Mitch Blankespoor assumed his role as director of athletic communications at Wilmington College on Dec. 5, 2017.

Blankespoor oversees the promotion of the college's 18 varsity athletic programs to current and prospective students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff, local and national media, as well as other constituencies. He maintains the College's athletic website, wilmingtonquakers.com, provides statistics, writes press releases, coordinates gameday operations, manages social media platforms and develops printed and digital material that promotes Wilmington athletics. The College's social media channels have seen all growth under Blankespoor's watch. Additionally, he coordinated the partnership with graphics provider BoxOutSports to boost WC's visual digital presence.

Beginning in the 2018-19 academic year, Blankespoor began serving as an adjunct member of the Wilmington faculty in the sport management program. 

Blankespoor came to Wilmington from Earlham College where he served as the director of sports marketing and communications for two-and-a-half years. At Earlham, he oversaw the promotion of the College's 20 varsity athletics programs while also developing a branding guide for the marketing of Quaker athletics. Headed by the design and launch of Earlham's current athletics website, Blankespoor broadened the College's virtual reach by increasing its social media presence by over 200 percent through graphics, video content and a mobile application. He also worked with Wilmington to re-create the Quaker Bowl Rivalry this academic year.

In the fall of 2016, Blankespoor vaulted Earlham's athletics department to the national stage as head football coach Nick Johnson was featured in a five-minute video feature on ESPN's College GameDay. He also hosted the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament in 2017.

Before coming to Earlham, Blankespoor served as a graduate assistant for sports information at fellow Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) member Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. At Rose-Hulman, he was the primary contact for six sports while assisting the sports information director with coverage of the remaining athletic teams. Blankespoor created numerous graphics for the athletics website and various social media accounts. In addition, he played a critical role in getting Rose-Hulman mentioned on ESPN's SportsCenter following a 74-68 triple overtime football victory over Illinois College. 

Before coming to the state of Indiana, Blankespoor spent a year as the assistant sports information director at Kalamazoo College. As a Hornet, he assisted the sports information director in publicizing Kalamazoo's athletic department and oversaw growth in Kalamazoo's athletic social media accounts. Blankespoor also created a website documenting Kalamazoo's streak of conference championships in men's tennis.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Blankespoor graduated from Calvin College in 2013 with a degree in sport management (kinesiology and business focus). He was a student assistant in the Calvin sports information office for four years and obtained an internship in that office his senior year. 

Blankespoor served as the lead broadcaster during Calvin's NCAA Division III volleyball national championship in 2010 and runner-up finish in 2012. In addition, he was the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Calvin road basketball games on WFUR-FM (102.9) in Grand Rapids.

Blankespoor has extensive experience working and hosting NCAA Division III tournaments. In addition to working in the NCAA Division III volleyball championships and hosting two NCAA Division III volleyball regionals, two women's basketball regionals, and two soccer regionals while at Calvin, he has also volunteered at several national tournaments. He assisted the Hope College sports information department at the NCAA Division III women's basketball championships in 2012, as well as at the NCAA Division III volleyball championships in 2012 and 2017. He assisted Kalamazoo College with the 2014 NCAA Division III men's and women's tennis championships and has helped Calvin with hosting duties for NCAA Division III volleyball regionals in 2015 and 2016.

Blankespoor was honored with the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) Renner Associate SID Award in both 2012 and 2013. This award, named after longtime Hope College sports information director Tom Renner, is given to a student who contributes to an MIAA member school's sports information office. To date, he holds the distinction of being the only two-time winner of the award. 

Along with working in higher education, Blankespoor also serves as the director of public relations for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys' 18 and 16 National Championships held in Kalamazoo, Michigan each August. He has been in this role since 2013.

Blankespoor is an active member of College Sports Communicators (CSC) and has served on its flagship committee - the Academic All-America Committee - since 2015. After three years on the leadership team, he was named chair of the 150-person committe in the summer of 2023.

In December of 2016, Blankespoor graduated from Indiana State University with a master's degree in recreation and sport management. 

Blankespoor resides in Wilmington with his wife, Janel, and two children.

*Last updated - July 5, 2023