ALEXANDRIA - It is always important to make a good first impression, and the 2024-25 RRAC Sports Information Director of the Year nailed it. LSU Alexandria's Caleb Dunlop is honored with the award during his first year as the Generals' sports communicator.
Presented following each academic year, the RRAC SID of the Year award recognizes the individual who has performed the best at promoting their school's athletics program, collaborating with fellow SIDs, contributing to the conference, maintaining timely and accurate information, driving media coverage, conducting gameday operations, and expanding social media outreach and broadcast capabilities. It honors those who go above and beyond, while maintaining strong relationships across the conference. The award is decided through a vote among all RRAC sports information directors.
Making an immediate impact at LSUA, Dunlop has overseen a full-scale revamp of the school's Athletics Communication office. He retooled LSUA's athletics social media strategy, generating more than 100,000 views per month on Instagram during the men's and women's soccer season. Dunlop also oversaw the creation of the Generals Bulletin and the LSUA Athletes of the Week.
Further, Dunlop created the first-ever game day programs for soccer home matches and re-introduced postgame interviews with coaches and players, including postgame press conferences at the Red River Athletic Conference Basketball and Softball Tournaments. He added play-by-play commentary to home softball and baseball games, as well as the RRAC Men's and Women's Soccer Quarterfinals. Dunlop served as the Generals' public address announcer for soccer, baseball, and softball. He also provides photos for LSUA home events.
"Caleb has had a tremendous impact on the LSUA athletic department since his arrival last August," says LSUA Athletic Director Tyler Unsicker. "I have been so impressed with how well he has worked with our student-athletes in showcasing their many successes throughout the year and enhancing the overall student-athlete experience. This is a well-deserved award and we are proud to have Caleb at LSUA."
Dunlop wrote LSUA Athletics' first-ever feature stories on Men's Soccer player Mnqobi Mbili and Women's Soccer player Jaqui Guillermo. He followed those with stories on the Port Allen connection in Men's Basketball, the 2024-25 Women's Basketball Senior Class, and LSUA Softball's Julia Kwakernaak.
He promoted LSUA Women's Soccer's Hille Baumfalk and Fenja Leibner as the program's first Louisiana Sports Writers Association honorees.
"It's an honor to be recognized by my colleagues who understand the hours and commitment our role requires," says Dunlop. "This award isn't about me. It's about the incredible student-athletes I have the privilege of supporting every day. They're the heart of everything we do, and I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to help tell their stories, capture their success, and shine a light on their hard work and dedication. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve our student-athletes and proud to be part of a community that values and supports the work we do to enhance the student-athlete experience."
Prior to LSUA, Dunlop was the Assistant Director of Athletic Communication at Central Washington University from 2015-2022. During his time with the Wildcats, he was the primary contact for each of CWU's teams for at least one season. He primarily worked with women's soccer, men's basketball, softball, and men's rugby. Dunlop served as the play-by-play broadcaster and public address announcer for most Wildcat home games. He had a story on former CWU quarterback Reilly Hennessey published on NCAA.com, the only CWU story to hit the NCAA front page from 2015-2022. He also created GIFs featuring CWU student-athletes which generated over 12 million views.
When not working on the sidelines, Dunlop served as the co-chair for the Women's Basketball DII-SIDA West Region Media Poll and was a voting member of the Women's Basketball DII-SIDA National Media Poll. Dunlop served as the GNAC SID Chair from 2016-18.
Previously, Dunlop served as the Sports Marketing and Information Director at Dickinson State University (N.D.) and Sports Information Intern while attending Coker College (S.C.).
Dunlop is a native of Lewiston, Maine, and graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Coker in 2013. He resides in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Written by Darin David | RRAC
Edited by Adam Lord | LSUA Strategic Communications
Photo - Kaetlyn Dunbar
Graphics - LSUA Strategic Communications