Duane Bonifer  |   Published March 02, 2021

A New Voice for Fighting Scots Athletics

Veteran sports communicator Nathan Baliva named sports information director.
Fighting Scots Athletics

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Veteran sports communications and marketing professional Nathan Baliva has been named Monmouth College sports information director.

NATHAN BALIVA: ?I'm excited to be part of the Fighting Scots family. I have some big shoes to... NATHAN BALIVA: “I'm excited to be part of the Fighting Scots family. I have some big shoes to fill here and I'm ready for the challenge.”

Baliva comes to Monmouth from the Peoria Chiefs minor league baseball team of the Midwest League, where he spent the last 18 years as the organization’s director of media, broadcasting and baseball operations. Baliva succeeds Dan Nolan, who retired after 21 years at the College.

“I can’t wait to get to work with this fantastic group of coaches, Director of Athletics Roger Haynes, the support staff and the student-athletes,” said Baliva. “Getting into college athletics has always been a goal of mine, and Monmouth has an excellent program. I’m excited to be part of the Fighting Scots family. I have some big shoes to fill here and I’m ready for the challenge.”

Haynes said that Baliva brings “an incredible amount of professional experience” to Monmouth.

“He is a first-class professional who not only knows athletics, but he also knows the culture and people of Illinois and the Midwest,” Haynes said. “He will make a great addition to the Monmouth community.”

While with the Chiefs, Baliva also ran the team’s community relations, social media and host family programs. In addition to being the radio broadcaster of nearly 2,500 minor league baseball games, Baliva was also responsible for all of the Chiefs’ press releases, game notes, game recaps, local and national media interactions, the team blog and podcast, statistics and interviews.

In addition to working full-time at the Chiefs since 2003, Baliva has experience with high school and college sports. As a broadcaster he has called the Illinois High School Association boys’ and girls’ soccer state finals since 2015, broadcasted three IHSA girls’ basketball state finals, and was on the call for the IHSA football state finals in 2017 and ’18.

Baliva has called high school basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball and nearly every school between Champaign, Illinois, and the Quad Cities. He has also called women’s soccer on ESPN+ for Illinois State University and written extensively for online publications and sports blogs.

A native of Chatham, Illinois, Baliva graduated from Marquette University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast and electronic communication. While at Marquette, he spent a semester abroad at St. Claire’s University in Oxford, England. Baliva earned a master’s degree in sports communication from the University of Florida in 2003.

The Fighting Scots’ spring sports season begins on Saturday with a baseball doubleheader at Westminster College in Missouri, a softball double header at Aurora University and a 1 p.m. home women’s lacrosse match against Concordia University at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. The women’s lacrosse match will be Monmouth’s first athletic event on campus since March 4, 2020.

Follow Monmouth College Fighting Scots along on Twitter at @MCFightingScots and on Instagram at @MonmouthCollegeAthletics. For news and stories check out the official athletics website: MonmouthScots.com.

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