RICHARDSON, Texas - After 21 years of service, UT Dallas Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations Bruce Unrue will retire at the end of August.

Unrue, who worked in sports management, marketing and journalism for more than 40 years, was hired as the Comets' first full-time Sports Information Director in November 2003. He was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in 2008

Unrue wore many hats while at UTD by promoting and publicizing the institution's athletic programs and student-athletes, designing and producing publications, creating and maintaining UTDComets.com, creating graphics and artwork that can be seen across the athletic facilities and starting the UTD Comet Vision broadcast network. 

Unrue and his staff were named the American Southwest Conference Sports Information Staff of the Year in 2012 and 2017.

"UTD Athletics is eternally grateful for the 21 years of service Bruce has dedicated to serving our student-athletes, coaches, and staff," said Director of Athletics Angela Marin. "A lot has changed over time, but Bruce remained a constant source of knowledge and expertise. We wish him the very best as his enters into his retirement phase and hope he will enjoy all his free time."

"So much has changed in the last 21 years," said Unrue. "When I arrived in 2003, UTD was little more than a bunch of old concrete buildings and dusty sidewalks. Nothing like the vibrant, magnificent campus it is today.
 
"As a department, I feel like we've accomplished so much – from developing our own all-inclusive media outlet with the website, to continuing to enhance the department's image with professional-quality graphics and creative content, to building one of the top video streaming productions in sub-division I college athletics. There's a lot to be proud of.
 
"I've been in this business for over 40 years, and at UTD for 47 of the school's 49 championship runs. That part never gets old. Moving forward, I'll definitely stay in touch, keep following the teams, and occasionally see if it's possible to just sit in the stands, watch a game, and let someone else worry about making sure everything is working."

A native of Abilene, Texas, Unrue began his career as a sports writer for the Abilene Reporter-News and was the SID/Assistant Director of Public Relations at McMurry University from 1981-85. He also served as McMurry's interim SID from September 2002-March 2003.

After spending 10 years running his own advertising/marketing business, Unrue joined the Texas-Louisiana Professional Baseball League as an Assistant General Manager of the Abilene Prairie Dogs, and the league's Director of Communications. He has also done freelance work for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and served as the Official Scorer for the Fort Worth Cats professional baseball club.

Unrue earned his BS degree in journalism and speech communications from McMurry in 1980, also studying at Texas Christian University and Abilene Christian University. He completed several post-graduate courses on advertising/marketing, publications design and website design/management.