Corey Kirk is in his fourth year at UIC and is entering his second year as Director of Communications, assuming that role in October 2024 after two years as an Athletic Communications Associate. At present, Kirk is the primary communications contact for the UIC women's basketball, volleyball and baseball.
Passionate about content creating and telling stories bigger than sports, two of Kirk's proudest moments since joining the staff at UIC was co-leading in the feature storytelling of
Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today: The Natalie Chizzo Story, which was nominated for Feature of the Year at the 2025 SVG College Awards (a first time in school history) and
Playing for Two: Siena Stickney Carries the Memory of a Late Friend Every Time She Steps on the Softball Diamond.
Prior to coming to UIC, Kirk spent all of his career in the newspaper room, having 11 bylines in numerous news organizations across the West Coast.
Though primarily of his history having been in digital, Kirk has experience in social media and video content creating. While obtaining his Master's in Sports Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University back in 2019, he told stories behind the lens of the NFL saying goodbye to former Arizona Cardinals' owner Bill Bidwill at his funeral, to the life of a professional wrestler on the independent circuit in the state of Arizona.
Prior to obtaining his Masters, Kirk gained experience of working in Marketing and Game Day productions for Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics, the NHL's San Jose Sharks and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers back in his home state of California. Always ready to volunteer, one of Kirk's fondest memories during this time was taking a pie to the face from the team mascot in front of 45,000 fans.
His favorite hobby is to attend every new Major League Baseball stadium he can. As of September 2024, he has now been to 10 of the 30 active stadiums.
Now in the Midwest, Kirk and his wife, Chelsea, reside in Aurora with their cats, Ducky and Goose.
