BALTIMORE, Md. (May 14, 2025)-–Vice President/Director of Athletics Dena Freeman-Patton is pleased to announce the hiring of Denise Thompson as the Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications & Brand Advancement.
 
"I am pleased to have Denise join our team. She comes to us with a wealth of experience as an athletics administrator and communications specialist," said Freeman-Patton. "She will help move us forward in oversight of our communications, digital media and marketing units. She will also serve as sports administrator for men's and women's track and field."
 
"I'm thrilled to join the Morgan State family. The University has a rich tradition and deep roots that make it great for the storytelling," said Thompson. "I'm excited to get to work and help elevate the external units of the department."
 
Thompson comes to Morgan State after spending two years as the Senior Associate AD for External Operations and Senior Woman Administrator at Manhattan College. During her time at Manhattan, Thompson served as the sport administrator for women's basketball, softball, women's soccer, volleyball, men's golf and rowing. She also spent three months as the acting athletic director. Thompson collaborated with university development offices and external partners to strategically expand athletic programs, communications and enrollment growth, resulting in nearly $1 million in increased resources in 2024. She negotiated contracts and sponsor deals, leading to a new ticketing operating system and an increase in revenue generation of 90%.
 
Prior to Manhattan, Thompson spent time at the University of Delaware, where she held the title Associate AD for Communications, Creative Services, and Multimedia. While with the Blue Hens, Thompson executed and led an overall strategy to effectively brand and promote Delaware's 21 Division I programs. Under her leadership, team Twitter accounts saw substantial growth, including football, men's basketball, and women's basketball, all experiencing more than 50-percent growth. The Delaware athletics website went from 724,000 views to over 1.2 million. She also campaigned for two separate plays to be No. 1 on ESPN Top Plays.
 
Before arriving at Delaware, Thompson served as the Assistant Commissioner for Communications and Externals Affairs for the Big Sky Conference. While at the conference level, Thompson was the officer in charge of news conferences/announcements and all appearances by the commissioner. She increased ticket revenue, corporate sponsorship donations, and halftime performance acts for the men's and women's basketball conference tournaments during that time. She also served as the sport administrator for cross country and track and field. Thompson spearheaded the conference's efforts in the yearly promotion of diversity and inclusion, Black History Month, and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
 
Thompson also had a stint at Northern Arizona University as the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. Thompson served as the official spokesperson for the athletics department and was responsible for the department's creative vision by designing media guides and game programs. She also oversaw the launch of a new athletics site in 2017.
 
Thompson graduated Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was a four-year member on the track and field and cross country teams and served as captain. She then earned a Master of Education in Sport Management from Texas State University.
 
Thompson is a member of the College Sports Communicators, where she was honored with the 2020-21 CoSIDA President's Award. She was a 2024 NCAA Pathways Program participant and a 2024 Marquis Who's Who In America.
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.