| Title: | Director of Athletics |
| Phone: | (601) 403-1365 |
| Email: | pochs@prcc.edu |
Patrick Ochs joined Pearl River Community College in July 2018 as the Director of Communications for Athletics after an extensive career in the news industry. Ochs was named the Director of Marketing and Communications for PRCC prior to the 2020-21 school year.
Ochs was named Director of Athletics ahead of the 2022-23 school year.
Prior to joining PRCC, Ochs spent the entirety of his professional career as a newspaper reporter. Ochs most recently spent almost five years at the Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi, Miss. There, Ochs was hired as a general assignment reporter and also covered multiple news beats such as Harrison County, education and military. He transitioned to sports coverage for several years before joining the paper’s “breaking news team,” where he was asked to focus on digital storytelling and capitalize on stories that had “viral” possibilities.
Ochs joined the Sun Herald in 2013 after spending five years as the Assistant Sports Editor at the Oxford (Miss.) Eagle. While in Oxford, Ochs covered Ole Miss and three local high schools, plus Water Valley’s city and education beats. Ochs was an early adapter of social media during his time at the Eagle and began to develop an online following. Ochs also co-hosted a prep-centric Internet radio show with his Sports Editor, John Davis.
Ochs’ first job out of college was a three-month stretch at the Natchez Democrat as a sports writer.
A 2008 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Ochs earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing Communications with an emphasis in print journalism. During his time as an undergraduate, Ochs interned for professional soccer teams Atlanta Silverbacks and Portland Timers, as well as former Triple-A baseball team Portland Beavers. Ochs also worked at Ole Miss’ daily student-run newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, covering multiple beats before earning the job of Sports Editor.
A St. Louis, Missouri native, Ochs lived in California, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio during his childhood.
Ochs married the former Jaime Weaver in Jan. 2013. They have two daughters, Alexandria and Rylee.