Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood athletics has announced Sam Hovan as the new voice of the Lancers.
 
A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Hovan joined the Longwood athletics department as the assistant director of athletics communications for digital media and will serve the department in a dual role as lead broadcaster for all sports and communications contact for Longwood baseball.
 
Hovan earned his master's degree in broadcast and digital journalism from the prestigious Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2013 and comes to Longwood from Arizona Western College where he spent the past four years in do-it-all role as sports information director and lead broadcaster for the school's eight-team athletics department.
 
"We're thrilled to add a person of Sam's talents and character to the Longwood athletics staff," said Chris Cook, Longwood assistant vice president for athletics communications. "I met Sam years ago when he was completing his capstone project at Syracuse, and I was impressed then with his professionalism and demeanor. That still holds true today and is overshadowed only by his talents as a broadcaster and communications professional."
 
With the Matadors, Hovan carried televised broadcasts for the school's football program as well as the men's and women's basketball program. During his time there, he added an online livestream for the baseball, men's and women's soccer, softball and volleyball programs, while also producing all publicity and coverage for the department. He significantly raised both the quality of Arizona Western's broadcasts and the quantity of games produced during his time in Yuma, while also serving the department in a fundraising role and helped raise more than $100,000 for the school through memberships, sponsorships and various philanthropic events during his tenure.
 
"Sam is a highly versatile professional who is capable of telling stories in a number of ways," Cook said. "He is a gifted and devoted broadcaster, as well as a strong writer, but most importantly, he is an individual who fits well within our culture and somebody who is self-motivated and always looking to improve as a professional. He will serve our fanbase well as the new voice of the Lancers, and we're excited to welcome him, his wife Alaina and their family to Farmville."
 
At Longwood, Hovan will step into the role of Longwood's lead broadcaster, calling all men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball games airing on WVHL Kickin' Country 92.9 FM, as well as Longwood's Olympic sports airing on ESPN+. Hovan will also serve as the athletics communications contact for Longwood baseball and contribute to the athletics department's digital and social media presence for all sports.
 
Hovan also spent time in professional baseball, working with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball as a broadcast and media assistant for the 2014 season. He gained experience as a play-by-play broadcaster and a color commentator and a host of the pregame and postgame shows with the Saints, while also producing content for the team's website and game programs.
 
"I'm really excited to join the Longwood family," Hovan said. "The university has been incredibly welcoming, and I want to help promote all of the great things that are happening at Longwood. Everyone wants to work somewhere that's on the rise, and I get to do that here at Longwood."
 
Prior to jumping into the realm of athletics communications, Hovan put his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from LeTourneau University to use as a high school teacher in Texas. After two years in the classroom, he began pursuit of his master's at Syracuse, which saw him land his first job in sports with The Devils Den, a recruiting website and digital media outlet devoted to coverage of Duke University athletics, as part of his master's capstone project.
 
Hovan will make his on-air debut with Longwood on WVHL Friday night as the 3-0 Longwood men's basketball team hosts Delaware State in Willett Hall.
 
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