BATON ROUGE — Michael Bonnette, an associate sports information director at LSU for the last six years, has been promoted to sports information director, athletic director Joe Dean announced on Wednesday.
Bonnette will replace Herb Vincent, who served as LSU’s sports information director for the last 12 years before resigning to take over as Vice President for Communications for College Sports-Southeast in Birmingham.
Dean also announced that Kent Lowe has been promoted to senior associate sports information director. Lowe, who will continue to handle publicity for the men’s basketball team, has been an associate SID at LSU since August of 1988.
“We’re fortunate to have a solid sports information staff from which we have been able to promote from within,” said LSU athletic director Joe Dean. “Michael is a bright young man whose experience in media relations extends to an early age, having been raised in the home of an SID. Kent has long been a loyal and valuable asset to the LSU community and his experience is critical to the operation of our department. Both of these promotions are significant and well-deserved.”
Bonnette, a native of Lake Charles, La., is the son of longtime McNeese State sports information director Louis Bonnette.
Bonnette joined LSU in 1994 as an intern in the sports information after working for four years as a student worker under Vincent. He was then elevated to associate sports information director in 1995. Bonnette graduated from LSU in 1993.
Bonnette is a member of the College Sports Information Director’s Association (CoSIDA) and he is Vice President for Sports Information for the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association. Bonnette is married to the former Robin Arnaud of Opelousas, La., and they have two children, Peyton and Grant.
Lowe is a 1979 graduate of LSU-Shreveport and he earned his master’s degree from LSU in 1982. From there he joined the Louisiana Downs media relations staff in 1983 and in 1987 he was promoted to publicity director. He joined the LSU staff in August of 1988 and serves as the primary contacts for men’s basketball and women’s golf.
The Shreveport native, who also serves as the media coordinator for the annual high school all-star games on the LSU campus and the author of a weekly bowling column in The Advocate, is the color announcer for the LSU Sports Network’s home broadcasts of women’s basketball and softball.
Lowe, 42, is a member of CoSIDA and is in his third year as treasurer for the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association after serving six years as Vice President for SIDs in the LSWA.