Pikeville, KY – University of Pikeville (UPIKE) athletics has announced the hiring of Michael Pagano as the Assistant Sports Information Director.

Pagano comes to Pikeville after serving as a Graduate Assistant in Athletic Communications at Messiah University in Grantham, Pa. While at Messiah, Pagano assisted in all aspects of the Athletic Communications office. He wrote post game articles for sports such as men's lacrosse, men's and women's basketball, and softball among a variety of different tasks.

Pagano brings a wealth of experience in broadcasting to UPIKE. Beginning as a student at his alma mater, Muskingum University, Pagano has broadcasted an array of sports such as football, basketball, soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse among others. While at Messiah, he had the opportunity to broadcast Sweet Sixteen women's soccer and Opening Round women's basketball NCAA tournament contests. He also created and provided voice-overs for Messiah highlight videos after home contests. Notably, he was recognized as the Broadcaster of the Year by the Communication department at Muskingum during the 2018-19 school year.

Pagano is a former student-athlete at Muskingum University as a four-year member of the baseball team. He also has experience working in television production for the Columbus Clippers in Columbus, Ohio. Pagano joins Alek Morgan in the UPIKE sports information office.

"We are excited to add Michael to our team," said Morgan, "He brings a broad skillset and great experience to the department and will play a key role in creating new and exciting content to cover our student-athletes. Michael's broadcast experience also ties in well with our initiatives to grow the UPIKE Sports Network and continue to innovate our streaming capabilities."