Colby Wilson returned to Austin Peay as the department's Assistant Director of Athletics for External Relations and Communications in July 2026.
In addition to overseeing the external staff, he serves as the primary communications contact for Governors' football, men's golf, and women's golf.
Prior to his return to APSU athletics, Wilson served as the Director of Communications for the College of STEM at Austin Peay (2023-26). There, he led comprehensive communications, media relations, digital content, social media, and storytelling efforts. He also served as a strategic communications advisor to the Dean while overseeing brand development and public-facing messaging.
During his three years with the College of STEM, Wilson drastically improved the college’s social media footprint, increasing Facebook followers by over 200%, Instagram interactions by more than 100%, and doubling LinkedIn followers.
Before returning to Clarksville, Wilson worked in corporate communications from 2021-23.
During his previous tenure in the Austin Peay Athletics Communications office, Wilson earned four promotions while helping to lead the department’s communications and storytelling efforts. He began his career as an athletics communications coordinator (2012-16), before then being named an athletics communications manager (2017-18), Associate Director (2019-20) and later the Director of Athletics Communications (2021) before his departure.
Wilson directed communications strategy for football, men's basketball, golf, and track and field, overseeing media relations, digital content, social media, website management, gameday communications operations, and statistical reporting. He also served as the department's video coordinator from 2014-16, expanding Austin Peay's digital content and multimedia production.
In addition to managing day-to-day communications operations, Wilson developed content strategies spanning written features, photography, video, podcasts, and social media while supervising full-time staff, interns, and student workers. He cultivated relationships with local, regional, and national media outlets, helping elevate the visibility of Austin Peay student-athletes, coaches, and athletic programs through strategic storytelling initiatives.
Wilson also served as the department's primary liaison to the Ohio Valley Conference and NCAA communications offices, managed the official athletics website, coordinated media credentialing and press operations, and assisted with departmental budget planning throughout his time with the Governors.
Prior to his return to Clarksville, Wilson also assisted Austin Peay Athletics, serving as a public address announcer for multiple sports, while also serving as a senior writer for the communications department.
Wilson graduated from Austin Peay with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications in 2010 and later earned a master’s in journalism from Memphis in 2020.
Wilson and his wife Sarah, a 2009 Austin Peay graduate, live in Nashville. The couple welcomed their first child, Jack, in summer 2017 and welcomed their second child, Caroline, in July 2021.
