SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference has hired Carly Bonas as Associate Commissioner for Creative Content and Dave Friedman as Associate Commissioner for Brand Strategy and Broadcast.
Bonas comes from Furman’s athletic department where she has served as the Director of Creative Services since 2018. Her role with the Paladins included developing and executing a social media plan for the Furman Paladins Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Bonas was also tasked with maintaining Furman Athletics’ visual identity, creating video content for social media and in-game use, and directing creative photo shoots.
With Bonas as Director, the Furman Paladins Instagram page has increased its reach by 235.5% and gained 1,247 new followers since December of 2021.
“Carly Bonas brings significant experience, creative ability, relationships, and positive energy to The Southern Conference. We look forward to seeing how she applies those talents to the SoCon’s visual brand while finding ways to attract a broader audience to the SoCon’s social media channels.” SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross said, “She has great familiarity with the conference, and we are looking forward to her collaborating with our team to benefit all ten SoCon institutions. Carly will raise our game!”
Prior to Furman Bonas has worked with the New York Yankees as a Production Assistant, Clemson University Athletic Department as a Video Services intern and The New York Mets as a Video and Scoreboard Production Intern.
A 2015 graduate of Clemson University, Bonas lives in Greenville with her husband John and their dog Mookie.
Dave Friedman comes to the conference after 17 years broadcasting basketball games and producing content at Winthrop University and with a two-decade track record of baseball, basketball, and football play-by-play experience on radio and television.
In 2018 he began Play-by-Play announcing for ACC Network Extra then EPSN+ in 2019. That same year he began hosting weekly coaches shows and Play-by-Play announcing for Gardner-Webb football. In 2020 Friedman started announcing for Regional Sports Network basketball broadcast before starting work as an analyst and Co-Host on the BET Racing Show and Weekend Stakes Preview on Sirius/XM.
“I am fired up about Dave Friedman joining the SoCon as Associate Commissioner for Brand Strategy and Broadcast. Dave is energetic, fun, a planner and hyper-prepared. His veteran broadcasting experience across many sports at both the professional and Division I level will allow us to have a consistent story-telling voice on our staff.” Stated Commissioner Cross, ”His encyclopedic attention to detail and anecdotal abilities will make The Southern Conference’s broadcasts and social content even more compelling.”
A Northern California native, Friedman graduated from Syracuse University where he was at the mic on student radio for the team's 2003 men's basketball national title. He has spent time at Gardner-Webb University, Johnson C. Smith University, Middlebury College, Radford University, the University of Vermont, and Winthrop.
After earning his master's degree at Winthrop, Friedman began working as an adjunct professor of Mass Communications at the school.
For the last two years he has hosted weekly shows on the Horse Racing Radio Network that airs on Sirius/XM.