Joe Hornstein Position: Associate Director of Athletics Department: Communications

Joe Hornstein is an Associate Director of Athletics with the University of Central Florida and began his fifth year working with the Knights' communications and community efforts in 2011-12.

A native of North Miami Beach, Fla., Hornstein is a long-time and active member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), slated to become the organization's President in 2012-13. From 2009-12, Hornstein has served on the Board for CoSIDA and presently fulfills the role of First Vice President. His prior leadership role within CoSIDA came during 2009-11 when he served as Chair for the newly formed Division I Management Council.

In 2011, he oversaw the program development for the annual CoSIDA Convention in Marco Island, arranging participation from noted national speakers Lou Holtz, Lee Corso, Bob Williams (NCAA V.P. of Communications), Amy Perko (Executive Dir., the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics), Malcolm Moran (Professor and Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society), Erik Christianson (NCAA Director of Public and Media Relations), Ronnie Ramos (NCAA Managing Director of Digital Communications), Bill Hancock (Executive Dir. of the Bowl Championship Series), amongst others.

Since 2009, the communications staff at UCF Athletics has taken a leadership role in building community relationships, contacts and outreach opportunities for the program's student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff. Positive growth in athletic event attendance, group ticket sales and speaking engagements were soon realized through the active participation in many regional chambers of commerce and philanthropic organizations. Proudly, the athletics communication staff now accomplishes nearly 300 hours annually in community outreach.

In addition to professional organizations, Hornstein is active weekly with community involvement, primarily through membership in the Rotary Club of Oviedo and Rotary International. Through Rotary, Hornstein has participated with Polio Plus, Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army and holiday season food distribution.

At UCF, community involvement was evident most within the Knights' football home schedule where weekly recognition became a norm. Under Hornstein, military salutes through the Community Heroes campaign began and a strong partnership with the Air Force ROTC was forged. Additionally, he served in a lead capacity for the creation of the annually sold out UCF Football Countdown to Kickoff Luncheon, the recent Parade of Champions community initiative, UKNIGHT in PINK breast cancer awareness event and the Student Government Association-supported student attendance drive which resulted in over 20,000 students attending mid-week home football games.

Inside the office, Hornstein has been part of the oversight of several external offices within the Athletics Department, including Communications, UCFAthletics.com Online and New Media Services, Community and Public Affairs, Marketing and Promotions, Special Events and Projects and Licensing. He also serves as supervising administrator for Video Services, Spirit Program and the Marching Knights.

Prior to joining UCF Athletics, Hornstein worked four years guiding the media relations effort for the historic Orange Bowl Committee (OBC), lastly as the organization's Vice President for Communications. His primary role was the management of the media operations for the former FedEx Orange Bowl (now Discover Orange Bowl) and week-long Festival, fostering the OBC's media relationships on a national level and within the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East Conference geographic regions. He formerly served on the media policies and public relations committees for both the Bowl Championship Series and Football Bowl Association.

Along with participation in CoSIDA, Hornstein carries the UCF brand into his association with the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), where he has served since 2007 as an Ex-Officio member with the organization's Board of Directors. Subsequently, Hornstein has also served on the FWAA's Ethics Committee in January 2009.

Before the OBC, Hornstein worked five years as an Assistant Sports Information Director for the University of Miami, working primarily with the Hurricanes' football and baseball programs. As part of the UM football media relations arm, he gained valuable experience working on five bowl-winning teams, including the program's highly publicized 2001 National Championship season. Most notably during his tenure was coordinating publicity and campaigns for nearly 20 eventual NFL first-round draft picks.

With UM baseball, he had the opportunity of working two College World Series championship seasons in 1999 and 2001. His 2000 baseball yearbook, which covered UM's 1999 National Championship, was selected as "Best in the Nation" and "Best Cover" by CoSIDA.

Hornstein returned to Miami in 1998 after spending three seasons as a graduate assistant for the Florida State University Sports Information Office. At FSU, he worked with several of the Seminoles' Olympic sport programs, including oversight of the 1996 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, held in Tallahassee, and travel to three football bowl trips (two Sugar, one Orange).

Hornstein graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from the University of South Florida. He first started as a student assistant in the USF Sports Information Office following a pair of chance meetings with former USF AD, the late Lee Roy Selmon. The great Hall of Famer arranged for an internship with him and tasks to support his early groundwork of what would eventually be the school's upstart football program that began later in 1997.

Hornstein was a member of the Theta Beta chapter of Sigma Chi at USF. Growing up in Pembroke Pines and Ft. Lauderdale, he graduated from Cooper City High School.