For the next year, he'll travel around the country to some of the country's funnest sporting events -- starting with Major League Baseball games and the NFL and NBA drafts -- to tweet his behind-the-scenes experiences from the @XFINITYSports Twitter account. It's a full-time, salaried, contract gig and may just be the coolest job in sports social media.
Schindel won the position through an Xfinity contest asking fans to demonstrate their passion for sports and knowledge of social media. His new job was announced Friday. When he got a call at his current internship telling him the good news, he says, it was a bit hard to contain himself.
"I had to refrain from screaming in the office," he told Mashable. "It was a little bit of disbelief mixed with a lot of excitement."
Schindel is a senior at George Washington University, set to graduate with a bachelor's degree in International Affairs. As a five-year-old, he says, he preferred SportsCenter to cartoons. He's not a newbie to working in sports media either, having done media relations for the Washington Redskins and Washington Nationals, and freelance writing for BleacherReport.com.
He calls his new job is a dream come true, but that his friends -- who helped vote him through an early contest round on Facebook -- haven't turned green with envy.
"Everyone's been really supportive," says Schindel, who also will also receive a home entertainment setup as part of his big win. "They know I'm getting every single sports channel, so they're gonna want to use that," he adds with a laugh.
You can also live vicariously through Schindel at his personal Twitter account, @austinschindel.