in program history our men’s basketball team advanced to the Horizon League championship game, coach [Brian] Gorby has had a remarkable run with his teams and there is always something to mention and promote with all of our teams. With our women’s tennis team winning the Horizon League championship, we have been kept rather busy and that is a good thing.

“Looking forward as we continue to promote our teams on social media, we have the incredible opportunity to host the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May, which is exciting. We can do the absolute most on social when we host because we have a full staff, complete with photographers and videographers to get the most content possible. Everyone will be kept updated with live coverage. Moving forward, it will be a summer of planning and analyzing, seeing what worked best for our teams and where we can improve as we continue to provide the best coverage of YSU athletics on social media.”

On Sunday, the Curbstone Coaches will present their 56th hall of fame class beginning at 5 p.m. at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center, South Avenue, Boardman.

Next Monday, Erin Gabriel, former Poland Seminary High School and University of Tennessee girls softball standout, will serve as guest speaker.