Roanoke College

Kelly Higbie '15 returned to Roanoke as the  Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Maroon Club Coordinator in August of 2016.

Higbie will assist Director of Athletic Communications Chris Kilcoyne in all facets of the athletic communications office including webcasts, social media, branding and marketing of RC's 19 teams.  In addition, Higbie will handle the day-to-day operations of the Maroon Club including membership solicitation, stewardship and events.

"We welcome Kelly with open arms.  In addition to being a special student-athlete, Kelly was what I consider a "power user" of all that we have to offer here at Roanoke College," said Allison.  "Her undergraduate internship within our athletic communication office prepared her uniquely for this position." 

Upon her graduation from Roanoke in 2015, Higbie joined the sports information staff at James Madison University where she served as the main contact for the Dukes volleyball, softball and swimming & diving teams. While at JMU she handled the day-to-day sports information duties for each of those teams that included hosting an NCAA Softball Regional and Super Regional.

"I am so excited to be back at Roanoke and can't thank Dean Fetrow, Scott Allison and Chris Kilcoyne enough for this opportunity," said Higbie. "I look forward to joining Chris and the wonderful athletics staff in what is a very exciting time to be a Maroon. My time at Roanoke as a student-athlete was memorable and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to come back home."

Prior to working at JMU, Higbie was an office assistant and in-game assistant at RC during her four years in Salem. In that role, she assisted the athletic department in creating marketing and promotional schedules for the athletic teams and updated the athletic website. 

She was also an intern for the Salem Red Sox for five months in 2013.  She assisted in the accounting department, both in office and game production, documented sponsorships and event accounts and managed in-game funds.  In 2014, she gained experience working for Virginia Amateur Sports, where she focused on marketing and promotions and worked sponsor events.

Higbie earned a bachelor's degree in sports management with a marketing concentration from Roanoke. The Midlothian, Va., native was a four-year member of the Maroons softball program and helped RC to a fourth-place national finish at the 2012 NCAA Division III World Series.

She finished her career ranked in the top five all-time in 10 different categories at Roanoke, including establishing school records for appearances (129), starts (110), complete games (87), innings pitched (705 2/3) and strikeouts (383). She was a First Team All-Conference pitcher in the ODAC as a senior. For her efforts she was named Roanoke's 2015 Female Athlete of the Year.