A familiar voice across Delaware sports
Photos by Evan Krape October 14, 2026
UD alumnus Kevin Linton reflects on career with Blue Rocks, time as PA announcer for University of Delaware Athletics
As a kid, University of Delaware alumnus Kevin Linton always envisioned himself working in sports. At Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, he served as the student manager for the football, basketball and baseball teams.
Now, Linton finds himself involved with all three sports at a professional level, working as the Director of Business Development for the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team, while serving as the Public Address (PA) announcer for UD’s football and basketball teams.
When he enrolled at UD, he began working with the athletics department almost immediately during his first year.
“I joke that I had my agent — my mom — reach out on my behalf leading up to my freshman year,”Linton said. “I got a phone call in the middle of the summer from Bob Hannah, who was the baseball coach at Delaware, and he said, ‘Come on in and see me when you come on campus.’ The first or second day when I was on campus, I walked down to the field house and met with Coach Hannah.”
That meeting led to Linton meeting Scott Selheimer, UD’s sports information director at the time, who set Linton up with duties in the fall and spring semesters.
The first year, Linton worked the scoreboard and helped in the press box, measuring columns to see how many inches UD sports were getting in the local paper.
From there, he worked as a student manager for Coach Hannah and the baseball team.
“I was able to travel with and meet all the players and be involved with their day-to-day lives during the season in the spring,” said Linton. “It was a great experience and truly defined my time at UD.”
His work with the UD baseball team eventually led to an internship with the Blue Rocks as an undergrad, and when he graduated, he worked for Seilheimer in sports communications at UD.
During that time, Linton learned from Seilheimer and his assistant, Mike Hirschman, how to report on sports: not as a fan, but as a neutral party.
“Working in sports, you can get wrapped up a little bit in the emotion, but you can't cheer,” said Linton. “You have to be the face and the public relations person for the team, so that's what I really valued and learned.”
In addition, he learned how to write a news release and tuned up his writing and communication skills.
Those skills served him well when, in 2000, UD needed a PA announcer for its basketball games. Linton was asked to try out and, 26 years later, he’s still doing the PA work for basketball games at the Bob Carpenter Center.
When Elbert Chance retired as the football PA after 50 years on the job, Linton was asked to slide in and take over the PA responsibilities for football.
“This will be my 24th football season in September,” said Linton. “The first year I took over that role was 2003 and they ended up going 10-0 at home and winning the national championship, so it was a great first year. It was one of the most exciting years behind the microphone until last year when they had their first year at FBS. That season had some magical finishes for all our home games. UD football is heading in the right direction.”
Linton started working for the Blue Rocks in media relations in 2001.
From there, he worked in various roles such as group sales, promotions and some marketing work.
In 2011, he served as the director of community affairs, which he said was an awesome experience, as he was involved with school programs, going into different elementary schools and reading stories to the children with the Blue Rocks’ mascot, Rocky Bluewinkle.
“The idea was to promote literacy and our reading program and drive traffic into our ballpark,” said Linton. “If the students read a certain number of books, they would get free tickets to a game.”
He also arranged hospital visits for the players and the mascots, organized summer camps, and handled sales and proofreading of materials.
In 2021, he was named director of business development, a sales and sponsorship role where he meets with corporate businesses to find ways to work together, whether it's promoting their business on a sign or running sponsored community programs.
Those are his day-to-day responsibilities. At night, during home games, he serves as the PA announcer for the Blue Rocks, a role he’s held since 2005.
Linton said none of this would have been possible without the support of his family, friends and mentors during his time at UD: specifically, Hannah and his academic advisor, Jack O’Neill.
“This dream would have fallen flat on its face if I didn't have the encouragement from my mom and my dad, Ronald and Deborah Linton, my brother Justin and all the friends I've made along the way who helped me, supported me and gave me encouragement,” said Linton. “I always feel it's important that people who are in power encourage those who are on their way up to find their path and to build that excitement. I encourage the future professionals I meet and try to give them the support that I received on my way up.”
He added that when UD President Laura Carlson threw out the first pitch at a Blue Rocks game this past August, it solidified the connection between UD and the Blue Rocks.
“I'm glad that our community and our state are welcoming President Carlson with open arms. I think big things are going to happen in the years ahead under this administration,” said Linton. “It's great that we continue to build that community between UD and the Blue Rocks. We're only 15 minutes away and our goal would be to find more ways to work with the University of Delaware and bring more students here.”
As for whether he envisioned himself working professionally in the three sports he grew up managing, Linton said he could envision it, but if it hadn’t been for his time at UD, he isn’t sure it would have become a reality.
“I've met a lot of people along the way, and I had a lot of great interactions with people in athletics, in the administration and with professors,” said Linton. “Overall, the University of Delaware is a great place. I wouldn't be who I am without that, so I'm always, forever a Blue Hen.”
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