Longtime SXU Sports Information Director Resigns

CHICAGO, IL - Saint Xavier University’s longtime Sports Information Director Rob Huizenga will leave the school after 14 years this summer. Huizenga, the inaugural winner of the NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year award, has accepted a similar position with Purdue University-Northwest in Hammond, Indiana.

“This was an extremely tough decision to make, because I have sincerely enjoyed my career at Saint Xavier University,” Huizenga said in an SXU Athletics news release on Tuesday. “There are so many amazing people here, especially in the athletics department, and it is hard to leave the family atmosphere that I’ve grown accustomed to here.”

Huizenga was a consistent site on the press row for SXU athletic contests from 2003-2017, an era which included an NAIA football national championship and national runner-up finishes from the school’s softball and women’s basketball team.

While student-athletes were excelling on the field, it was Huizenga who was often called the “best in the business” in his role behind the scenes promoting the athletic department.

Best in the business! Good luck Rob! https://t.co/fdifQBBe9t
— WXAV 88.3FM (@wxav883) July 11, 2017

He won the inaugural Sports Information Director of the Year award in 2014 and an award with the same name in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference that year as well.

His efforts have also helped numerous student-athletes garner national awards and recognition, according to the SXU news release. He was part of the Saint Xavier University Relations team that won a Golden Trumpet Award in May 2010 in the "Video News Releases and Films" category for its work with the 2009 SXU Cougars football team and has had several publications featured as “Best in the Nation” by the NAIA.

“Rob took it to the next level during his career by winning the first-ever NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year, getting our department a huge article on the front page of the Chicago Tribune's sports section and helping our student-athletes win so many national awards,” SXU Athletic Director Bob Hallberg said.

Huizenga, who also served as an assistant athletic director for the last seven years, will move from NAIA power SXU to Purdue University-Northwest, a school in the midst of a transformation that will soon make them an NCAA Division II member. The school’s name is fairly new, the result of a recent merger between Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central (both common opponents for SXU athletic teams over the years).

Huizenga was hired by the Pride to lead the school’s athletics’ sports information, marketing and event management according to the Regional Radio Sports Network. He is expected to begin in the new role on August 8.

Photo via SXU Athletics