The search to find the newest assistant athletic director for media relations at the University of Rhode Island finished at the top of campus.

Stone Freeman ’19, M.A. ’21, has become a name synonymous with Rhody Athletics since his arrival as a freshman in 2015. After spending six months working on Upper College Road with the URI Foundation and Alumni Engagement, he is fully back in the fold with his new role.

“It’s six months that I’m super thankful for,” Freeman said. “It was a little different, but the team was great; working with alums is awesome, and it was a great time of year to do it.”

The first day on the job often means meeting new co-workers, which wasn’t necessarily the case for Freeman, given his prior experience. He joins two familiar faces, Shane Donaldson ’99 and Michaela Benford in the media relations department, who have been in their roles with Rhode Island since 2011 and 2016, respectively.

“I’ve had such a good relationship with them over the last 10 years since I was a student,” Freeman said. “It made it a seamless transition to then jump on board here.”

Freeman made his mark as a student, serving as sports director at WRIU 90.3 FM and having a stint as sports editor for The Good Five Cent Cigar. Now that he’s made the move from media member to media relations, he believes that his prior experience should prove helpful.

“It allows you to see it from the reporter’s perspective,” Freeman said. “I’m very cognizant that you all have deadlines to meet… It just allows me to do my job a little bit better because I’ll have a better understanding of the people that we’re working with and what they’re up against.”

Taking over in the thick of football season, Freeman shadowed former Sports Information Director Meghan Coutts for the season opener against Campbell University on Aug. 29. Saturday against the University of New Hampshire served as his first home football game in his new role.

“I’m learning every day that you think you figured it out, and there’s something else,” Freeman said. “It’s a little out of my comfort zone in terms of the job, but the people make it so much easier. Everybody’s willing to lend a helping hand or educate me if I’m doing something wrong.”

Last season saw Freeman serve as football’s TV voice; this year, he returned to the mic as the fill-in radio voice in his first road trip with the team to Western Michigan University on Sept. 27.

“[Donaldson’s] always made it very clear that he knows that my passion is for broadcasting,” Freeman said. “When you’re asked if you can fill in and do a game, especially when it’s a trip like to Western Michigan, to do a [Football Bowl Subdivision] game, of course you take it.”

As a student, Freeman saw the taxing workload of his new job. Since then, he said he discovered that time management is the key, which convinced him to take the opportunity. He’s now serving as the SID for football, women’s track/cross country, rowing and baseball.

“I never thought I’d do it as a student,” Freeman said. “But as I got into working more inside of college athletics, I knew that it would be a place that I’d be comfortable, and I could do the job pretty well given my skill set.”

Away from the athletics department, Freeman fits teaching as a part-time faculty member in URI’s Harrington School into his schedule, which is something he hopes to continue alongside his new position.

“As long as they’ll keep having me,” Freeman said. “I love doing that; I think it just keeps me a little bit more connected to campus as a whole.”

Rhode Island-born and Rhode Island-bred, Freeman has found a way to remain with his alma mater at every stop in his career since graduation.

“I quite literally have grown up here,” Freeman said. “To get dropped off in 2015 as a freshman at Weldin Hall and to be so scared of college, to now come here every day and feel so excited when I get to campus. I think that just is a signal that this is where I’m meant to be.”

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