Welker Moving to New Role at College

Long-time Alfred State Sports Information Director and Assistant Athletic Director, Paul Welker, has accepted a new role on campus in the Marketing and Communications Department.  Welker started his tenure covering Pioneer athletics in June 2001.

Welker was instrumental in the development of the athletics website, team coverage, department operations, game management, social media and much more. He began working when Alfred State was a member of the NJCAA and helped the department transition to NCAA Division III in 2018. 

"Paul has been an outstanding member of the department of athletics for over 20 years" said Jason Doviak, Alfred State's Director of Athletics. "His dedication, passion, and work ethic supported thousands of student-athletes over the last two decades. Paul's unique ability to recall almost every student-athlete, the sport in which they played, and their accomplishments is extraordinary." 

Welker is excited for his new opportunity and thankful for his time spent in the athletic department. "I am honored to have worked with so many great colleagues and covered thousands and thousands of Pioneer student-athletes. There are so many memories of events, athlete accomplishments, and just good times. I feel priviledged to be a small part of the long history of Pioneer athletics."

Welker also served as co-advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was heavily involved in community service. One of his greatest contributions was creating the Special Olympics Spectacular, a Track & Field event, where local schools from around the region participated in a day long series of activities. The event grew year after year to over 200 local school students and was a favorite amongst the teachers, administrators, and athletes. This event was recognized by NADIIIAA in 2017-18 and 2018-19 as the national runner-up for community service across Division III.

Throughout Welker's tenure in the athletic department, he has been student service centered. Whether the Special Olympics outreach program, working with our current sports management students, student athletes or just greeting someone visiting Orvis, Welker has been and continues to be great ambassador of Alfred State.

Doviak added "we were fortunate to have Paul in our department for such a long period of time.  We are grateful for his leadership, service, and commitment to Pioneer Athletics.  We are very excited for him and his new role on campus.  Our entire staff looks forward to working with him on special projects and committees for many more years to come."