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Meet Brian Cooney.
Like most of us working in the sports industry, Brian has always had a deep love for sports, especially basketball. He attended one of the top athletic high schools in the country, Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., alongside top recruits like Caleb Williams (yes, that Caleb Williams).
Sounds pretty cool, except it made it nearly impossible for Brian to make his high school basketball team, even for someone who now stands at 6'8".
His solution was to join the rowing team instead, but he still knew he wanted to find a way to work around the sports he loved. He started experimenting with commentary and broadcasting, and by the time he was applying to colleges, he had decided to pursue a career in sports media.
That led him to Butler University, where he enrolled in the school's Sports Media program with ambitions of becoming a journalist or broadcaster.
During his freshman year, Brian became friends with a fellow student named Chandler Hart, who had come to Butler with a background in photography and was learning graphic design while working with the university's athletic department.
Brian was fascinated by the work Chandler was creating, so he asked his friend to teach him. Chandler was happy to help, and the two eventually became roommates, spending countless hours creating sports graphics, learning new techniques, and experimenting with different designs.
He was hooked, but with Chandler already working for Butler Athletics, he needed to find somewhere else to put his new skills to work.
Fortunately, Butler placed a strong emphasis on internships and regularly shared opportunities with students in its Sports Media program. One of those opportunities was at Brownsburg High School, just outside Indianapolis.
Brian applied and landed the internship, where he was essentially handed the keys to the athletic department's creative content. He made graphics, managed social accounts, updated the website, wrote articles, and even organized media days for the school's teams.
For someone who had only recently started learning graphic design, it was an incredible opportunity. Brownsburg had strong athletic programs, plenty of content to create, and the freedom for Brian to try just about anything he wanted.
Brian’s Career Path
By the time senior year rolled around, Brian was feeling confident in his skillset and portfolio, but there was still the small matter of finding a job after graduation.
Through a connection from Butler, he learned about a year-long internship program with Harvard Athletics. They were looking for someone who could handle a variety of tasks, but especially who had a strong graphic design skillset. It was the perfect fit, so in August 2023, shortly after graduating, Brian packed his bags for Boston to begin his paid internship at Harvard.
With 42 varsity sports and a relatively small creative team, there was no shortage of work to be done. Brian quickly found himself creating graphics for some of the department's biggest programs, including football and basketball, and getting his work in front of a much larger audience than he ever had before.
Just a few months into the internship, a full-time position opened within the department, and suddenly, Brian was the Assistant Director of Communications, managing social media and creative responsibilities while also serving as the Sports Information Director for seven teams, including rowing, wrestling, rugby, and volleyball.
If you've worked in college athletics, you can probably imagine what that workload looked like. Between writing articles, working with coaches and athletes, coordinating media coverage, creating graphics, and managing social accounts, Brian had his hands full.
The experience forced Brian to get organized and work quickly, two skills he still relies on today, and it also helped him figure out which parts of the job he enjoyed most.
Brian loved social media, particularly the strategy and analytics behind it. He found himself digging into the numbers, studying what was working, and figuring out how to get more people engaging with Harvard Athletics. He even began presenting the department's social media strategy to colleagues across the athletic department.
After a couple of years, Brian was ready to find a role where he could spend more time doing exactly that.
Social Media in Sports
Social media has become one of the most important ways sports organizations connect with their fans. From sharing highlights and behind-the-scenes content to promoting games, engaging with fans, and building excitement around athletes and teams, social media plays a major role in how sports properties tell their stories and grow their audiences. Behind every post is a combination of creative work and strategy, with teams using performance data and analytics to understand what resonates with fans and improve their content.
Careers in sports social media extend well beyond simply running an Instagram or TikTok account. Athletic departments, professional teams, leagues, agencies, and brands employ social media managers, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, content producers, and digital strategists. These professionals often work closely with marketing, communications, and sponsorship teams to develop content that supports the organization's broader goals. For anyone interested in combining creativity, storytelling, and sports, social media offers a wide range of career opportunities.
One thing we haven't discussed yet is that throughout his time in Boston, Brian had been in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend from college, who had moved back home to Minnesota after graduation.
Naturally, he prioritized his search to that area of the country, which led him to a graphic design opening with Minnesota Athletics.
He applied, but rather than leave it at that, Brian tracked down the department's lead graphic designer and sent her an email introducing himself, sharing his portfolio, and expressing his interest in the job. The two connected, and Brian walked her through his experience at Harvard. As they talked, he kept coming back to his passion for social media, particularly the strategy and analytics work he'd been doing.
She liked his graphic design work, but was particularly interested in his experience with social media. As luck would have it, the department was preparing to hire a Social Media Manager, and based on their conversation, she thought Brian could be a great fit.
A few weeks later, he applied, went through the interview process, and was hired.
In October 2025, Brian joined Minnesota Athletics as Social Media Manager, where he now leads the department's social strategy across more than 20 sports.
It's a pretty exciting gig. Brian gets to create content around programs like men's basketball and football, collaborate with the University's design and video teams, and lead a group of student interns who help bring the department's content to life. And as part of the Big Ten, the audience he's trying to reach extends well beyond campus to Gopher fans across the entire state of Minnesota.
Somehow, Brian has also found time to start building something of his own.
Earlier this year, he started experimenting with an idea that had been on his mind for a while. Every day, he'd scroll through social media and see incredible videos, graphics, and photographs coming from teams across the sports industry, always wondering, “who actually makes all of this stuff?”
Brian wanted to know the people behind the work, and he figured other people might be interested too. So he started creating short videos highlighting sports photographers, graphic designers, videographers, and other creatives whose work had caught his attention. Each video introduced the person, showcased their work, and gave them a little recognition.
Within a month, his videos had generated more than a million views, bringing new attention and followers to the creatives he featured.
Encouraged by the response, Brian recently launched The Media Pass, expanding the concept into a podcast where he interviews some of the talented people creating content across sports and entertainment.
Brian was gracious enough to have me on as well to talk everything working in sports. You can check it out here.
It's been a pretty exciting few years for Brian as his career has taken off, but perhaps the coolest part is that through The Media Pass, he's getting to share the work and stories of other talented creatives, just like Chandler once shared his passion for graphic design with him.
Full circle.
Q&A: Landing a job in sports social media with Brian Cooney
Q. Butler placed a strong emphasis on helping students find internships and gain real-world experience. How important was that institutional support to your development, and what should prospective students look for when evaluating a college's ability to prepare them for a career in sports?
A. Butler really emphasized the importance of internships during my time there, which was a huge reason I was so interested in joining Butler’s sports media program to begin with. In this industry, prioritizing internships and gaining hands-on experience is how you fast-track your career—whether you stay on as a full-time hire afterward or simply figure out what you truly want to do. If it weren't for Butler's emphasis on this, I would have been way behind without even realizing it. Shoutout to Butler, and Go Dawgs!
Q. You accepted a year-long internship at Harvard after graduating from college, which eventually turned into a full-time position. What advice would you give recent graduates considering an internship instead of immediately pursuing a full-time role?
A. Yes, my Harvard role started as a year-long internship. But just because it’s an internship doesn't mean you won't get to do cool work or build your portfolio. This role allowed me to be creative, work collegiate events, travel with teams, gain experience behind a camera, and so much more. I'm lucky that it eventually turned into a full-time job, but more often than not, if you succeed in your internship, it's in the company's best interest to promote from within. Learn the ins and outs of the role before getting hung up on the job title.
Q. Between managing communications for multiple sports at Harvard, leading social media at Minnesota, and now building The Media Pass on the side, you've had a lot on your plate. How do you approach time management and balance your professional responsibilities with your personal projects?
A. Ah yes, my favorite thing in the world: time management. This is the single most important aspect of working in sports. How do you balance everything going on in your career and your personal life? Saying it’s easy wouldn't be true. You have to make sacrifices in this profession, especially when you're young. But that's just the point—you're young. Before you have the extra responsibilities of a family, a mortgage, and everything else, this is your time to grind. Your early 20s set the foundation for your future, so using your time wisely to progress in your career pays off long-term.
I started Media Pass—a brand that highlights the best in the creative media industry—as a side hustle with an eye on future success. Even though it cuts into my personal time during an already busy work schedule, it’s something I enjoy and know will help me down the road. I feel grateful to be in a position where I'm this busy.
Key Takeaways
1. Learn from the people around you
Some of your best teachers might be your own classmates. Brian's friendship with Chandler introduced him to graphic design and ultimately changed the direction of his career. Don't be afraid to ask someone to teach you something, share what you know, and learn alongside each other.
2. Don’t overlook “smaller” opportunities
Brian didn't need a Power Four internship to start building an impressive portfolio. At Brownsburg High School, he had the freedom to experiment, take ownership of projects, and create work that ultimately helped him land at Harvard. Sometimes smaller organizations offer opportunities to do more than you would at a bigger name.
3. Go beyond the application
Brian originally applied for a graphic design position at Minnesota, but reaching out directly to the hiring team led him to an entirely different opportunity. Take the initiative to introduce yourself, share your work, and explain what you're passionate about. You never know what opportunities might be coming that haven't been posted yet.
Feeling Inspired? Check out these opportunities.
Closing Thoughts
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of So You Want to Work in Sports. I appreciate you being part of this community.
If you have ideas, feedback, or future guest suggestions, feel free to reach out at [email protected].
If you want more hands-on support as you navigate the start of your career within sports, book a 1:1 session with me here. The sooner you start preparing, the more confident you will feel when opportunities come your way.
Win the week!
-Ethan
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