COLONIA, N.J. – The East Coast Conference (ECC) and Commissioner Jessica Grasso have announced the hiring of Hamilton Cook as Assistant Commissioner of Communications. Cook, who has 16+ years of experience in collegiate athletics, will begin his tenure with the ECC on July 1.
In his role as the conference’s Assistant Commissioner of Communications, Cook will oversee the day-to-day publicity and communication efforts and assist in managing the championships of the ECC's 21 Division II sports. Cook will also coordinate weekly awards, statistics, and records, assist in developing and implementing the conference's digital and social media strategy, and maintain the ECC's official website, ECCSports.org.
“I am thrilled to welcome Hamilton Cook to the East Coast Conference," said Grasso. "Hamilton brings a dynamic combination of Division I experience, strategic storytelling, and a deep commitment to elevating the student-athlete experience. His leadership in communications, branding, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the MAAC will have an immediate and lasting impact on the continued growth and visibility of the ECC. We are excited for the energy, innovation, and perspective he brings to our conference office.”
Cook joins the ECC staff by way of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), where he was hired as the Associate Commissioner/Senior Minority Administrator in October 2021 and elevated to Associate Commissioner of External Affairs/Senior Minority Administrator in July 2024.
In that role, Cook oversaw the conference’s media relations efforts, in the marketing, content development, championship operations, promotion and development of the MAAC brand through the league’s broadcasting platforms and the various forms of new and social media. He served as the primary media contact for men’s basketball and other selected MAAC sports each academic year and developed innovative and engaging content for presenting new media information on social media platforms. Additionally, he assisted in maintaining MAACSports.com and produced daily/weekly content for various social media outlets.
Cook’s SMA designation gave him oversight of internal and external initiatives throughout the conference to promote the MAAC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies and goals. He led all conference efforts to implement DEI education and programming for member institution staff and student-athletes, working with the NCAA Office of Inclusion, Athlete Ally, and its member institution’s Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Designee (ADID) on DEI initiatives.
“I am honored to join the East Coast Conference and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to its continued success,” said Cook. “I would like to thank Commissioner Jessica Grasso for her confidence in me and for the opportunity to serve the conference and its member institutions. I look forward to working alongside the ECC staff, campus communicators, and member schools to build upon the conference’s strong tradition of excellence and support its future growth and achievements.”
Cook was appointed to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Inclusion Committee in August 2023. In July 2026, he will begin his tenure as Chair of the committee, following a two-year term as Vice Chair from July 2024 through June 2026. Cook also previously served a two-year term on the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC) from September 2023 to August 31, 2025.
Cook came to the MAAC from Saint Peter’s University, where he was Associate Director of Athletics for Communications from 2016-2021. In this role, he was the athletic department’s primary contact for all media relations. Cook’s responsibilities consisted of developing strong relationships with local, regional, and national media outlets, maintaining the athletics website, writing and editing news releases and newsletters, and fund-raising correspondence. While at Saint Peter’s, Cook spearheaded the platform move of the athletic website, saintpeterspeacocks.com, to SIDEARM and made improvements to the Peacocks Digital Network. He was also instrumental in the vendor selection, contract creation and purchase of the department’s custom mobile production van, which broadcasts all Saint Peter’s home events through ESPN’s family of networks. Cook also served as the Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Designee (ADID) at Saint Peter’s.
Cook’s career commenced at the MAAC in March 2010 as an intern before he was appointed the Assistant Director of Marketing & Ticket Sales in June of that year, and then promoted to Director of New Media in the summer of 2011. As Director of New Media, he served as the primary media contact for men’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, and softball, holding his post as Director of New Media until 2015, when he was elevated to Assistant Commissioner for New Media. As Assistant Commissioner, Cook had oversight of the MAAC’s ESPN broadcast package, ESPN3 school productions, and MAAC.TV network, as well as the marketing support services including sponsor fulfillment, ESPN commercial inventory, promotions, and event specific items.
A native of Edison, N.J., Cook earned his bachelor’s degree in sports/entertainment/event management with a concentration in sports management from Johnson & Wales University in 2010. In May 2020, Cook earned a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed): school counseling from Saint Peter's and previously worked as an Adjunct Professor in Sports Management at the university. In April of 2025, Cook was inducted by Johnson & Wales as the Sports, Entertainment, Event Management Professional of the Year.
In addition to CSC, Cook holds professional credentials from the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). In April 2024, Cook attended the 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum as an administrator.