Derek Skinner was named the Patriot League Assistant Director of Communications and Operations in September 2024. Skinner was promoted to Director of Communications and Operations in July 2025.
Skinner will serve as the primary communications contact for men’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball. He will also assist in sports operations as well as with the League’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Skinner, a Bethlehem, Pa. native, returns to the area after serving as the Athletic Communications Assistant at East Stroudsburg University since March 2021. He handled media relations duties for acrobatics & tumbling, baseball, women’s basketball, cross country, track & field, golf, field hockey, football, tennis, volleyball and men’s wrestling. Skinner provided coverage of the ESU field hockey 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship and served as the media relations coordinator for numerous PSAC Championships and NCAA Regional events.
Prior to his time at ESU, Skinner served as an Athletic Communications Assistant at Presbyterian College and held a graduate assistant role in the athletic communications office at Youngstown State.
In his role at Presbyterian, he handled all media relations duties for the Blue Hose's acrobatics & tumbling, cheerleading, lacrosse, men's tennis and soccer teams. At Youngstown State, he served as the primary contact for the women's soccer and track and field programs for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years. He also held the role of media relations coordinator for both the 2019 outdoor and 2019-20 Horizon League Indoor Championships, hosted at YSU.
Skinner graduated with his bachelor's degree in sports management at East Stroudsburg in 2018 and a master's degree in professional communication at Youngstown State in 2020.