Eastern Michigan Athletics
Will Stitilis Named Assistant AD for Marketing
11/3/2022 8:10:00 AM | General
Stitilis officially began his duties in October
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee has tabbed Will Stitilis as the department's Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing. Stitilis officially began his duties in early October and brings more than six years of experience within intercollegiate athletics to the role.
"I could not be more excited for this opportunity to be joining the Eastern Michigan Athletic Department in this position," said Stitilis. "I'm looking forward to not only being an Eagle but also being a part of the campus and Ypsilanti community. There's a lot of great things happening with this department that I'm eager to take on and elevate to even higher levels."
In his new role, Stitilis will oversee the day-to-day operations of the EMU Athletics Marketing Department and its staff, while directly coordinating all marketing efforts for the EMU football and men's basketball programs. Stitilis will also serve as a member of the external leadership and executive teams within the athletic department.
Stitilis comes to Ypsilanti following a stint as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Fan Engagement at the University of Maine, a position that he assumed in July 2021. While at Maine, he was responsible for the overall fan experience at all Maine athletic events by designing, implementing, and executing marketing, advertising, promotional, game atmosphere, and ticket sales plans. Stitilis carried direct oversight for football, men's and women's ice hockey, field hockey, softball, and men's and women's swimming & diving programs.
He also wrote, developed, and directed the entire run-of-show for all home athletic events, working in conjunction with the band, cheer, and video production staff and facilitating the completion of all corporate sponsor activations.
During his time as a Black Bear, Stitilis restructured promotional planning and gameday strategies across all athletic programs, including constructing new game presentations and public address script templates, and new strategies for in-game activations. His efforts resulted in 80 percent renewal rate and 15 percent increase in new season ticket holders for football, the highest attended spring game in Maine football program history and the highest individual game attendance for students at both football and men's ice hockey.
Additionally, under Stitilis' direction, Maine led the America East Conference in attendance for field hockey (accumulated) and softball (average), featuring the highest-attended game in program history for field hockey. His marketing efforts also led to improved accumulated & average attendance for women's ice hockey and swimming & diving programs from the previous season.
Prior to his time at Maine, Stitilis spent time as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Community Relations at Princeton University. There, he developed and implemented marketing strategies including promotional plans, ticketing campaigns, in-game activations, and entertainment for the assigned sports of women's basketball and men's lacrosse. He also assisted with the execution of marketing strategies for football, men's basketball, and men's ice hockey as well as Princeton's 32 other varsity programs.
In addition to his spot assignments, Stitilis oversaw and managed all marketing strategies for the Princeton Athletics Kids Club with a focus on increasing membership, raising awareness of the program, and creating new content, which included a monthly newsletter, print-at-home activities, and athlete profiles. During his oversight, enrollment of families who joined the Kids Club increased by over 115% from 2018-19 to 2019-2020 with a total enrollment number of 1,042 families and over 2,000 children.
Stitilis began his postgraduate career in athletics at the University of Connecticut, where he served as an athletic marketing graduate assistant between 2015-17, before being elevated to the post of an athletic marketing assistant.
A native of Guilford, Conn., Stitilis earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology, with a sports management concentration, from the University of Maryland in 2015. A member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators, Stitilis resides in Ann Arbor.
"I could not be more excited for this opportunity to be joining the Eastern Michigan Athletic Department in this position," said Stitilis. "I'm looking forward to not only being an Eagle but also being a part of the campus and Ypsilanti community. There's a lot of great things happening with this department that I'm eager to take on and elevate to even higher levels."
In his new role, Stitilis will oversee the day-to-day operations of the EMU Athletics Marketing Department and its staff, while directly coordinating all marketing efforts for the EMU football and men's basketball programs. Stitilis will also serve as a member of the external leadership and executive teams within the athletic department.
Stitilis comes to Ypsilanti following a stint as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Fan Engagement at the University of Maine, a position that he assumed in July 2021. While at Maine, he was responsible for the overall fan experience at all Maine athletic events by designing, implementing, and executing marketing, advertising, promotional, game atmosphere, and ticket sales plans. Stitilis carried direct oversight for football, men's and women's ice hockey, field hockey, softball, and men's and women's swimming & diving programs.
He also wrote, developed, and directed the entire run-of-show for all home athletic events, working in conjunction with the band, cheer, and video production staff and facilitating the completion of all corporate sponsor activations.
During his time as a Black Bear, Stitilis restructured promotional planning and gameday strategies across all athletic programs, including constructing new game presentations and public address script templates, and new strategies for in-game activations. His efforts resulted in 80 percent renewal rate and 15 percent increase in new season ticket holders for football, the highest attended spring game in Maine football program history and the highest individual game attendance for students at both football and men's ice hockey.
Additionally, under Stitilis' direction, Maine led the America East Conference in attendance for field hockey (accumulated) and softball (average), featuring the highest-attended game in program history for field hockey. His marketing efforts also led to improved accumulated & average attendance for women's ice hockey and swimming & diving programs from the previous season.
Prior to his time at Maine, Stitilis spent time as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Community Relations at Princeton University. There, he developed and implemented marketing strategies including promotional plans, ticketing campaigns, in-game activations, and entertainment for the assigned sports of women's basketball and men's lacrosse. He also assisted with the execution of marketing strategies for football, men's basketball, and men's ice hockey as well as Princeton's 32 other varsity programs.
In addition to his spot assignments, Stitilis oversaw and managed all marketing strategies for the Princeton Athletics Kids Club with a focus on increasing membership, raising awareness of the program, and creating new content, which included a monthly newsletter, print-at-home activities, and athlete profiles. During his oversight, enrollment of families who joined the Kids Club increased by over 115% from 2018-19 to 2019-2020 with a total enrollment number of 1,042 families and over 2,000 children.
Stitilis began his postgraduate career in athletics at the University of Connecticut, where he served as an athletic marketing graduate assistant between 2015-17, before being elevated to the post of an athletic marketing assistant.
A native of Guilford, Conn., Stitilis earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology, with a sports management concentration, from the University of Maryland in 2015. A member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators, Stitilis resides in Ann Arbor.
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