Mike Ezekiel joined the University of North Alabama Department of Athletics on August 1, 2023 in the role of Assistant Athletic Director for Communications.
Ezekiel is only the second full-time person to lead the athletics communications office at North Alabama. He follows UNA Hall of Famer
Jeff Hodges, who was named the school’s first full-time sports information director in 1983 and held the title for 40 years.
Since his arrival, Ezekiel has led the promotional efforts of UNA's first conference championships of the Division I era, including men's cross country runner Brian Bett winning the ASUN Individual Championship in November 2024, the UNA men's basketball team winning the ASUN Regular Season Championship in March 2025 and the UNA men's tennis team winning both the ASUN Regular Season and ASUN Tournament Championships in May 2025.
Ezekiel — a 2017 graduate of UNA — returned to his alma mater following six years away from the Shoals. His most recent stop was at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn. as the Associate Director of Communications, where he served as the primary contact for baseball, women’s basketball, volleyball and women’s tennis and as the secondary contact for football.
"Mike has quickly risen through the ranks of the athletic communications profession since his graduation from UNA and is well-prepared to lead at his alma mater," said UNA Director of Athletics Josh Looney at the time of hire. "It's incredibly special to see Mike return to his alma mater in a leadership position after getting his start in the industry as a student worker at UNA. Our coaches and staff members who previously worked alongside Mike are ecstatic about his return, and we're all excited about the future of UNA athletic communications under his leadership."
While at ETSU — his other alma mater where he obtained a master’s degree in 2019 — Ezekiel handled the promotion of two conference championships in volleyball and women’s tennis. He also publicized a record season for the women’s basketball team, as the Bucs went from six wins to 25 wins for the largest season-to-season turnaround in all of NCAA Division I and the seventh-largest turnaround in NCAA history.
Prior to ETSU, Ezekiel enjoyed three years as the Director of Athletics Communications and Operations at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas from 2019-2022. In that role, Ezekiel was responsible for the publicity efforts and operations of all 21 intercollegiate programs. He also served on the university staff council, was the chairman of the McMurry Hall of Honor and served as a board member for the Abilene Sports Alliance.
While at McMurry, Ezekiel and his staff won American Southwest Conference Sports Information Department of the Year award in 2021 and 2022. Ezekiel was the first SID to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Only three schools have won the award more than once since its inception in 2009.
Prior to his first leadership position at McMurry, Ezekiel served as a graduate assistant at ETSU from 2017-19. He served as a primary contact for baseball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, track & field and triathlon during his two years, while also aiding with football and men’s basketball in various gameday roles.
As an undergraduate student, Ezekiel spent five years with the UNA athletics department — two of those as an intern with the broadcast team and sports communication office. The Shoals native also served as Managing Editor and Sports Editor for The Flor-Ala and contributed to the Times Daily and as a high school football reporter. Additionally, he interned for Big River Broadcasting and helped with the launch of Fox Sports Shoals. He also managed and produced weekly podcasts while in college.
Ezekiel graduated from the University of North Alabama with a B.S. in Journalism Multimedia in Spring 2017. He was named the UNA Department of Communication's Most Outstanding Senior for 2017. Ezekiel then completed his master's degree in sport management at East Tennessee State University in Spring 2019.
Ezekiel is originally from Florence, Ala. and graduated from Wilson High School in 2012. He married his wife, Baily, on July 16, 2022 in Abilene, Texas. They have one son, Roman.
