Murray State University Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Senior Associate AD - External Relations and Strategic Initiatives
- Email:
- Phone:
- (270) 809-5567
Josh Brunner joined Murray State Athletics in January 2023 as Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations and Strategic Initiatives.
In this role, he helps provide strategic leadership for the department's external operations, including communications, broadcasting, external engagement, and long-term strategic planning. Since arriving at Murray State, Brunner has played a key role in elevating and advancing the Racer brand.
Brunner came to Murray State following a brief stint at Mississippi State, where he served as Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. In Starkville, he directed the communications staff and managed all media relations and strategic communications efforts for the Bulldogs' nationally recognized football program. Prior to Mississippi State, Brunner spent three years at the University of Louisiana as Associate Director of Athletics for Communications and Digital Strategy.
During his time at Louisiana, Brunner helped guide one of the most successful eras in Ragin' Cajuns football history. The program captured back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships from 2019-21 and earned appearances in two bowl games. He also served as the communications contact for the Louisiana women's basketball team during the 2020-21 season and led the communications strategy surrounding the University's largest athletics gift in history—a $15 million naming rights partnership with Our Lady of Lourdes for Cajun Field.
Additionally, Brunner helped build the largest creative services staff in the Group of Five, helping produce record-setting recruiting and fan engagement campaigns while driving a 134 percent increase in the department's social media growth across all platforms from 2019-21.
He began his career at UAB, where he worked with numerous sports as Assistant Athletics Communications Director. During that time, he helped drive public relations efforts for the return of UAB Football in 2017, which garnered national coverage.
A native of Hoover, Alabama, Brunner earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Auburn University in 2015 before receiving a master's degree in Counseling and College Student Development from Kansas State University in 2017. He and his wife, Kathryn, reside in Murray, Kentucky.
