Bulls Eye: Patrick Sandusky, '98, Targets PR for the Iconic Chicago Bulls
By Lia Kizilbash Gillet
Patrick Sandusky, ’98, walks proudly inside the United Center as vice president of public relations and communications for the Chicago Bulls. (Photo: Nikko Tan)
As vice president of public relations and communications for the Chicago Bulls, Patrick Sandusky, ’98, is leading the narrative for the most iconic team of his childhood.
“From the time I was in junior high school through college, the Chicago Bulls were the focus of not just Chicago, but the world,” said Sandusky. “To grow up in that era was really special.”
Sandusky joined the Chicago Bulls in 2023 in a newly created vice president role, overseeing both business and basketball public relations. He works closely with the team, players, coaches, and general managers to manage media communications from an organizational and team perspective.
“My responsibilities encompass everything from media training and scheduling interviews to collaborating with our communications teams on selecting the right speakers for conferences,” Sandusky said.
Growing up in the small town of Bourbonnais, Illinois, sports were Sandusky’s primary focus. By age seven, he was playing football, and shortly thereafter, he added basketball and baseball. He attended Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, Illinois, where he was on the football, wrestling, baseball and track and field teams.
Sandusky’s father, Jon, was a police detective, and his mother, Marge, was a nurse.
“I think the biggest part of my path was having supportive parents,” Sandusky said. “We weren’t super wealthy, but we always had everything you could want. Without much worry, I could enjoy just being a kid and doing kid things. My dad coached all my youth teams, and we had a strong community where residents loved youth sports. My high school was small and tight-knit with a long history.”
With a scholarship to play football at NIU, Sandusky described his decision to attend NIU as a “no- brainer.” He studied journalism with the intent of becoming a sportswriter.
“Growing up, I read and watched a lot of sports,” he said. “I thought I was 100 percent going to be a sportswriter so that’s why I got into journalism. I randomly took an introduction to public relations class because it fit into my football practice schedule, not even knowing what PR was or that it was a career path. Once I got down the path and learned more about the career and what I could potentially do with PR, I decided to pursue it.”
Sandusky loved his time at NIU.
(Photo: Patrick Sandusky)
“NIU was a great school with great teachers, and I loved every minute of it,” he said. “Being on the football team enabled me to meet people from all over the country, including Canada. I was also a bouncer and a bartender at Amnesia, so NIU really provided me with all aspects of campus life.”
However, the late Dr. Albert Walker most significantly impacted Sandusky while at NIU. Years later, he returned to NIU to speak at a dinner in Dr. Walker’s honor.
“Dr. Walker came out of retirement to teach PR,” he said. “He helped me network in Chicago, which led to multiple internships and making connections in Chicago.”
After graduation, Sandusky worked at a few small, Chicago-based PR firms before starting a 10-year career at Hill and Knowlton, a global PR firm where he worked in their Chicago and London offices. While in London, he was involved in that city's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics before returning to Chicago to work on its Olympic bid. He was then hired by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as its chief communications officer and relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado. His role expanded over 10 years to include public and government affairs, international relations and international bidding. He played a key role for the USOC for the successful Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and served as the head of communications for the USOC for five Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as two Pan American Games, where he also served as president of the delegation. During this time, he worked with athletes like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and LeBron James.
Before joining the Chicago Bulls, Sandusky oversaw communications for the Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation’s professional sports franchises, including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and their affiliate and minor league teams, as well as senior vice president, global head of public relations and communications for PointsBet, respectively.
Sandusky served on the NIU Alumni Association Board of Directors and is a non-executive director and board member of JTA, a leading international strategic communications firm in global sports.
Despite the challenges of moving his family around over the years and working in high-profile environments, Sandusky says his career in sports PR is immensely fulfilling. He attributes his success to the unwavering support of his wife, Kate, and their children, as well as his commitment to pushing himself outside of his comfort zone.
“Working with great athletes and telling their stories has been incredibly rewarding,” he said. “People are often just as excited to talk to me about my work as they are about their favorite sports team. Meeting Bulls fans, Knicks fans, or fans of Team USA who want to talk about what you do is truly special.”
Sandusky attended the Paris Olympics, the first Olympics he attended as a fan.
“I had been credentialed at nearly every Olympics since 2004, working either as part of a bid or with the U.S. Olympic Committee,” he said. “Finally, I had the chance to experience it with my family purely as a fan—and it was great. I believe it’s something everyone should do if they have the chance, the means, or the time at some point in their life. It’s an incredibly fun event.”