< Previous18 | past the statistics of the job and focus on the human-interest side of the profession. Working with Knox allowed her to dramatically enhance her writing skills. “When I think about my career, both Dave and Rob were patient, kind and always willing to teach me,” said Johnson. “They also let me figure things out on my own, sometimes on the fly and make mistakes. But no matter what, they had my back. I like to say that Dave laid the foundation and Rob helped me build the house.” • • • TAKING A CHANCE Morgan Sheehan, Associate Athletic Communications Director at UNC Pembroke Early on in her career, Morgan Sheehan had a difficult decision to make. She was in the middle of the final interview for a full-time job in collegiate athletics when Todd Anderson, associate director of athletic communications and strategic initiatives at UNC Pembroke approached her about an interim position as the assistant director of athletic communications. Sheehan wasn’t sure what to do. “Do I take the guaranteed full-time position, or do I take the interim gig at a place I loved,” said Sheehan. Anderson knew that Sheehan did not have much experience in the field, but he knew that she was a hard worker who loved sports, and she was someone he could count on. Sheehan decided to stay at UNCP and work with Anderson. “Todd guided me and made sure I would be successful,” said Sheehan. “Without him taking a chance on me, I never would have realized how much I love this career.” Six months after her start date, Sheehan was hired full time. “Three years later, deciding to stay at UNCP was the best decision I have made,” said Sheehan. “I cannot thank Todd enough for all that he teaches me on a daily basis.” • • • the importance of music, angles, the power of bounce boards, and the complexities to shooting each sport. She even got to help with a lip dub video that afternoon. The following year, Fulwood requested to be Metz’s intern and he accepted. “He saw my potential when I sometimes questioned if it was there,” said Fulwood. Under Metz’s direction, Fulwood found her passion for video, and he helped her build a solid foundation in those areas. “That internship was pivotal for me because it introduced me to an avenue that I didn’t even know existed,” said Fulwood. “Today, I can’t watch games on television without thinking of how many cameras are being used to get those angles. Video editing is still my strongest attribute, and Adobe Creative Cloud is my best and worst friend.” • • • LAYING THE FOUNDATION AND BUILDING THE HOUSE Candace Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Ohio State As an undergraduate at Guilford College, Candace Johnson spent her first few days on campus looking for a work study position. After seeing a posting in the sports information office, she interviewed with Dave Walters. Johnson knew nothing about sports information, but she liked sports. Walters hired her. “If it wasn’t for Dave, I can say without a doubt that I would not be in this field,” said Johnson. “He spent four years helping me cultivate my passion for athletic communications, helped me realize this is what I wanted to do and showed me how it was done.” After graduation, Johnson set out to find a job in the profession, where word of mouth led her to Coppin State, where she worked with Rob Knox, now a CoSIDA Past President. During her time with the Eagles, Knox taught Johnson to see Noreen Mulledy and Shawn Medeiros Rob Knox and Candace Johnson Catie Smith and Kat Castner Supporting Women “Supporting women in sports has to be intentional...it’s something we talk about regularly within our athletic department.” Shawn MedeirosCoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 19 compliance and become an athletic director. Five years later, when Chun was promoted to athletic director, she wanted Guglieri to be her number two, the senior associate athletic director. “I did receive pushback, not only from those who thought that it was an enormous leap up the organizational chain, but also by those who worried about the perception of two women running an NCAA Division I FCS athletics department,” said Chun. “Even Ann-Marie was skeptical because she would be overseeing areas that were not immediately in her zone of excellence. We ignored the noise and the athletics department went on to great success.” The duo now works together at Yale, where the director’s office of four is all women. • • • When I think about my time in athletic communications, there are many people who have supported me. Yet, my journey began with a yes or no question. I was midway through my master’s degree and I had to find an internship as part of my program. I approached Erin Quinn, director of athletics at Middlebury College, about fulfilling my credits under his mentorship. Middlebury does not hire a lot of interns in the department, and I knew that asking Quinn for this opportunity meant more work for him, but he immediately said yes and followed with, “Someone had to take a chance on me once.” From that point on, Quinn made it his mission to ensure I got as much experience in as many areas of athletics and administration as possible. It was because of that one yes that I stumbled upon athletic communications and found a career that I am passionate about. I am grateful that I was able gain experience under his mentorship for two years and return full- time in 2020 after a year and a half at another college. Lisa Champagne said she wished she had more women to look up to when she began her career in 1994. I feel grateful that in 2021 I have many women like Champagne who have shown me what is possible for women working in sports. To all of the men and women who have helped support women working in athletics, thank you. Giving back moves all of us forward. WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES Shawn Medeiros, Sports Information Director at Endicott College In the Sports Information department at Endicott College, supporting women in sports is part of their mission. Former Sports Information Director Rob Palardy instilled this in his staff, and current Director Shawn Medeiros is intentional in hiring graduate assistants and work study students who are women. When Medeiros learned the department would have funding for two semester-long internships in 2018, it was no surprise that two women were in line for the positions. “We were all really excited to have both Noreen Mulledy and Kristen Habbel as interns,” said Medeiros. “We felt that their skill sets were at the levels of assistants, not interns, and that we were lucky to have both of them.” Just a week before officially offering both positions, one position was cut. Medeiros and his staff were left with a tough decision, knowing that one woman would be heartbroken. Although the department ultimately settled on Mulledy, they made it their mission to help Habbel secure a spot elsewhere. Medeiros and his colleagues called and emailed several schools in the area on behalf of Habbel. Habbel was offered a position at Bryant. “Supporting women in sports has to be intentional,” said Medeiros. “Rob held this close to his heart when I arrived at Endicott and it’s something we talk about regularly within our athletics department.” • • • IGNORING THE NOISE Vicky Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics at Yale University Former athletic communications director In 2007, Vicky Chun was the associate athletic director at Colgate and Ann-Marie Guglieri was hired as the assistant athletic director of compliance. Guglieri excelled in her responsibilities and volunteered for every leadership opportunity she could. She hoped to eventually transition out of Jenna Putula and Ali Paquette Todd Anderson and Morgan Sheehan Vicky Chun and Marie Guglieri Supporting Women20 | In late September of 1979, Rosa Gatti, the first female sports information director at an NCAA Division I football school, was busy prepping for Brown University’s football season opener at Yale. Meanwhile, about two hours down the road a fledging 24-hour cable sports network called the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, housed in a few trailers on a parcel of land that was once a dump site in Bristol, Conn., was just a couple of weeks into its on-the-air launch. The network debuted at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 7, 1979 and aired the initial SportsCenter telecast. The first words spoken by co-anchor Lee Leonard set the stage for viewers The Communications Gatekeepers of “ SPORTS HEAVEN” CoSIDA Partners Built by a pioneering SID, the ESPN Communications Department is the beneficiary of many others who are products of the sports information profession. expectations: “If you’re a fan, what you’ll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you’ve gone to sports heaven.” Increasingly, Gatti took notice of the novel network concept. In fact, she assisted ESPN producers that fall when the network came to the Brown campus to televise several soccer games. ESPN featured numerous college events in the New England area on its programming lineup during its infancy. Despite not having a dedicated communications department in those early months, ESPN President Chet Simmons subscribed to the theory that to grow the company’s profile nationally he needed a skilled communications staff to attract media attention. When ESPN was launched on September 7, 1979, its primary purpose was televising events along with covering sports news. But, shortly afterwards, it became obvious that the network and its announcers were going to occasionally be the news. As a result, ESPN President Chet Simmons determined a need for a communications department. That’s where we pick up the storyline. by Doug Vance CoSIDA Executive Director From left, Tammy Boclair (2003-04 CoSIDA President and Hall of Famer), Rosa Gatti, April Emory (CoSIDA’s first Black woman to serve on the Board of Directors) and the late Mary Jo Haverbeck (CoSIDA Hall of Famer) pose during the ESPN Party at the 2007 CoSIDA Workshop in San Diego.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 21 on her career. At her urging and because of her continued encouragement with the ESPN hierarchy, the network has been a generous corporate partner in support of the CoSIDA Convention every year since Gatti was hired. A highlight for anyone who has attended a CoSIDA Convention is the annual ESPN reception. “One of my former student assistants at Brown, Diane Lamb, handled many of the details in making those social events happen,” noted Gatti. “She became a vice president of communications at ESPN.” During those years, Gatti missed “only one or two CoSIDA Conventions.” “I was occasionally questioned about spending this money on CoSIDA,” Gatti recalled. “We had challenging budget times. I stressed the value of the SID in what we were doing and that it was extremely important to build a relationship with them. “I always made the case that SIDs are the ones who bring us the stories.” The ESPN communications office in Bristol had a humble beginning as Gatti was budgeted for just two assistants and an intern. The first staffing decisions included two future leaders of the network who had sports information pedigrees. One staff position went to Chris LaPlaca, her assistant at Brown. LaPlaca’s career at ESPN moved forward in rapid fashion, and he now serves as the company’s senior vice president for corporate communications. Mike Soltys, whose father Joe was the SID at Connecticut from 1959 to 1984, was embarking on the start of his career when he was lured to the network as the first intern hired at ESPN. He was elevated to vice president of corporate communications in 2003. Also on that initial communication staff was Dave Ogrean, who later served as the USA Hockey executive director after a stint as its director of public relations. During her career at ESPN, Gatti’s responsibilities were expanded. She built the corporate philanthropy department, reorganized human resources, founded the company’s diversity Nine months after it went on the air, ESPN hired Gatti as its first director of communications. It proved to be a decision that would have a lasting impact not only on Gatti, but also influence CoSIDA and the sports information profession. She had been recommended for the job by, among others, ESPN visionary and founder Bill Rasmussen, who had a background as a communications director in professional hockey. Gatti had previously served as the director of sports information at her alma mater, Villanova, and was in her third year at Brown. She accepted the ESPN position with a degree of apprehension. She quickly surmised that serving as the primary communication gatekeeper for “sports heaven” was going to be a daunting task. “I thought that I was going to get fired,” said Gatti. “It was a new world for me, and I felt that I might be in over my head. I quickly discovered that the media really didn’t want to write about us. Plus, we were not sure we would make it. In our first four years we lost $100,000,000.” Make it, of course, they did. In the process, Gatti became a cable television and sports communication pioneer. She spent 33 years at ESPN and played an instrumental role in turning the network into one of the world’s most powerful media brands before her retirement in 2013. Gatti accepted the challenge of traveling across the country to ESPN events on college campuses and spending time with local media to explain what ESPN was all about. Her efforts started to pay dividends and within a year of being hired as a director, Gatti was promoted to vice president of communications. “One of the key programming decisions in those early years was to make college sports a centerpiece of our programming,” Gatti explained. “An important element in that growth was signing an agreement with the NCAA to televise the NCAA basketball tournament games.” Gatti, who has been honored by CoSIDA with the Jake Wade Award and Keith Jackson Award, has never swayed from her devotion to a profession that had an immense impact ESPN Communications Department Josh Krulewitz (left), Rosa Gatti and Mike Soltys during the Cheryl Therriault retirement party. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images) Mike Soltys (left) and Josh Krulewitz (center) with Bill Rasmussen. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)22 | multi-faceted, just as it is for the media relations departments at schools and conferences,” Hofheimer explained. “Storytelling is at the core of what we do. We try to engage and inform fans — and drive awareness of ESPN content — through our ongoing communications efforts.” “SIDs are so important to our college sports PR team and we are in regular communication with them, as well as our conference media relations partners.” Hofheimer said. “SIDs help us communicate information about ESPN and our broadcasts to local and regional media, and fans, in their respective markets.” Ufnowski, with her lengthy background in sports information on campus and in a conference office, says the experience was instrumental in building a large network of colleagues. “Throughout my career relationships have been paramount and my experiences as an SID proved to be invaluable in fostering those with coaches, student-athletes, administrators, media and peers across the industry,” Ufnowski said. committee and served as investor relations liaison for the company to the Walt Disney Company. Today, ESPN’s communications department numbers approximately 50 employees divided into specific sport assignments at the college and pro levels. With its extensive broadcast portfolio of multimedia sports assets, including both TV and digital platforms, the job of handling communications for ESPN has become more demanding and complex. The college communications team at ESPN — and their assignments — includes: • Bill Hofheimer: A former assistant SID at Florida who oversees the college sports team and all aspects of college sports publicity for ESPN. He previously directed communications for ESPN’s Monday Night Football and NFL studio shows. • Amanda Brooks: A former assistant SID at Vanderbilt and Florida who handles college football, gymnastics and track & field. • Amy Ufnowski: A former assistant SID at Marquette and the Atlantic Coast Conference who works with the ACC and Longhorn Networks, baseball and assists in men’s basketball. • Anna Negrón: A highly acclaimed national anthem singer, she is a former PR specialist for the U.S. Army All- American Bowl and now works with College GameDay (both football and basketball), men’s basketball, ESPN Events, lacrosse and wrestling. • Kim Elchlepp: Her background includes work in the PR department at CNN. She works with women’s college basketball, softball, college football awards, volleyball and soccer. “The mission of our college sports PR team at ESPN is ESPN Communications DepartmentCoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 23 Brooks also cites her SID experiences as being a factor in the growth of her career. “I’ve worked in PR for 12 years now and the six years I spent as a college SID shaped so much of what I do today,” she explained. Negrón considers the roles of each member of the ESPN PR team as similar in scope to the job of an SID. “In normal times, I travel to GameDay locations, coordinate interview requests and be the resource for information,” Negrón explained. “We don’t handle stats or game notes, but we basically have the same responsibilities an SID does.” “The SIDs are critical in helping me do my job,” added Negron. “I normally start each week during football season with a call to the SID at the site of College GameDay.” Hofheimer also points to the “invaluable” help of SIDs during this year’s pandemic challenges. “When College GameDay visits a particular campus, the school SID not only assists our production team with site planning, but they also help us communicate the location, timing and other relevant information to the public,” he said. “Even this year when we weren’t allowed to have fans on-site due to health protocols, the school SIDs were invaluable in communicating to fans how they could still be part of the show through our “virtual pit’. I would also add that our ESPN team prides itself on being just as helpful to the schools.” “When SIDs need information about schedules, our coverage plans, or how to get in touch with a producer or commentator, our goal is to be a resource for them,” he added. “The information flow is definitely a two-way street.” The ESPN workforce includes other top-level administrators influenced by their years working in a sports information office. Among them is ESPN’s VP of communications, Josh Krulewitz. He came to ESPN in 1990 as an intern after working as a student assistant in the Connecticut SID office where he was tutored by, among others, Barb Kowal who now serves as CoSIDA’s director of professional development and external affairs “As ESPN has grown, we recognize the demands on SIDs have grown along with us,” said Krulewitz. “More importantly, so too has our admiration and respect for the vital role they play.” “I’m convinced the world of sports information is a remarkable training ground for many professionals,” he added. “In my case, the common thread between my biggest professional influences is they all have SID backgrounds. And, like many others, they would all clip newspapers, hang numbers on freezing cold scoreboards or do whatever else it takes to get the job done.” Both Soltys and Krulewitz have been honored by the United States Basketball Writers’ Association with the Katha Quinn Award, named after the late St. John’s SID for outstanding media service. It’s revealing to retrace the sports information lineage through those top branches of the communications tree at ESPN over the past 40 years. Gatti was the first communications director and was instrumental in helping train Soltys during his internship year. Soltys later hired Krulewitz, also a former UConn student assistant, as an intern and now he heads the department. They all share an affection and respect for the value of sports information on their successful careers. In addition, they also owe a debt of gratitude to Gatti for opening the door and connecting ESPN and CoSIDA. Throughout her time at ESPN and since her retirement, Gatti has always delivered a definitive and authentic endorsement that speaks to her respect for the profession that launched her luminous career. “I’ve always extolled the importance of the role of sports information,” Gatti added. “And not just in the athletic department but it’s one of the most critical roles in the university.” The ESPN College Sports Public Relations Team can be accessed at “I’m convinced the world of sports information is a remarkable training ground for many professionals. In my case, the common thread between my biggest professional influences is they all have SID backgrounds. And, like many others, they would all clip newspapers, hang numbers on freezing cold scoreboards or do whatever else it takes to get the job done.” Josh Krulewitz ESPN Communications Department24 | our student-athletes, coaches and teams than ourselves — which is how it should be. But in a time when athletics departments stand to lose tens of millions of dollars, SIDs should rightly be concerned about where those cuts will fall and take steps to solidify their roles within their departments. The collective response to the tweets in October was way beyond what was intended (since I didn’t really intend for them to cause much of any reaction, the fact so many people weighed in was rather amazing). They obviously hit some nerves of their own. I was proud of our colleagues for their many responses and the way SIDs stood up for each other and the profession. I appreciated the many media members who also showed their support, often for the SIDs they deal with in their own backyards. I laughed at the additions to the list, kicking myself for not having included so many worthy ideas. Mostly I appreciated the fact that others in the world of college athletics — from media, to conference commissioners, athletic directors, Back in October, I authored a series of eight tweets detailing many of the duties of a sports information director, an exercise I did ostensibly to answer a question posed to The Stadium’s college basketball writer, Jeff Goodman, on his Twitter feed. His follower simply asked what does an SID do? Initially I thought it would be fun to pass along a list that my colleague Kevin Best and I had compiled in recent years, whose origin was to put into buckets the various tasks that the SIDs, or communications staff, handled. Each of our external relations units at the University of North Carolina compiled similar lists as we were searching for ways to maximize efficiencies and produce content in a more coordinated fashion. It was a list we created some five years ago and then added to in subsequent years. The list I tweeted included roughly 50 duties, although many have multiple tasks associated with them. And by no means was it ever intended to be an exhaustive list — I knew there were many job functions that SIDs across North America perform on a regular basis, or sometimes in a pinch, that I neglected to include. I knew the list might miss some of the jobs SIDs execute, particularly at schools that have fewer people and other resources that are available to some of us. There are countless PR offices where it’s a one- or two-person staff, and others where they are not just the SID, but perhaps also coach, faculty, or even a member of the field staff. But beyond answering Goodman’s question, there was probably a second Advocacy 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. The response was enormous. by Steve Kirschner | University of North Carolina, Senior Associate AD for Communications | reason for tweeting. I simply wanted people to know — in a time when COVID-19 has decimated budgets — that SIDs play key roles in the life of an athletic department, and thought it necessary to remind people of all that we do. I had also just learned several members of another school’s athletic communications staff had been let go in the middle of the football season, with basketball just weeks from its start. I knew several of the people who had been let go; one was a student I worked with at Carolina almost 30 years ago; another had superbly coordinated media relations at an NCAA basketball regional we played in recently. They weren’t the first, and certainly not the last, people to lose their jobs due to the financial nightmare all businesses are dealing with as result of the pandemic. But theirs hit a nerve with me. SIDs have always had to explain to people what we do. I began working in this profession as a student assistant at Connecticut in 1985 and have always felt we did a better job of promoting Kirschner (right) with Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, a great CoSIDA supporter in his own right. Ph ot o p ro vi de d b y S te ve K irs ch ne r.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 25 coaches, and people from other work groups — chimed in to say they get what we do. They perhaps hadn’t noticed, realized or remembered SIDs do all that, but they read the tweets, they thought about what their SID does for them, and they get it. I think I get it, too. The budget situation is dire, and athletic directors at pretty much every institution have been forced to make cuts, and will continue to look at places to save money for at least the next several years. I was on the budget committee at Carolina for more than 15 years; I know the numbers and the challenges are going to be daunting. We are fortunate at UNC that our athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, has done everything he can to avoid having to cut full-time personnel, not just in communications, but all departments. Yes, we’ve had to eliminate several intern positions, and we lost a couple of outstanding young SIDs as a result. People have had to pick up new sports as well, but our department’s priority has been to maintain full-time positions and make sure we continue to offer our student-athletes the best overall experience possible. Whether it’s traditional SID duties, or using newer tools such as graphics and videos, Cunningham’s charge to us has been to continue to be as versatile and stay as modern as we can. Don’t just embrace the traditional roles of an SID; keep up with the changes in technology and new ways to deliver our message to a growing and diverse range of those who need to receive that information. Kevin Best and I created the list because in a day and age when so much emphasis was being placed on social media, graphics and video, we wanted to demonstrate that SIDs, particularly those working with sports other than football, basketball or whatever sport is among the highest-profile programs at one’s institution, are actively engaged in delivering content in this way. They just happen to be doing that at the same time they are doing all of the other “traditional” duties, as well. Our football, and men’s and women’s basketball programs have an army of people dedicated to creating and distributing content including videographers and photographers, video editors, social media managers, SIDs, graphics designers, and marketers. Part of why I tweeted was to point out that for most sports at most schools, the SID does all of the above and then some. So yes, there are some challenging days ahead. We will be playing 27 sports plus spring football this semester, and thank God we will. SIDs and other creative staff will play a huge part in telling the stories of those student-athletes, coaches and teams. All they want is that opportunity. Advocacy “In a time when athletic departments stand to lose tens of millions of dollars, SIDs should rightly be concerned about where those cuts will fall and take steps to solidify their role within one’s respective department.” Steve Kirschner26 | mission stated in the opening sentence of the job description,” said Paul. “I had heard that the Christian band dc Talk went to Liberty and I had watched Liberty’s women’s basketball team play LSU in the Sweet 16 on Easter Sunday in 2005.” He was about to give up on a sports information job and take a sports writer job with the local Ashland paper before Liberty’s Todd Wetmore offered him the position in Lynchburg. He currently serves as the primary contact for the women’s basketball, cross country, and track and field programs. Joe got his first look at Liberty when he helped his brother move to Lynchburg. “Little did I know that I would be working with him less than five years later,” he said. Joe graduated from Malone College in 2007 with a degree in sports ministry and looked for an internship but instead decided to take a year off. He then accepted a graduate assistantship at Mercyhurst University and earned his master’s before landing an internship at Charleston Southern University in 2010-11. In the fall of 2017, Joe Carmany was experiencing every sports information director’s gameday nightmare at Liberty University’s volleyball season opener … computer crashing, printer jamming, live-stats malfunctioning. But there to help him out was his older brother and fellow SID Paul, who also was Joe’s predecessor as the Flames’ volleyball contact. “We survived that night and ended it by picking up Taco Bell and going to his house and decompressing,” said Joe. “It’s a great memory now of our bond as brothers getting us through work difficulties.” Paul and Joe are in their 10th year working alongside one another in the Liberty athletics department in Lynchburg, Virginia. Overall, Paul is in his 15th season and serves as associate athletics communications director, while Joe is in his 10th year as an assistant director. Natives of New Middletown, Ohio — near Youngstown on the Pennsylvania border — they are believed to be the only siblings currently employed in the same sports information office. “We get asked all the time if we’re twins or which one of us is older,” said Paul. “We also receive many emails and text messages which were meant for each other. For several years, one of the employees on campus would always say to Joe, ‘I know you’re not Paul’ but couldn’t remember his name.” Paul arrived at Liberty in 2006 following two years as a graduate assistant at Ashland University. He primarily applied to Division II and III jobs in and around Ohio but he “decided to step outside my comfort zone and apply for a Division I job” at Liberty almost on a whim. “Being a Christian, I was excited to see the school’s Christian by Will Roleson | CoSIDA Associate Executive Director | The Brothers Carmany Siblings Paul and Joe work side by side in athletics communications at Liberty University. Paul (left) and Joe (with ball) working a Liberty volleyball match.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 27 He interviewed for the job at Liberty while on campus covering a softball series for CSU in Lynchburg and started there in June of 2011. In addition to volleyball, Joe is currently the primary contact for the women’s swimming and diving and softball programs at Liberty. “I’ve been blessed all along the way to have been given so many opportunities to learn and grow personally, spiritually and professionally.” And while there may have been some sibling rivalry growing up, the Carmany brothers enjoy the opportunity to work together on a daily basis at Liberty. “During the 14 years I’ve been at Liberty, I’ve never updated my resumé or applied for another job,” said Paul. “I like working at a Christian university and have been blessed to work with some amazing people and outstanding teams. It’s been amazing to see how much Liberty has grown during my time here, and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for the future.” Added Joe: “I haven’t considered leaving Liberty since this is a great place to express my faith and be encouraged by fellow believers in a supportive environment.” As some things change, the more they stay the same. Joe got his first taste of sports statistics by keeping the official scorebook for one of Paul’s junior high basketball games when Paul was in eight grade and Joe in fifth. Thirteen years later, Joe was the official scorer for Liberty’s women’s basketball team for which Paul was the media contact. Their brotherly connection is evident to those who have worked with them. Ph ot o p ro vi de d b y L ib er ty A th le tic s. THE CARMANYS’ ADVICE FOR WORKING WITH YOUR SIBLING Joe: “My advice would be that you have to really love your job to be an SID and handle all the long hours. Put in all of the work that it takes to get the job done. Make sure to build your relationship with your sibling on another foundation other than just sports, because family time should be a release from the pressures of work.” Paul: “It’s a blessing to have built-in time with my brother, especially working within a profession that so often takes you away from family. As best as you can, I would say try to leave your work at home and just enjoy time with your brother or sister away from the office.” “At games and events that the Carmanys work, they are in lockstep and perfect rhythm with each other,” said Bill Smith, an assistant athletics communications director at Liberty. “I think about volleyball matches in particular, and they always seem to be in perfect stride with each other even when chaos happens.” “Paul and Joe were some of the best people I had the pleasure of working with during my four years at Liberty,” said Allison Hogue, who was an undergraduate at Liberty and is currently an assistant director of athletics media relations at Coker College. “They were one of the reasons why I found my passion in sports information and were instrumental in helping me develop my skills. It’s so much fun to be working with SIDs who happen to be brothers.” Outside of the office, Paul and Joe run together at least once a week and also attend minor league baseball games during the summer. Paul and his wife Katy also regularly have “Uncle Joe” over to their house to spend time with their daughter — and Joe’s niece — Gabby. “One of the toughest parts of our profession is missing out on family time when traveling and working long hours, “ Paul said. “So it’s nice to have a family member to spend some of those hours working with.” “The best thing about working with Paul is that he is a great example of a Christian SID who excels in the profession,” said Joe. “His work ethic is amazing. I know him really well outside of work and can continue that relationship at work. There aren’t many adults who get to see their siblings every day.” Next >