Championing Arcadia Athletes: Adam Planamento ‘12
Each morning when Adam Planamento ’12 walks through the door of the Kuch Center to go to work as Director of Athletics Communications, he’s reminded of when he walked through the same doors as a student-athlete himself. “When you loved your years as a student-athlete at Arcadia, being able to capitalize on that experience by uplifting today’s student-athletes, that’s the dream,” Planamento ’12 said.
At the start of 2022, he began showcasing student athletes and supporting their talents through communications and media within his role as Director of Athletic Communications at Arcadia. His higher education career actually began at Arcadia. Adam was an Assistant Baseball Coach for three years (the 2013 through 2015 seasons) after he graduated. He then went to work at Wilkes University, while earning his Masters of Science degree in Education.
As a four-year collegiate student-athlete in baseball at Arcadia, Adam understands the student-athlete experience on Glenside’s campus. Today, he helps bridge essential collegiate resources together to support the current and future Arcadia Knight teams. He further displays pride for his alma mater by acting as a UKnightedTuesday Advocate, being a loyal donor, and creating a positive atmosphere for student-athletes to be further inspired to do their best. “The experience these students have on campus will help shape their journeys after they graduate. It’s not easy being a student-athlete, so lending my personal perspectives and experiences helps me relate and best support and promote our current teams,” said Planamento ’12. “I also met my best friend through the athletics program,” he added, “Ashley Knueppel ’12, ’20M, played women’s soccer and also works at the University with me today…that continued support has been unmeasurable.”
Adam believes the student-athlete experience at Arcadia is unique. The University has a Division III Athletic Program, which ultimately means the focus for the players is directed towards the classroom. Athletes are not eligible for sports based scholarships, so, “They are truly playing the game at a college level because they love it.” Adam continued to explain just how much everyone cares at Arcadia: “The department is equipped with full-time staff ranging from mental health professionals to performance coaches. There is a true commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among students, staff, and faculty,” which allows Arcadia students to comfortably excel on and off the field. He added, “Seeing how far the program has come since I was an athlete here fulfills a sense of joy.”
Some of Adam’s job responsibilities include identifying and implementing marketing and branding objectives, managing accurate record keeping and live-streaming of games, helping establish key performance indicators for social media to best broadcast successes, nominating student athletes for awards (including local, regional, national, and NCAA conference), and writing and editing athletic related press releases. He attributes social media to playing a large role in supporting student athletes today. Not only does it create a legacy for the athlete, but it allows Adam and his team to celebrate the achievements of Arcadia student-athletes with the community and the world outside of the institution. His role is more robust than just social media, but staying atop of the trends and collaborating with campus partners is critical when showcasing Arcadia Athletics.
Currently, there are 26 Sports offerings for the 2023-24 academic year, 600 student athletes, and 384 MAC Academic Honor Roll Recipients (this required a 3.20 GPA in the semester of the team’s championship tournament). Overall, students represented a 3.41 Department GPA for Spring 2024. Adam’s advice to all student athletes?: “Enjoy it. Four years seems like a long time, but next thing you know, you’re outta the game for 12 years. The time you spend in college and with your teammates, those are the good old days. Take advantage of the opportunities and traditions that Arcadia has to offer and have fun!”
Planamento ’12 is excited to help the Alumni Engagement team with welcoming alumni athletes “home” to Acadia for the Athletics Hall of Fame Induction of the Class of 2024 during Homecoming Weekend, and featured athletic games on campus. More details for the October 5th Homecoming Weekend to follow. To ensure you receive upcoming information about this event, and more, update your contact information here: https://www.arcadia.edu/update-your-address.
