Longtime Tennessee athletics administrator Tom Satkowiak departs from UT for TVA position
Longtime Tennessee athletics administrator and spokesperson Tom Satkowiak departed UT for a senior communications role at the Tennessee Valley Authority, he confirmed to Knox News on Friday.
Satkowiak, who was the associate athletics director of strategic communications, worked in athletics communications at UT for 21 years. He managed the communications staff and the media relations efforts of 20 sports. He oversaw all athletic department communications for seven years after being appointed to an AD role in April 2016.
"I’ve been tremendously blessed to forge lifelong relationships and share unforgettable experiences during my two decades on campus. I’m forever a Volunteer," Satkowiak said. "Now, I’m eager to support TVA’s mission of service, which impacts lives on Rocky Top and beyond.”
Satkowiak left UT at the end of August after he accepted a position with TVA as a senior communications consultant for the enterprise's east region.
Satkowiak was a full-time staff member at Tennessee since September 2005 and started in the media relations office as a student in 2002. Satkowiak, a two-time UT graduate, was in charge of communications for the men's basketball program for the past 15 seasons.
"He became more of a dear friend than he was a co-worker," Vols coach Rick Barnes said. "He was great at his job. He loved the players. He loved being part of the basketball family. He was a huge part of it. We counted him just as important as anybody else in our program. ...
"The guys loved him and we will all miss him, but it was a great opportunity for him."
Satkowiak spent his first four seasons as the media relations contact for the Vols baseball program before moving to basketball. He is credited by Tennessee for helping develop the earliest social media strategies for several athletic programs.
The Bay City, Michigan, native graduated from UT with a degree in communications and public relations in 2002. He joined the media relations staff that fall and spent two years as a graduate assistant before he was hired in a full-time role. He earned his master's in sport studies from UT in 2005.
Satkowiak received a liver transplant in October 2018. He became a Christian during his yearslong battle with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a liver disease where a person’s immune system attacks the bile ducts, which results in scar tissue and slowly causes the liver to stop functioning due to damaged cells.
Barnes and Satkowiak developed a deep bond through those years and faith-centered conversations, which continued to grow and surpasses their professional relationship.
"I am going to miss him dearly," Barnes said. "From the first day I got here, he and I bonded. I watched him go through what he went through physically with his liver condition. Just watched him grow in so many different ways."
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee athletics spokesperson Tom Satkowiak departs from UT for TVA
