Gannon University Athletics

Gannon University Director of Athletics Lisa Goddard McGuirk announced the appointment of Isaac Petkac as Director of Athletic Communications & Creative Content, effective January 2, 2025.
 
Petkac has most recently served as sports anchor at Erie News Now, the local NBC and CBS affiliate. He began with the stations in March 2020 and served in the sports anchor role until recently.
 
"We are excited to welcome Isaac to Gannon Athletics," related Goddard McGuirk.  "Isaac's commitment to excellence, growth mindset, and passion for Gannon Athletics was evident during the search process. His new media and creative content expertise will complement our talented media relations team, allowing us to continue to elevate how we highlight the many achievements of our student-athletes and teams while providing high-level content for our fans."
 
In his new role Petkac will be entrusted with a variety of duties. Along with inherent jobs associated with media relations, his responsibilities will include but not be limited to:
 
-  Developing a strategic vision and implementing a plan for digital content creation (graphics, videos, photos). 
-  Participating in game management activities (livestreaming, statistics, photography, etc.).
-  Contributing to in-game sports information and strategically developing initiatives and strategies to elevate the student-athletes, coaches, staff, and department.
- Collaborating daily with other External Relations Units – including Assistant Director of Athletics for External Relations, University Marketing, University Communications, and University Creative Services – to manage the brand of the programs and the department.
- Working with members of the media.
 
"I'm honored to be a part of the incredible Athletic Department family at Gannon," Petkac commented. "Their commitment to excellence and dedication to making Gannon a premier collegiate athletic program across the country made joining the team an easy decision for me. I can't wait to help showcase the unparalleled success of all of our programs in dynamic ways that spotlight our athletes to the Erie community, and the world at large. Go Golden Knights!"
 
As sports anchor at Erie News Now Petkac helped provide coverage of more than 150 high school and college and 20 NFL games each year. He served as host of the "Critical I" nightly sports show, a half-hour show that focused on highlighting local athletics and enterprise stories, and was featured on ESPN's "30 For 30" series.
 
Petkac was a Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters award recipient in 2020, 2021, 2022, & 2023 for outstanding investigative news, live sports, and sports feature reports.
 
Petkac attended the University of Toledo, graduating Magan Cum Laude with Honors with a Bachelor's Degree in Media Communication in December 2020.
 
While attending Toledo he served as a Media Coordinator and was a play-by-play broadcaster for over 100 ESPN+ events. He coordinated feature stories/community events with local media to generate widespread public interest of on campus athletic teams.
 
In addition, Petkac served as a radio broadcast intern for the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2019-20 season. He led voicing and production of "CBJ Rewind", a nightly recap of team activities and game results. He also was responsible for editing and posting gameday content to digital platforms, including game highlights and post game interviews.
 
Petkac joins his wife Ali as an employee at Gannon. Ali serves as the Assistant Director of Auxiliary Services. The couple has two children, Bennett (2 1/2) and Parker, born on December 13.