July 9, 2007

The Saint Louis University Department of Athletics announced that Doug McIlhagga has been named senior associate director of athletics, and Chuck Yahng has been promoted to sports information director. In addition, Diana Koval has been promoted to associate sports information director, Brian Kunderman was named assistant sports information director, and Heather Freehill was hired as media relations associate.

McIlhagga first took on his current duties when he was named interim senior associate director of athletics in October 2006. He will be responsible for managing 14 of the Billikens' 18 sport programs, athletic training and Billiken Media Relations. McIlhagga began his career at the University in July 1991 when he was named sports information director. He is a graduate of the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications and holds a bachelor of science degree in television/radio. He earned a master's degree in sports management from the U.S. Sports Academy. The College Sports Information Directors of America awarded the Billikens' soccer media guide top honors in its region nine times. The 2002 soccer guide was ranked best in the nation.

Yahng has worked as assistant sports information director at SLU since July 1998 and has 15 years of experience in athletic media relations. He will be responsible for coordinating the media relations, public relations and the university's athletics web site for the Billikens' 18 varsity sports. Prior to SLU, Yahng worked in the sports information office at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for four years, including two years as sports information director. He was also the SID at Lindenwood University in St. Charles for two years. Yahng is a 1989 graduate of Washington University, and he earned a master's degree in business administration from Lindenwood in 1994. Yahng will serve as the contact for men's basketball and field hockey.

Koval was named assistant sports information director at SLU in 1999 after working one year in the sports information office at Western Carolina. Prior to WCU, she was an assistant SID at Elon (N.C.) University. Koval has prior media relations experience assisting in the University of Connecticut sports information office, and she was a writer for the Daily Tar Heel newspaper at the University of North Carolina. Koval is a 1993 graduate of UNC and holds a master's degree in sport management from UConn. She will be SLU's contact for baseball, women's basketball and women's soccer.

Kunderman is a 2002 graduate of Southeast Missouri State and first came to Saint Louis in 2006 as media relations associate. He worked in the SEMO sports information office as an undergraduate student and was a summer intern at SLU for one summer. Kunderman spent two years as a graduate assistant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and earned a master's degree in sport management from SIUE in 2004. He will be the primary contact for men's soccer, softball and cross country/track and field.

Freehill began her media relations career as a student assistant at McKendree University. She graduated from East Tennessee State University in 2000 with a degree in communication. She was a graduate assistant at Illinois State University and later was promoted to assistant media relations director at ISU. Freehill earned a master's degree from Illinois State in kinesiology and recreation/sport management in 2005. She will be the primary contact for volleyball, swimming and diving and tennis.