Candace JohnsonSarah Fetters Storytelling During a Pandemic PLUS: DREAM BIG DREAMS OTHER (COVID) DUTIES AS ASSIGNED WRITING WELL FOR STORYTELLING SUCCESS TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENTS SUPPORTING WOMEN HOW ESPN COMMUNICATIONS WAS BUILT BY SIDs ADVOCACY JOB SEEKERS RESOURCES 2021 COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT AND MUCH MORE! VOL. 6 ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 CoSIDA.com CoSIDA Hall of Famer Jeff Bernstein Athletics communicators have showcased their talent, versatility and creativity despite limited or no games, shrinking budgets and difficult circumstances. Jason YellinDavid Kiefer Shalyn Moore CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 1 Contents FEATURES 1423 2829 VOL. 6 ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 View past issues Other Duties as Assigned 12 Transformational 16 CoSIDA members across the country are being asked to head up COVID-19 response teams. Champions for women share impactful moments that have made a difference and led to career success. “Sports Heaven” 20 The Brothers Carmany 26 Built by a pioneering SID, the ESPN Communications Department is the beneficiary of many others who are products of the sports information profession. Siblings Paul and Joe work side-by- side in athletics communications at Liberty University. COVER STORY Storytelling During a Pandemic Athletics communicators have showcased their talent, versatility and creativity despite limited or no games, shrinking budgets and difficult circumstances. 6 DEPARTMENTS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 14 Writing Well for Storytelling Success Frequent Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest winner David Kiefer of Stanford shares his secrets. ADVOCACY 24 Tweet Storm Following the news of massive layoffs at another institution, North Carolina’s Steve Kirschner produced a series of eight tweets that served as a reminder of the many roles SIDs take on. JOB SEEKERS 28 Expanding Our Offerings CoSIDA Job Seekers Committee aims to provide more value during a time of need for the membership. GOODWILL & WELLNESS 30 Training the Next Generation CoSIDA pairs with Orlando organization, Front Outreach, to teach sports media to local youth. EXTRAS 2 Notes from CoSIDA 3 President’s Message 4 CoSIDA’s 2021 Advocacy Publication 5 Perspectives from Outside the Profession 32 The SID Life On the Cover CoSIDA Hall of Famer Jeff Bernstein of NYU shows what working a live event in 2020-21 looks like. Advertising opportunities with CoSIDA: Digital advertising opportunities are available by contacting CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance at or (785) 691-7708. More information on becoming a corporate partner or advertising on a CoSIDA platform can be found at Join the CoSIDA Slack Community! Go CoSIDA 360 Will Be Digital Only in 2021 Like everyone, CoSIDA has taken a hit to its budget over the past year. As a result, the Executive Board of Directors made a series of decisions in its December 2020 meeting regarding spending in 2021. Among those decisions was the direction to halt printing of the magazine. It’s our hope that we’ll go back to printed issues when it makes sense but, for now, please enjoy our magazine online. 2020-21 CoSIDA Membership Dues Donations and Scholarship Applications Through the generosity of CoSIDA members and supporters, including the NCAA Division II Governance organization, 27 people have been provided free CoSIDA membership for 2020-21. More scholarships will be awarded if more donations are received. For the links to make a donation or to apply for a scholarship, go what is included in CoSIDA membership or to purchase a membership go CoSIDA staff member for help if needed. #CoSIDA21 Convention Will Be Online Details are being worked out for our virtual convention this June and information will be available at as plans develop. Attendees can expect the same high level of programming they are used to, plus a bigger emphasis on recognizing our 2020 and 2021 awards winners throughout May leading up to the convention. Stay tuned! CoSIDA Staff Executive Director Doug Vance (785) 691-7708 Associate Executive Director Will Roleson (317) 490-2905 Director of Professional Development and External Affairs Barb Kowal (512) 739-1234 Director of Membership Engagement Laurie Bollig (913) 707-0365 Director of Creative Services Beau White (913) 223-0594 Intern Danielle Potts (270) 227-7026 About CoSIDA 360 CoSIDA 360 is a quarterly publication of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Publication dates each year are in February, May, August and November. Any submissions, questions or comments can be directed to Beau White by emailing The digital issue of CoSIDA 360 is provided by of Lexington, Ky. Special thanks to Jai Giffin. CoSIDA 360 Credits CoSIDA Director of Creative Services Beau White serves as editor and designer of CoSIDA 360. Additional assistance provided by the CoSIDA staff. Contributing writers for this issue include Sam Atkinson, Sarah Fetters, Shelby Hild, David Kiefer, Steve Kirschner, Rob Knox, Barb Kowal, Ali Paquette, DeWayne, Peevy, Danielle Potts, Will Roleson, Doug Vance, and Beau White. Photos provided by Jeff Hodges unless otherwise noted.President’s Message CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 3 Sam Atkinson | Gallaudet University, Associate Athletic Director for Communications | CoSIDA President 2020-21 | Overcoming It’s a new calendar year and I’m sure we’re all thrilled to say good riddance to 2020. Even though the calendar year changed, our situation remains the same. While we still have a ways to go to overcome this pandemic situation there is light at the end of the tunnel. With a new year comes the tired question of what is your New Year’s resolution? I’d much rather see people set a new mindset for the new year instead. Yearly resolutions are bound to fail whereas changing an outlook on your life has a chance to become more everlasting. I know this is easier said than done but I challenge you to rise above the negativity in 2021. The theme for this issue of CoSIDA 360 is “overcoming.” It is such a fitting theme and word to describe our members and profession, not just during this academic year, but our journey in collegiate athletics. All of our journeys begin with dreams. We all have them. Some of you that are reading this column have achieved your dreams, others are just setting out chasing theirs. For those that have reached a dream milestone let me say congratulations and encourage you to keep dreaming for the next possibility. For those still chasing a dream, I’m right there with you. Our time is going to come. Do not let the naysayers get the best of you. We all need to continue to deliver the high-quality work many expect from us. These day-to-day tasks collectively build up to get us closer to our goals and dreams. Along our journey it’s inevitable that we hit a wall, get sidetracked or derailed but that shouldn’t stop you. What’s holding you back? Many of us are afraid of the unknown and taking a leap of faith. Maybe that leap or a change of scenery is what you need to keep going. You may just shrug things off and say “well maybe someday I’ll reach my dream.” Well, why not today? Why not make a positive change in your mindset for 2021 to overcome your obstacles to reach your dreams? “Well, who am I to keep you down?” Trust me, I didn’t just quote Fleetwood Mac’s song Dreams while on a skateboard while throwing down Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice, even though I’m sure some of you would like to see that. A year ago, we couldn’t have imagined what 2020 would be like. We’ve all been put through the ringer. It hasn’t been easy and I’m sure we’re all looking for hope and a slice of positive news. This issue of CoSIDA 360 offers many different positive stories of our members overcoming obstacles and for some achieving their dreams. DePaul University Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy started his collegiate career as a sports information director. At the end of August 2020, Peevy reached his dream of becoming an athletic director. His column “Dream Big Dreams” (page 5) gives great perspective for those of us still chasing our dreams. Vanderbilt University Director of Football Communications Sarah Fetters couldn’t have dreamt of what was in store for the Commodores program when the fall season began. On Nov. 28, Vanderbilt women’s soccer goalie Sarah Fuller, fresh off winning an SEC championship, suited up for the Commodores football team in Columbia, Missouri. Fuller entered the game to kick off the second half against Mizzou as she became the first female to participate in a Power 5 football contest. Fetters shares her perspective (page 9) of how Fuller overcame barriers to break this glass ceiling and encourage younger girls to dream big. Middlebury College Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Ali Paquette pens an inspiring story about supporting women in the sports information profession (page 16). Paquette’s story dives into the obstacles women in the profession face and how they are true leaders in the field. There have been so many great stories coming out of the crisis we have faced for the last year. CoSIDA Past President Rob Knox (UNC Greensboro) goes behind the scenes and shares the stories of CoSIDA members becoming storytellers during a pandemic in our cover story (page 6). I hope you enjoy this issue of CoSIDA 360, now being supplied in a digital-only format. I hope your time reading these great stories inspires you to continue to overcome the day- to-day grind, and makes you dream big. 4 | THE REPUTATION OF YOUR INSTITUTION HINGES ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS. A QUALITY COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL IS IRREPLACEABLE. Read our report CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 5 Growing up, before I ever knew the job even existed, little did I know I was born to be a sports information director. I kept statistics, organized leagues and managed others going all the way back to my elementary school days. I was the kid in the neighborhood who always had a bat and multiple gloves so that we could be ready to play a tournament at a moment’s notice. I kept statistics for video games with my friends before they had career and league modes, where you could play online. Numbers brought me pure joy and that is what led me to majoring in accounting at the University of Montevallo. I never planned to put my love of numbers and sports together until my baseball career ended after asthma complications my freshman year in college. Everything I knew about college athletics changed in October 1997 when I became the director of sports information at Montevallo. It was my first staff (all students), first budget and most importantly it was the first time that I started dreaming big. At just 24 years old, I gained experience in marketing, fundraising and mentoring others. I wanted to provide an experience to student-athletes that I did not have, which lit a fire in me to never settle and to dream big. I did not dream about leaving Montevallo for the Southeastern Conference; I dreamed about turning Montevallo into an SEC- caliber school. I think so many people in our profession dream about the next job instead of making their current situation ideal. My path to DePaul University was not a yellow brick road, but it definitely started with focusing on making my current job the best. That is what took me from an NAIA school to a Division II conference office, to a Division II school, to a Division I conference office, to a Division I school, to ultimately becoming the Director of Athletics at DePaul University. I didn’t spend any time worrying about what others thought about me. Those instances that presented themselves as road blocks in my career fueled my fire to work harder. Today, my message to my SID family is don’t let anyone tell you that you are not qualified to do more. There is no experience greater than the role of a sports information or media relations director. There are parts of my job right now that are nothing compared to my past jobs in sports information. Crisis Dream Big Dreams management, check. Spokesperson, check. Managing a tight budget, check. Hiring staff and reading people, check. I acquired all those skills and more as an SID. It was brought to my attention that I was the first and only Black sports information director in Southeastern Conference history. How can we change that? How can I help? How can I motivate others in the Black community that anything is possible? Along the way, I didn’t understand the role I played in impacting the lives of others who look like me. I know I influenced people in this business and those I came in contact with, but I wasn’t intentional enough to help other people of color because I was trying to reach a spot of influence. I only recently realized that I already possessed that influence. I know I have to be more involved and more intentional about assisting in creating more access and opportunity for minorities in college athletics. It is great that I’m not alone in that charge, but I also have to do my part if we are going to increase diversity and inclusion in our profession. In 2000, when asked in my interview by SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer where I wanted to be in five years, I stated that I wanted to be a commissioner or an athletics director. I am not sure I knew what that even meant back then, but I am proud that I believed in myself. Even though it took 20 years, it was worth the wait! Dream Big Dreams. DeWayne Peevy was named the ninth Director of Athletics at DePaul on Aug. 24, 2020. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Peevy’s 23-year career in collegiate athletics began in media relations. He served as the sports information director for his alma mater, University of Montevallo in Alabama, for three years before becoming the media relations director for the Southeastern Conference Office. He also served on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four Media Coordination Committee through the 2013 NCAA Championship. He previously was the sports information director representative on the board of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Prior to arriving at DePaul, he served a 12-year stint at the University of Kentucky that included the last seven years at the deputy director of athletics. Perspectives from Outside the Profession by DeWayne Peevy | DePaul University, Director of Athletics | “There is no experience greater than the role of sports information or media relations director.” DeWayne Peevy6 | Athletics communicators have showcased their talent, versatility and creativity despite limited or no games, shrinking budgets and difficult circumstances. her scientific research wiped out,” Ryan recalled. “The story evolved from that moment into a review of her work and what she plans to do. To this day, I still have no idea what a Bayesian Conditional Probabilistic Model is, but readers on the NCAA website, social media platforms, and viewers of a local TV station learned plenty about her and her research. When was the last time you had a volleyball player get TV time? It’s in the top three placements of my SID career.” Veteran Bethune-Cookman athletic communicator Dan Ryan didn’t let anything stop him from sharing the accomplishments of volleyball student- athlete Miranda White. Working from home. During a global pandemic. He incessantly emailed media members and spent lots of time calling television stations to get White’s impressive academic research on the air. “She had her appearance in front of a Capitol Hill committee presenting Throughout the tsunami of unprecedented events over the last nine months — which included the crippling COVID-19 pandemic, the calls for social reform following the deaths of unarmed African-Americans Breonna Taylor and George Floyd to the hands of police brutality, and a divisive political environment that left many in tears, frustrated, hurt and sad — athletic communicators were vital cogs and beacons of light in their respective departments. by Rob Knox | UNC Greensboro, Associate Athletic Director of Strategic Communications CoSIDA Past President | Storytelling During a Pandemic A ll p ho to s s ub mi tte d.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 7 associate athletic director and strategic communications officer Jason Yellin, who had a national public service announcement that aired on ESPN about ending racism. “We provided a platform for them to stand up for themselves and take a stand on the most important election of our time. They were able to express their opinions in a safe space.” Athletic communicators humanized their student-athletes. They educated fans and provided stakeholders with fresh, engaging, and quality content that connected generations. The passionate stories inspired resilience, optimism, hope, faith, and love while highlighting memorable moments and providing authentic emotion. Feature stories, video highlights, contests, Zoom interviews with participants who played in classic games that re-aired on television or social media, and social posts gave fans something encouraging in which to look forward. “We took a step back to analyze what was happening when COVID shut down the world of athletics and tried to figure out what we needed to do to keep our fans engaged,” Alabama State sports information director Travis Jarome Without the steady and comforting rhythm of games to chronicle along with the soothing flurry of gameday activity, athletic communicators — regardless of budgets, resources, and the size of the school — showcased their talent, versatility, and creativity in the face of unprecedented and tumultuous times. While storytelling during a pandemic had its share of challenges, many athletic communicators were happy and satisfied that their words, videos, and photos provided the beauty, power, and significance of a poignant story. The stories proved to be calming and captivating for sports fans. Beacons of Light Student-athletes already rocked from the sudden end to the winter and spring sport seasons needed an outlet. Athletic communicators provided it. Athletic administrators looked for assistance with crafting and proofreading statements condemning the social injustices across the country. Athletic communicators were in the trenches. “It was very important to amplify our students’ voices through all of the initiatives we launched at Maryland, online, in our magazine, and the media,” said University of Maryland said. “We took a new stance, one that has always been there but made us look harder — what do the fans want and how would they want to see it? Aside from all the social media pieces, we did with old videos and audio clips, and new graphics, we refreshed how we told our stories.” A New Normal As the sun rose and unfurled soft promises on the day after the stunning announcement that the NBA was suspending its season following the positive COVID test of Rudy Gobert, athletic communicators were wary something major could be happening. Yet, while that possibility hung over their heads on Thursday, March 13, they went about the business of preparing for their games. Making sure starting line-up graphics were published on social. Delivering final nuggets of information to broadcasters. Checking to make sure live stat links worked correctly. Eating fruit, eggs, and pancakes at team meals. Former Towson assistant director of media relations Nicole Curtin remembers being in the bathroom, Dan Ryan (in suit) of Bethune-Cookman helped tell the story of volleyball player Miranda White’s (right) research in Bayesian Conditional Probabilistic Model. “We took a new stance, one that has always been there but made us look harder — what do the fans want and how would they want to see it? ...we refreshed how we told our stories.” Travis Jarome Storytelling During a PandemicNext >