Since word travels quickly here at Tusculum College, I’m sure all of you have already heard about Dom Donnelly’s decision to step down as the college’s Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. Dom has been working in the professional field of Athletic Communications for over 25 years, 17 of which have been with Tusculum College. If you know Dom, you would know that this was a very difficult decision for him as he loved the college immensely, especially the students. “This is a very difficult decision for me, but one that I feel I need to make at this point in my life."
Dom has worked extensively with the Athletic Department during his 20-plus years, with the position of being completely in charge of all aspects of publicity in athletics. Although Dom had 16 intercollegiate sports to work with, he always managed to get everything done on top of maintaining a relationship with as many athletes as he could.
Although Mr. Donnelly states that he is “completely overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of support and good wishes [he has] received from current and present student-athletes,” I worry that he truly doesn’t understand how much we (Tusculum athletes) whole-heartedly appreciated everything he has ever done for us.
I have personally had the opportunity to get to know Dom, and I can honestly say that he is one of the hardest working people that I have ever met. Athletic Director and Head Coach of Tusculum College’s baseball team Doug Jones states that he “had the privilege of working alongside [Dom] since his arrival [in 1999] and his work ethic has been unmatched. Dom has always been committed to promoting the brand of Tusculum College and has served the needs of our student-athletes to the best of his abilities. All of us at Tusculum wish Dom the very best in his future endeavors. He will be missed, but will always be a part of the Pioneer Family."
“I’m still uncertain what path I’m going to be taking, or where it will lead me, but know that I am very appreciative of all your support. May God bless you all," said Donnelly in his announcement of resignation.
In reaching out to fellow student athletes, it wasn’t difficult to find athletes who knew him on a personal level. Here are only a couple of them.
“Dom is the man. He always did a first class job for all sports, especially with us and baseball. He was really a man of the players, he loved being around the players and we loved being around him. It was awesome to have a personal relationship with him, seeing him around the field and in the clubhouse before games allowed me to get to know him well. I know how busy Dom was, but he always had time to stop and talk anytime I saw him on campus. He asked me to write a daily blog this past year while we were at the Regionals, something I probably would have been hesitant to do for anybody else, but since it was with him, I knew it would be something very professional so I immediately obliged. Dom took all parts of his job very seriously and was the best in the business. He is somebody I am very glad I got to meet, know and work with. He will be sincerely missed by all who knew him. I am fortunate to say that Dom Donnelly is a friend of mine and not just a name on a broadcast or sports article. Thank you Dom, we will always appreciate all you did for us and we know you will always be around during baseball season.”
- Ethan Carpenter (Baseball)
“Dom was very friendly when it came to the athletes. Always wanting to know who everyone is, and if they had a difficult name to pronounce he wanted to get that right too. I always knew at baseball games what songs were coming up, and I knew that once the 6th inning came around Dom would play “Love is Gone” making the dugout get excited. He will be greatly missed!”
- John Topoleski (Baseball)
“Dom definitely had a big impact on me in my time at Tusculum. I learned a lot just by watching him. He's definitely one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. I could walk to the gym any time at night and expect to see Dom's car outside. He's always made sure all of the athletes at Tusculum got the credit and recognition that they deserved either through the website or contacting their local newspapers. Dom will most definitely be missed at Tusculum.”
- Darius Carter (Basketball)
“It is sad news that Dom will be leaving us. He's done many great things with Tusculum Athletics. Personally, one of my favorite things about Dom is that he always has a smile on his face and is probably one of the nicest people on campus. He's always willing to talk to someone or crack jokes when you walk past him. He's just an overall great person to be around.”
- Brandon Mosley (Cheerleading)
“Dom has done a great job at what he does. He has always made sure he had the right stats for the games and did a great job with keeping up with all our accomplishments. He would help me if I had an interview with someone else and made sure I wouldn’t say something dumb. I’m very appreciative for what he did.”
- Luke Lancaster (Football)
“Dom has been great to the Men’s Lacrosse team since our start here at Tusculum, he’s created a bond with the players and made us all feel welcome. It has really helped having someone who we know cares so much about the players and what we go through on a daily basis. Dom has always been there to congratulate us on our wins and has understood the pain we’ve felt in our losses. Personally, sitting with Dom and the coaches in the cafeteria was always a lunch full of laughter and I know we’ll all be sad to see him leave.”
- Ross Parsons (Men’s Lacrosse)
“After I scored my first goal at Tusculum, the Greeneville newspaper wrote about it the following week. In the article, my name was spelled wrong. I immediately went to Dom and showed him and he fixed the error right away. Another time my picture was messed up on the website and again Dom was there to fix the problem. He was awesome at making sure all of our media days went smoothly and we didn’t have any trouble. I’m really going to miss seeing him on game days.”
- Shanele Sunderland (Women’s Soccer)
“Dom Donnelly is a man with a witty and charismatic personality. When I came to Tusculum he was always so welcoming and made you feel that much more apart of not only a team, but a community and family. You can say Dom was Tusculum athletics’ number one fan! He goes and supports each and every sport and individual athlete, at home and away games! Dom will surely be missed around Tusculum!”
- Ciara Rattata (Women’s Golf)
“Dom has played a significant role in making my experience as a college athlete at Tusculum one I will never forget. While we don’t have the funding and resources top ranking division one schools have, Dom always did everything he could to make us feel as if they were. It was clear to see that Dom cared, not only about Tusculum, but about every single athlete at this school. I think everyone here can agree that Tusculum athletics won’t be the same without Dom.”
- Rachel Garnett (Volleyball)
“When I think of Tusculum Athletics and anything dealing with social media Dom is one of the first guys who comes to mind. Dom was at almost every sporting even no matter when or where it was and he was in it for the long haul to make sure he caught all the action and put out the best stories for family, friends and fans to read. It’s going to be hard to see him go but he did great things for the athletic department and he will truly be missed.”
- Jenna Restivo (Softball)
