BETHANY, Okla.—Southern Nazarene University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Danny Thomason announced the hiring of Julia Schwake as the new Director of Athletics Communications, along with the promotion of current Director of Athletics Communications, Philip Younts, to Assistant Athletic Director of Operations.

Schwake played basketball at Southern Nazarene and graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's in Sports Management and was a three-time Great American Conference All-Academic Team selection. She recently served as the Graduate Assistant for Athletics Communications at Southern Nazarene for two years. She earned her MBA at SNU in May 2023.

During her time as the Athletics Communications GA, Schwake served as the primary contact for Baseball, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, and Track & Field. She honed her skills in a variety of areas during that time, including graphic design, writing, and broadcasting. She will work closely with the new Graduate Assistant for Athletics Communications to continue providing high quality content across all online platforms.  "We feel very blessed that Julia said yes to becoming part of the SNU Athletics family full-time as she begins her career and look forward to seeing where she will take SNU Athletics Communications in the coming months," said Thomason. 

Younts was named the new Assistant Athletic Director of Operations after serving two years as the Director of Athletics Communications at Southern Nazarene. He earned his Master's degree in Sports Management from Southern Nazarene in 2019 before landing his first full-time position in athletics at Southwestern Christian University. After spending two years at SCU, Younts returned to the Crimson Storm family in 2021.

Younts has worked closely with the Assistant AD of Operations during the past two years. He has helped enhance the gameday experience through advertising and promotions and will continue to work to provide the highest quality gameday experience possible. "Phil has been an asset to our department, and he earned the promotion to Assistant Athletic Director from a lot of hard work done with consistent good quality," said Thomason. 

The two began their position August 1st.