By Cody Bush
APSU Sports Information
CLARKSVILLE – When June 30 comes to a close, a mainstay of Austin Peay State University’s athletics department will leave quietly and unassumingly, just as he has during the entirety of his 32-year career at the Dunn Center. That day will mark the end of Brad Kirtley‘s journey as Austin Peay’s Sports Information Director and the beginning of his voyage into a happy – and well-earned – retirement.
Brad began his life as a Governor in February 1984 after closing his career at the Southeast Missourian – his hometown newspaper. When he got to Austin Peay the sports information office was a one-man shop, Brad working with Brenda Harrison, who was listed as a secretary but was really a partner in crime for many years, to cover the entire menu of APSU athletics offerings.
Back then Brad created media guides and releases courtesy a trusty typewriter – yes, a typewriter. By the time I arrived on the scene in July 1999 as his first full-time assistant there were computers in the office, but those machines were running Windows 3.1 and we connected to the world by a modem.