By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Brett Esely's long tenure of service to Missouri Western athletics is drawing to a close.
The Griffons' senior associate athletic director for external affairs will work his last full day on campus November 9. After that, he'll have a well-earned, nearly two-month break before taking on a new venture.
"I felt that it was healthy to have a little opportunity to, I've called it a detox I guess," Esely remarked. "I don't know what else to call it. To wrap some things up here and get ready for my next adventure."
In conjunction with Missouri Western State University, Esely announced in late September that he accepted an offer from the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau to become the director of development/director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
Esely helped revive the St. Joseph Sports Commission in recent years, becoming chair of their board. He also led efforts to create the St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame, which conducted its inaugural induction ceremony on Sept. 19.
"We were hopeful that it would one day turn into an opportunity for someone to lead that every day," Esely said. "That became a little bit of a reality late this summer that if our commission was going to go like this and continue this upward climb, it needed somebody that was able to focus on it on a day-to-day basis."
Esely's last week at Western will be so busy, he might not notice his time is ending there. The Griffon football team has Senior Day Saturday, the Griffon volleyball team has two home matches, and, oh yeah. The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic gets going at Civic Arena.
A two-day men's basketball showcase, featuring eight total teams - five of them ranked in the DII Top 25. Four games will be played Saturday, and four more on Sunday.
"It's business as usual until it's not," Esely said. "It's been the day-to-day grind it's taken to get ready for our games and events, and there's been a lot of them, which is exciting. That's what this time of year is. We enter crossover season, which is exciting and hectic at the same time."
Esely started at Western as a student assistant men's basketball coach in July 2000. He moved into administration in 2003, overseeing NCAA compliance and ticketing before taking on the external affairs role in 2007.
He's done a little of everything in that time, overseeing the athletic department's marketing, advertising, public relations, corporate partnerships and event management.
Esely has led event operations for Chiefs Summer Training Camp, helped run many MIAA conference and NCAA championship events and has served as public address announcer and color commentator on Griffon radio broadcasts.
These last seven months, Esely says, may have been his busiest, but also his most rewarding, as 15 of Missouri Western's 17 sports were in action in March after COVID-19 postponed the MIAA's fall 2020 season.
"We have been on an absolute sprint since March 1," Esely said. "We went from nothing to hoops season to 15 of our 17 sports competing in a span of about three months time. We go into May and get ready for a charity golf classic we have in early June and we hosted an NFL training camp this summer."
It's almost hard to believe Esley's time at Western is ending. In 21 years, his impact on so many sports and programs and events goes beyond comprehension. He will be a hard person to replace.
But whoever comes in after, Esely knows this - he can look back on his time at Missouri Western with great pride in what he and many others built, and also look forward to still working with the Griffons as a part of the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
"It's a very easy sell here," he said, "and I believe that. Doesn't matter what we're talking about. It always starts with our people. It starts with relationships. Like I say, I speak for everyone on our department - I'm proud of what we have here. I'm proud of what we built and am proud of what we're chasing."
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