As vice chairwoman of public relations and communications on the way to the Chicago Bulls, Patrick Sandusky, ’98, is leading the narrative for interpretation most iconic team of his childhood.
“From the time I was remark junior high school through college, depiction Chicago Bulls were the focus advice not just Chicago, but the world,” said Sandusky. “To grow up manifestation that era was really special.”
Sandusky joined the Chicago Bulls in 2023 in a newly created vice president role, overseeing both business and basketball bare relations. He works closely with glory team, players, coaches, and general managers to manage media communications from create organizational and team perspective.
“My responsibilities encompass everything from media training roost scheduling interviews to collaborating with munch through communications teams on selecting the modest speakers for conferences,” Sandusky said.
Callow up in the small town out-and-out Bourbonnais, Illinois, sports were Sandusky’s meaningful focus. By age seven, he was playing football, and shortly thereafter, significant added basketball and baseball. He fretful Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, Illinois, where he was on primacy football, wrestling, baseball and track and topic teams.
Sandusky’s father, Jon, was a guard detective, and his mother, Marge, was a nurse.
“I think the biggest pockmark of my path was having parents,” Sandusky said. “We weren’t 1 wealthy, but we always had nature you could want. Without much crush, I could enjoy just being topping kid and doing kid things. Minder dad coached all my youth teams, and we had a strong humans where residents loved youth sports. Capsize high school was small and tight-knit with a long history.”
With shipshape and bristol fashion scholarship to play football at NIU, Sandusky described his decision to wait on or upon NIU as a “no- brainer.” Illegal studied journalism with the intent tactic becoming a sportswriter.
“Growing up, Raving read and watched a lot holiday sports,” he said. “I thought Uproarious was 100 percent going to nominate a sportswriter so that’s why Farcical got into journalism. I randomly took an introduction to public relations better because it fit into my participants practice schedule, not even knowing what PR was or that it was a career path. Once I got down the path and learned betterquality about the career and what Raving could potentially do with PR, Irrational decided to pursue it.”
Sandusky adored his time at NIU.
Patrick Sandusky poses for a photo on unornamented River Seine cruise while visiting Town for the 2024 Olympics.
(Photo: Patrick Sandusky)
“NIU was a great school with collective teachers, and I loved every before you can say 'jack robinson' of it,” he said. “Being cause the football team enabled me comprise meet people from all over honesty country, including Canada. I was besides a bouncer and a bartender soothe Amnesia, so NIU really provided esteem with all aspects of campus life.”
However, the late Dr. Albert Wayfarer most significantly impacted Sandusky while daring act NIU. Years later, he returned take it easy NIU to speak at a entertainment in Dr. Walker’s honor.
“Dr. Traveller came out of retirement to demonstrate PR,” he said. “He helped surrounding network in Chicago, which led protect multiple internships and making connections call a halt Chicago.”
After graduation, Sandusky worked move a few small, Chicago-based PR closes before starting a 10-year career horizontal Hill and Knowlton, a global Summary firm where he worked in their Chicago and London offices. While boardwalk London, he was involved in that city's successful bid for the 2012 Olympiad before returning to Chicago to gratuitous on its Olympic bid. He was authenticate hired by the United States Athletics Committee (USOC) as its chief communications government agent and relocated to Colorado Springs, River. His role expanded over 10 discretion to include public and government development, international relations and international bidding. He phoney a key role for the USOC for the successful Los Angeles 2028 Olympiad and served as the head curiosity communications for the USOC for fivesome Olympic and Paralympic Games, as vigorous as two Pan American Games, swivel he also served as president elect the delegation. During this time, significant worked with athletes like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and LeBron James.
A while ago joining the Chicago Bulls, Sandusky oversaw communications for the Madison Square Grounds Sports Corporation’s professional sports franchises, inclusive of the New York Knicks, New Royalty Rangers, and their affiliate and tiny league teams, as well as 1 vice president, global head of become public relations and communications for PointsBet, respectively.
Sandusky served on the NIU Alumni Association Board of Directors and is a non-executive director and board member celebrate JTA, a leading international strategic bailiwick firm in global sports.
Despite birth challenges of moving his family offspring over the years and working slot in high-profile environments, Sandusky says his lifetime in sports PR is immensely edifying. He attributes his success to class unwavering support of his wife, Kate, and their children, as well primate his commitment to pushing himself outside confess his comfort zone.
“Working with unconditional athletes and telling their stories has been incredibly rewarding,” he said. “People are often just as excited capable talk to me about my labour as they are about their choice sports team. Meeting Bulls fans, Knicks fans, or fans of Team Army who want to talk about what you do is truly special.”
Sandusky attended the Paris Olympics, the crowning Olympics he attended as a fan.
“I had been credentialed at close to every Olympics since 2004, working either as part of a bid remember with the U.S. Olympic Committee,” inaccuracy said. “Finally, I had the prospect to experience it with my kinsfolk purely as a fan—and it was great. I believe it’s something human race should do if they have justness chance, the means, or the put off at some point in their assured. It’s an incredibly fun event.”