The Value and Impact of Athletics Communications in College Athletics An Advocacy Message from C OL L E G E S P OR T S I N F OR M A T I ON D I R E C T OR S OF A M E R I C A A D V OC A T E • C O N N E CT • E D UC A T E • H O N O R • S U P P O R T Our SIDs are our mouthpieces, vital in sharing our stories. SIDs have a greater pulse on the collective college athletic landscape. Their work inf luences perception, which can determine the success of fundraising. Our athletics communications professionals are a critical part of our team, and that is no different with or without competition. An athletic director needs a trusted ally... that person is the sports information director. If you can’t f ind value in what (SIDs) do for an athletic department, you’re probably not valuing things appropriately.IN 2020, CoSIDA MEMBERS CAME TOGETHER TO KEEP OUR PROFESSION AND OUR ORGANIZATION STRONG. #SIDsMakeItHappen1 An Advocacy Message From CoSIDA Editor’s Note: Professional Communicators Are Essential Bill Little, a CoSIDA legend who spent nearly five decades chronicling the athletic department history at the University of Texas, once observed that “no part of an athletics department has more constituents, or touches more people, than sports information.” It’s a simple but powerful statement and one of the primary reasons we took on the challenge of telling the story of the sports information office and the national organization that represents it. The pages ahead represent a broad collection of information that serves to validate Little’s belief while certifying why the communication office is an essential facet in helping an athletic department achieve its goals. Our target audience includes anyone who has administrative oversight of a sports information office. In addition, it should be considered an aide for CoSIDA members in their efforts to be effective advocates for the attributes they bring to the table. It also serves to magnify the importance of the national organization and to help attract a new generation into the profession. Finally, we hope it delivers a message to all of our current and future external stakeholders who are valued friends of the CoSIDA community. CoSIDA Diversity & Inclusion Value Statement “As leaders in the intercollegiate athletics landscape, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) seeks to foster and encourage environments that embrace equality, diversity and inclusion. As an organization, CoSIDA is committed to education, discussion, advocacy and programming to establish and sustain an equitable, inclusive and diverse culture within the membership and the institutions it serves.” A N A D V OC A C Y M E S S A G E F R O M C o S I DA This Publication Is for You To those who have oversight of athletics communications: If you read nothing else, read page 5. No part of your athletic department has more constituents, or connects with more people, than your communications professionals. They are vital to the mission and vision of your athletic department and your institution. To our CoSIDA members: This is a celebration of the work you do. Student- athletes, coaches, administrators, fans, parents, donors, media and anyone else who cares about college athletics benefit from your work and your passion. • • • Find Inside The Value of CoSIDA The Value of an SID CoSIDA’s Priorities Reviewing the 2020 CoSIDA Compensation & Career Satisfaction Survey CoSIDA’s Governance Structure and Leadership And more.2 The Value and Impact of Athletics Communications in College Athletics CoSIDA 360 MAGAZINE IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTORS OF AMERICA Read our stories at CoSIDA.com/cosida3603 An Advocacy Message From CoSIDA Advocacy noun (AD-vuh-kuh-see): The act or process of supporting a cause or proposal: the act or process of advocating for something. (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary) A message from CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance I N S U P P O R T O F A T H L E T IC S C O M M U N ICA T IO N S It’s a safe assumption that few in our profession recognize the name Homer Dunham or understand his status in the sports information profession. Homer spent 51 years in the sports information profession, starting at Alma College and later at Western Michigan. According to a 1964 article in the CoSIDA News-Digest announcing his passing, Dunham is “reputed to have been the first SID when (in 1912) he worked his way through Alma College on a scholarship.” The article referred to Dunham as the “Dean of SIDs.” He was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1969. Homer was known as being an originator and is credited with several ‘firsts’ in the profession. Among other things, he was the first to design a records book and was the research editor for the first NCAA Guide for baseball. I’m going to add first advocate for sports information to his list, although I doubt he realized it at the time. He was an advocate in the sense that the impact of his work, professionalism and integrity delivered a message of support for the quality and importance of sports information. His example likely helped encourage others in college athletics to create the same job at their schools. Which leads me to the point of mentioning Dunham and his history. I wonder how many current SIDs recognize that their work can influence the perception of the profession? It’s mostly an unintended influence in the big picture of advocacy, but it all adds up when building the case for our profession. There is a process to the art of advocacy and every member of CoSIDA should consider themselves a part of it. Your work and accomplishments reflect how we are perceived as a profession. Never in its 64 years of existence has CoSIDA been more important to the profession it represents. It has been a season of lost story tellers, strategic communicators, historians and skilled media relations professionals who bring honors to student-athletes. Veterans of our profession and future stars are being forced out due to evaporating revenue in athletic departments. The future of our profession is at a crossroads and the moment dictates that we look closely at redefining our role and value in athletic departments. The pandemic is forcing the industry of college athletics into a transition and it’s vital that SIDs take a proactive approach in finding their niche in a changing work environment. We need every member to lock arms and advance the profession in any way possible. Your national organization and its leadership have been espousing the virtues of the sports information industry for many years and that effort has expanded in recent months. The definition of advocacy, as displayed in the heading of this story, is straightforward. The undertaking of the act of advocacy is also not complicated. Simply do your job with a commitment to excellence and stand up in vocal support of the profession when the opportunity is presented. It you don’t want to be an active, vocal campaigner to magnify the value of the profession, let your work and your commitment to it serve as your unspoken sales pitch. Advocacy for the profession and CoSIDA is the primary purpose of this publication. Normally, CoSIDA prints an Annual Report and Convention Review for distribution to the membership. However, the landscape of college athletics right now seems to dictate a different approach this year. The CoSIDA Executive Board of Directors, Advocacy Committee and national staff determined that we need a resource that serves to drive home a message about the value of the profession and its national organization. It’s our hope that some of the information ahead will prove to be insightful to help our members better understand the values of our profession. Among the items you’ll find are quotes from several past presidents that speak to the value of the profession. If you are uncertain about how to plead the case for what your office brings to the athletic department table, you might find the answers in these statements from some of our best leaders of the past and present. It’s a much different profession than the one Homer Dunham triggered with his efforts in establishing a profession more than a century ago. When he retired in 1964, he could not envision what the sports information job now entails. Let the record show that it’s up to everyone who is a member of CoSIDA along with its national staff to make sure that what Homer started has a strong future. That responsibility is in our hands.4 The Value and Impact of Athletics Communications in College Athletics C o S I D A ’ S R O A D T O A D V OC A C Y Where CoSIDA Brings a Voice of Influence Advocacy Committee: policy guidance and strategy development with a think- tank of leaders representing all levels of members Compensation and Career Satisfaction Survey: data for members to use in improving salary and resource support CoSIDA Convention as part of NACDA Convention Week: provides endless opportunities to advocate on behalf of the membership CoSIDA Leadership Forum and June Stewart Leadership Series Diversity & Inclusion Committee: education and insight into racial and social justice concerns, gender equity, LGBTQA+ and ADA NCAA Inclusion Forum NCAA Convention: meetings with ADs and President Mark Emmert NAIA Convention: meetings with ADs and President Jim Carr Officers and staff summer meetings with NCAA governance leaders at all levels NACDA Mid-Winter Meeting with athletic directors of influence The opportunity to have the attention of NCAA Division I athletic directors with attendance at the LEAD1 Convention Women Leaders in College Sports Convention: networking with key stakeholders and leaders Collegiate Athletic Leadership Symposium (CALS): more exposure with key leaders and those of influence Partnership with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Annual CoSIDA updates to NCAA leadership groups representing NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and Public & Media Relations NCAA Communications Summit: conference communication office leaders meetings Participation on monthly NCAA Communications Office calls Attendance at national championship events (CFP National Championship; Men’s and Women’s Final Four) National Football Foundation events in New York City Participation in educational presentations at the NABC Convention Partnerships with the FWAA, USBWA and the WBCA Corporate partnerships with the NCAA, major bowls, television networks, College Football Playoff and national award organizations CoSIDA Advocacy Resources CoSIDA 360 Magazine Annual CoSIDA Convention CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week: outreach on a nationwide basis to bring the spotlight on our members Academic All-America® Program & Hall of Fame is CoSIDA’s signature program and defines our commitment to student-athlete achievement Letters of appreciation to ADs acknowledging CoSIDA leadership service National Championship SID Award program CoSIDA Code of Ethics: establishing of standards of excellence CoSIDA has been a leader in prioritizing change through the establishment of a Diversity & Inclusion Value Statement CoSIDA Racial & Social Justice Initiative: diversity, inclusion and equality content Growth through opportunities for leadership by involvement with the Executive Board of Directors and by serving as divisional cabinet chairs or committee chairs Navigate to the “Advocacy” tab on CoSIDA.com for these and other resources: CoSIDA.com/2020SalarySurvey CoSIDA.com/CoSIDAConversations CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID CoSIDA.com/CoSIDAforChange CoSIDA.com > Careers Tab5 An Advocacy Message From CoSIDA Too often, even within the walls of college athletics, when someone hears the term “SID” they think of someone who simply keeps stats and talks to the media. Are you one of those people? Consider the facts below. Simply put, communications professionals — especially those who are sitting at the decision makers’ table — are extremely valuable. SIDs help establish strategy, promote and consistently communicate the brand and “voice” of the athletic department and its student-athletes through creative media across many different platforms, which, in turn helps: • Create the public identity of the department, teams, coaches and individual student-athletes • Shape perception of your institution in times of crisis • Recruit new student-athletes, general students, fans and donors to the university The Value of an “SID” The reputation of your institution hinges on the quality of your communications. A quality communications professional is irreplaceable. A M E S S A G E T O O U R A D M I N I S T R A T I V E C O L L E A G U E S “An athletic director needs a trusted ally. Someone who can take a broad-based view of the department and program and also focus in on one aspect. A colleague who can advise on communicating with the university administration, athletic staff, alumni, fans and media. A trusted counsel with a big-picture perspective. An employee who works as hard as anyone for the love of the game, the love of the student-athletes and coaches and the love of the college. That person is the sports information director.” - Pete Moore, Syracuse CoSIDA Past President, 2001-02 SIDs Are Connected No one in an athletic department has the pulse of more stakeholders than the SID. SIDs have immense insight into your student-athletes, coaches, fans, parents, recruits, donors, the media, and almost everyone else in the athletic department. SIDs Have the Expertise Has your institution been thinking about “strategic moves” and “better positioning” in a “changing media landscape”? Often this means replacing your SIDs with more specialized communicators who focus on social media. While it’s valuable to add specialized communications personnel when budgets permit, the loss created from losing well-rounded communications professionals is immense. The wide variety of talents and the institutional knowledge cannot be replaced by specialists. For more on the value SIDs add, see the illustration on page 35. SIDs Can Solve Your Problem No matter whether you’re at a big school or a small school, to do the work your individual SIDs do in the corporate world there would be a team of people hired to accomplish the job. The creativity and the ability to get the job done by college athletics communicators, many times without the proper resources, is not easy to match. CoSIDA supports all who have a stake in communications throughout college athletics.6 The Value and Impact of Athletics Communications in College Athletics A D V OC A T I N G F O R C o S I DA Louise McCleary NCAA Managing Director of NCAA Division III Former SID 1991-97 “Being an SID set the foundation for my career. It honed my organization skills. It taught me how to be an effective communicator. I learned the value of paying attention to the details, and most importantly, the key to success is building relationships. #SIDatHeart” Jim Carr NAIA President and CEO “SIDs are the storytellers for their student-athletes, teams and athletic-related accomplishments. They are some of the most passionate people in sports and their unique and comprehensive skillset is vital in recognizing the importance of athletics on a campus.” Krista L. Montague Montana State Billings Athletic Director “Our athletics communications professionals are a critical part of our team and that is no different (with or without competition). We know better days are ahead and we’ll lean on our communications staff to help us plan and communicate our messages moving forward. Our director of communications is an important part of our decision- making team. “It’s often said there is no off-season for athletics communications professionals. Although the work and demands may look a little different this year, we used this time to get creative and keep our students engaged and involved in the best and safest way possible.” #SIDsMakeItHappen7 An Advocacy Message From CoSIDA A D V OC A T I N G F O R C o S I DA Jim Nantz CBS Sports “There is not a bigger fan of CoSIDA than me. I’ve spent over 30 years of my career leaning on the nicest, hardest-working folks in the industry. They have provided me with invaluable insights into their teams and universities, have given me stories that I have retold to national audiences, and they have welcomed me onto their campuses and even into their homes. I feel so fortunate to call them my colleagues. The SIDs have done far more for me than I’ve ever been able to do for them. Please #ThankYourSID!” Malcolm Moran USBWA Executive Director IUPUI Director of the Sports Capital Journalism Program “The SID is an expert on changes in the ever-evolving media biz and knows local, regional and national personnel. Their work influences perception, which can determine the success of fundraising.”Next >