< Previous8 | CoSIDA Digests show there was intense disagreement on the term as job titles varied widely, as they do now. In 2021 and beyond, how should the organization known as CoSIDA — now more respected than ever among leaders at all levels of college sports — evolve as the communications industry evolves? Why aren’t more digital and creative specific communicators part of CoSIDA? Those are loaded questions but it’s easy to understand how we got here. If we are to advance the communications profession — not the SID role or the creative role or the social role — it’s going to take a selfless and intentional commitment to our colleagues of all communications disciplines. It starts with treating all communications and creative pros as people first, and respecting what each of us brings to the table. SIDs are not dinosaurs. Digital communicators are not people who play on their phones all day. Designers are not just people who are good at Photoshop. We must be inclusive in valuing each other’s contributions. When you’re at the “external staff” table, take off your SID hat, take off your designer hat, belonged. All young communicators and creators in college sports deserve this, but only the ones exposed to CoSIDA are getting it. We should open those doors wider. In my estimation the first true digital communicators in college sports emerged around 2003 or 2004 but, with the first iPhone coming out in 2007, we were a long way from where we are now. In 2006 I made a leap of my own to a graphic design position. At the time, most of the people doing this were SIDs who were shifting responsibilities. For the newly refocused SIDs-turned- creative communicators, CoSIDA no longer felt the same, even for those who remained members. The term SID didn’t fit. It was hard to get support because many administrators and coaches didn’t understand the evolution that was beginning right in front of their face. People either “got it” or they didn’t. For the creatives, CoSIDA did not evolve to feel inclusive of our new roles. These days, more people than ever feel like the term SID doesn’t fit anyone. Indeed, the job title Sports Information Director is used less and less. It’s worth noting that even in 1957 when the organization was founded, past take off your social media hat. Put on your strategic communicator hat and look around at your colleagues — who should also be wearing their strategic communicator hats — and commit to supporting one another. Fill in each other’s blanks. Filling in each other’s blanks is something our organization has always done well, and is something we could do even better the more diverse our membership is. Our professional development programming is second- to-none and, working together, SIDs and creative pros can learn a lot from one another when we provide opportunities for all to share their unique expertise. CoSIDA has worked for years to gain that seat at the proverbial table and, as an organization, we largely have it at the national level. We become stronger when we invite our creative colleagues to join us at the table. Does CoSIDA still represent the best in communications in college sports? I want to be confident that that’s true. I’m not sure it can be until we all put aside our specialty hats, put on our strategic communicator hats, and come together as a national organization where all communicators and creatives feel like they belong. Let’s keep this conversation going. CoSIDA leadership is discussing a branding exploration and study, which was last done by the organization in 2012. If that is something you’d like to be part of or would like to share any thoughts, contact 2020-21 President Executive Director or Director of Creative Services At Middlebury College, Ali Paquette is the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and manages the department’s social media and graphic design. She shares three ways we can elevate creative services at small collleges in her story beginning on page 13. Creatives + CommunicatorsCoSIDA 360 | MAY 2021 | 9 Creatives + Communicators priority,” says Gregor Walz, Director of Athletic Communications at the University of Puget Sound. “Seattle- Tacoma is a large market, and we’re a small school with a high percentage of out-of-state students. “One of my top goals in forging our path is for us to look like we’re NCAA DI on social media. I know that Tacoma and Seattle sports reporters follow us on social media. They reach out to me via DM or text me directly from time to time. I know I don’t need to flood them with press releases — I think that would be counterproductive for us.” Walz is not alone in his shift of perspective. SIDs are no longer reliant exclusively on other people to create content for them. They have school websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all the new social media platforms that seem to pop up every day, plus many essentially are creating their own broadcast networks. With this change of media landscape, also comes a change of role for the SIDs, and a different answer to the question, “Do you still need SIDs in 2021?” (Spoiler alert — YOU DO!) Legendary Northeastern University SID Jack Grinold used to complain that “People say that the computers are The game is over, the season has concluded, and your team has emerged undefeated. What do you do now? Back in the day, the answer was easy. You’d write a compelling press release, head over to the fax machine, and start going down your contact list. From student newspapers, to local media outlets, to national networks. You’d press “send” and hope that some assignment desk editors decide they can spare a reporter and write up a story in tomorrow’s edition. Alas, we are no longer “back in the day,” and you are no longer a Sports Information Director, or Sports Publicist, or School Press Officer. None of those titles truly describe your job these days. And, honestly, neither does the more modern “Director of Athletics Communications.” These days, the buzz word is “content.” You don’t write press releases, you create “content.” You don’t send faxes, you distribute “content.” So, what does that make you? A “creative communications content creator?” Oy vey. “Truthfully, trying to get Puget Sound Athletics into the newspapers and on TV has never really been my doing all the work, but it takes the same amount of people to input information into the computer, and keep track of all the games that are going on.” So, maybe the question is not, “Do we still need SIDs in 2021?” but rather, “Who makes a good SID in 2021?” If I were starting a brand-new by Imry Halevi | Harvard University, Assistant Director of Athletics - Multimedia & Production | The Evolution of Storytelling What skills and traits will make for the best storytellers in college athletics in the coming years? “The future is not something you get to pick or choose. The future is coming, and standing still is no longer an option. You grow, evolve, learn and reinvent yourself and those around you, or you get left behind.” Imry Halevi10 | Creatives + Communicators A good SID is a good videographer, and a good photographer, and a good social media strategist, and a good storyteller, and a good communicator, and…still…a good writer. Needing these skills has nothing to do with team size, or school budget. It’s just the reality of today’s world. “Versatility is a must. Flexibility is a must,” says Derryl Myles, Assistant Athletic Director, Fighting Illini Productions at University of Illinois Athletics. “The vehicle has changed but the stories remain the same. How do we emphasize the WHO? How can I spin this story differently for different audiences in different platforms? When should we do it? All questions that were there 20 years ago but the vehicle is different.” Standing on the field at the end of an unexpectedly close and exciting game with no one else around you what do you do? Do you ask someone to call the off-site photographer, or do you take the photo yourself? Do you look for the nearest videographer, or do you shoot a clip yourself? You’re there. In the moment. You know the team. They’re comfortable athletics communications department today, and I were interviewing candidates to fill my team, I wouldn’t ask them to pitch me a lede. Instead, I would ask them to tell me a story. I would look for people who can innovate the way they tell stories, rather than the way they sell stories. “In 2021, SIDs are storytellers, recruiters, brand managers, crisis communicators, social media experts and so much more. They have to know how to reach a 16-year-old recruit and a 65-year-old donor,” says Allison Fossner, the new Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at Drexel University. With the broadening of the fan base, and the exponential growth of the media landscape, communications professionals can no longer outsource the elements of the job that used to be called “new media.” “When I started in communications, the ideal candidate was left-brained — analytical, methodical, stats oriented,” Fossner said. “Now, we’re looking for someone that is clearly right-brained — creative, visual, thinking about the whole picture.” with you. You should be the one to capture the moment, and “create the creative content.” Does this make you any less of an “SID”? Do you need to start looking for new industry groups? Professional relationships? Work friends? Of course not! Just like every other role in an athletics department, the role of the SID has evolved. Pushing back makes no sense. Putting on blinders, even less. “Twenty years ago, I’d have nightmares about getting the weekend scores in the newspaper,” remembers Jeremy Hartigan, Associate Director of Athletics for Communications at Cornell University. “It was hard to imagine exactly how different the landscape would be,” Hartigan added. “SIDs have had to adapt at an incredibly rapid pace or risk becoming irrelevant. The really good ones have used these vehicles to tell stories with more depth and impact, while becoming more efficient in the more traditional staples of the job, which still exist.” The best people I’ve ever worked with start most conversations with the Gregor Walz is the Director of Athletic Communications at Puget Sound.CoSIDA 360 | MAY 2021 | 11 we’re trying to achieve.” Leave the door open for innovative ways to get from point A to point Z. Second, we must not only accept failure, but we must encourage it. If you words, “What if we tried…” For many, these are scary words. They deviate from the norm. They introduce risk and uncertainty. But for innovators, these are exciting words. They open the door for creativity, and allow for passion and rule-breaking. Those are the SIDs of the future. The ones who always look two steps ahead, and try to think about the next big innovation in storytelling. So how can we, as an industry, encourage this evolution? After all, it’s much easier to change when you feel the wind in your back. When everyone around you is also changing, and when there is momentum to move forward or fall behind. First, and most importantly, we have to completely erase the phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it” from our vocabulary. Interns and new SIDs want to fit in. They want to belong. And when you, as a manager, tell them that they’re not doing something the way it’s always been done, you are signaling to them that innovation is not welcome on your team. Try replacing “that’s the way we’ve always done it” with “these are the goals are afraid of failing, you’ll never take any risks. You’ll never try anything new. As managers, we have to provide a safety net for our team. Give them the space to try new things, and the confidence that failure will be seen as the first step towards future success, rather than as the last step in an unwarranted deviation from the norm. As an industry, we must also acknowledge unorthodox ways of doing new things. Why must we only celebrate a well-written article, when we can also praise the accompanying video and social media post? Why should we measure success just by counting page visits or views, rather than a creative way of tackling an age-old problem? Third, we must expand the scope of who we see as an “SID.” If the primary role of the SID is as a “creative content creator,” what separates her from a videographer, or a photographer or a social media manager. The quick answer — nothing. We all focus on different things in our roles, obviously. We all have different passions, different tools and different ways we go about our job. But we all fall under the same umbrella. We all “We must expand the scope of who we see as an ‘SID’. If the primary role of the SID is as a ‘creative content creator,’ what separates that person from a videographer, or a photographer or a social media manager. The quick answer — nothing.” Imry Halevi Creatives + Communicators Sydney Sims is the Associate Athletics Communications Director - Football at Notre Dame.12 | creatives. If this is not your job, whose is it? Good SIDs know how to do many things, great SIDs always want to learn more things. Asking someone for help is very different than telling someone that something is their job rather than yours. Any and all barriers between different creative roles are 100 percent arbitrary. Not only are they counterproductive to the operation of an athletics department, but they are detrimental to the future development and career prospect of today’s young SIDs. The more tools SIDs know, the more career paths they have ahead of them. We as an industry should encourage our teams’ growth and development. It’s why we’re here. It’s our job. The SID world, of course, is not the first one to go through such a monumental change. Before “multimedia directors” existed as we know them today, there were “college radio announcers.” In the 1990s, 1980s and earlier, those were as close to multimedia directors as most athletics departments knew. These radio announcers produced live sports shows, called live sporting events and marketed their sports productions around the region and the country. As in-house college sports radio gave way to in-house streaming and TV productions, radio announcers were tell stories. So why are some people “SIDs” and some not? Must you operate StatCrew to be an SID? Must you know how to use a fax machine? Must you have the names and numbers of all the local assignment desk editors saved on your cell phone? These are all archaic ways of separating people based on tools and technologies. That’s no longer the case. We have to be as inclusive as possible in how we see ourselves and our peers. “With the rapid growth of different social media platforms, sports information directors are now having to get creative in the way they provide information to the masses,” says Sydney Sims, Notre Dame’s Associate Athletics Communications Director – Football. “That includes being heavily involved in social media strategies, creative creation, and content planning.” According to Sims, SIDs can no longer afford to focus exclusively on the day-to-day. Without strategy, without looking ahead and planning ahead, you get lost in the minutia and lose focus on the goals of the job — telling the story and reinforcing the message of the University. Finally, we must stop saying and thinking “this is someone else’s job.” SIDs are communicators and storytellers and content creators and called upon to evolve. They could become “the voice” of live streaming broadcasts, they could grow into the role of producers, or they could lead through building and shaping video departments. Some of them did just that, and have set the standard for college sports productions around the country. Others were never able to make the switch. They were too rigid in their understanding of what college sports broadcasting meant, and the evolving content consumption habits of the fan base around them. The SIDs of yesterday, and the athletics communications professionals of tomorrow, need to remember that the future is not something they get to pick or choose. The future is coming, and standing still is no longer an option. You grow, evolve, learn and reinvent yourself and those around you, or you get left behind. Beyond “SID” and “creative” and everything else, we are ALL students, we are ALL teachers and we are ALL leaders. Regardless of our title. We must see it as our responsibility to learn something new every day, teach someone every day, and encourage everyone around us to grow every day. We’re all in this together. Derryl Myles (left) is the Assistant Director of Athletics, Video Services at Illinois. Allison Fossner (right), formerly the Assistant AD of Communications, Creative Services and Licensing at Delaware, is the new Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at Drexel in the College of Arts and Sciences. Creatives + CommunicatorsCoSIDA 360 | MAY 2021 | 13 Creatives + Communicators with social outlets, it would be off the charts,” said Slippery Rock’s Director of Athletic Communications Jon Holtz. “Yet it is very rare to see small schools with exclusive positions for creative services, and the ones that do have a position for those services are often not full-time. The more elaborate the Division I athletic departments content becomes; the more administrators and coaches expect that kind of thing to be repeatable at smaller schools. Unfortunately, people don’t understand that a Division I institution might have 10 or more people working on football creative in a single day, while most Division II and Division III Creative services are drastically changing the landscape in the field of sports information. What was once a career focused on statistical inputting, writing game recaps, and record keeping, is now stretching deep into the world of digital marketing and branding. As the demand for photography, videography, graphic design and social media management increases, smaller schools at the NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III levels are struggling to keep up. “If you were to put a dollar amount on the exposure that institutions get from creative services through athletics, especially on the digital side schools have one or two people total for all of the creative, social, video and traditional SID duties like stats, game notes, programs, recaps, archiving, record keeping, award nominating for all sports.” So how do small schools add and enhance creative services when they have smaller budgets and less resources than most Division I universities? We spoked to several talented professionals in the creative realm and three common themes came up: prioritizing creative work, relying on the resources you do have (student workers), and continuing to advocate for what your office needs. Elevating Creative Services at Small Schools ADs who support their SIDs with added full-time creative colleagues will have an advantage over those who try to get by with a one-person shop. “I knew I was on the right path when I was in the athletic training room one day and a student-athlete asked me what I do. Rather than go into the drawn-out, long-winded, detailed description of my job, I simply said, ‘Do you follow GoSuffolkRams? I do that.’ I’ll never forget his response, ‘Your graphics are one of the reasons I chose Suffolk.’” Amy Barry by Ali Paquette | Middlebury College, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications | Amy Barry is the Sports Information Director at Suffolk University.14 | made it a priority to ensure that the content is unique. “I want our stuff to be exclusive and not look like anyone else’s,” Holtz said. “I want people to see something while they are scrolling and know it came from Slippery Rock, before they even see our logo or read any of the text.” Every school is different but establishing and outlining how you will weave creative services into your daily duties is key to ensuring that you can keep up with the growing demands. Sometimes prioritizing the work means adding positions or restructuring the current roles that you have. When Kyeongjun Lee started his position at Texas A&M-Commerce in 2017, he was an intern and there was not a specific position dedicated to creative services. As Lee’s skillset grew, so did the trust and support of the Director of Athletics, Tim McMurray, and the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications, Josh Manck. Now, four years later, Lee is the full-time Director of Creative Services. “This position would not have been created, or evolved, without Tim and Josh,” said Lee. No. 1 Prioritizing the work Prioritizing what work is most important to your school, athletic department and sports information office can help you evaluate how to make space and time for creative services. This may mean eliminating things that once were standard across the industry, or it might mean becoming more efficient in other areas. When Amy Barry arrived at Suffolk University six years ago, she sat on the floor in her new office. Surrounded by bare walls and shelving, she established a marketing and branding plan for the Rams, focusing on seven key principles she learned as an intern at Harvard: sustain excellence, have a weekly plan, outwork everybody, pay attention to detail, improve, be intentional, and set your goals high. “Graphic design and creating is one of my favorite things about this job,” said Barry. “Not only do I enjoy it, but the student-athletes do as well. That’s why I prioritize it.” While Holtz and his office don’t always have the time for all of the creative content he would like, he has No. 2 Student workers play an important role, but are not the complete answer With limited resources and shrinking budgets, adding a full-time position is rarely a possibility at small schools, so it can be daunting to think about how to add extra work to an already overflowing cup. Many schools that have been successful in enhancing their creative services have one thing in common; they have turned to their students to help with these efforts. “One of the biggest assets that I’ve found is utilizing students on campus,” said Babson College’s Athletics’ Marketing & New Media Specialist Temi Bajulaiye. “Whether it’s for social media, shooting photos or video, or just helping to keep things organized, student workers are critical in smaller departments. “There’s no perfect model for what a student worker should do. We have student workers that love photography, so their role is to come to games to shoot photos. We also have student workers who don’t want to be working at games and they assist in managing our media archives during the week.” Creatives + Communicators Kyeongjun Lee is the Director of Creative Services at Texas A&M - Commerce. Lee is a regular winner in the CoSIDA Publications & Digital Design contests. “(My Director of Creative Services) position would not have been created, or evolved, without (athletic director) Tim McMurray or (senior associate AD - strategic communications) Josh Manck.” Kyeongjun LeeCoSIDA 360 | MAY 2021 | 15 for adding in creative services. Students can also be unreliable compared to a full-time professional. At the end of the day, a student’s first priority is their education, so they will have conflicts that interfere with work. Hiring student workers is great. However, continue the conversations and advocacy on adding a full- time creative services position, or restructuring the department to include this important position. No. 3 Advocacy Advocating for your department’s necessities is essential and will be specific to each school’s needs. “If a tree falls in a forest, but no one is around to hear it, then no one cares that the tree fell,” said Thoren. “The same can be said for sports information. If your student-athletes are excelling in their sport, but no one knows about it, then it’s a wasted opportunity to tell the story of your institution.” “The advocacy piece includes making people aware of what your content is Using student workers can be a great solution for schools that offer work study positions for the student body, but how do you find these talented students? “On pretty much any college campus, there are brilliant and talented designers, photographers, videographers, and creative minds — the key is simply to find them,” said Corban University’s Associate Athletic Director Jarrett Thoren. “There could be classes where these types of students are more likely to congregate; or, if the institution is anything like mine, there aren’t. Finding the talented, creative student minds requires digging around a deeper, asking coaches what they know about their student-athletes, or surfing through some social media. The good news is this: once you’ve prioritized creativity for a few years, those talented students start coming to you, and not vice versa.” “We need to realize there are a lot of students who want to gain experience working in the sports industry and creating content,” said Lee. “They need experiences to start their career, and we need people to teach them to help us look great.” Although using student workers can be very helpful in easing some of the burdens on the department, they should not be looked to in place of a full-time professional or a restructuring of the department. Training students takes a lot of time, and even the best of them are only around for four years. This means a considerable and consistent amount of time will go toward training students each year, which means even less time doing,” Barry mentioned, “I knew I was on the right path when I was in the athletic training room one day and a student-athlete asked me what I do. Rather than go into the drawn-out, long-winded, detailed description of my job, I simply said, ‘Do you follow GoSuffolkRams? I do that.’ I’ll never forget his response, ‘Your graphics are one of the reasons I chose Suffolk.’” As Lee outlined, sometimes demonstrating your skills can lead to growth within the department, and there are a lot of positives for adding creative positions at smaller schools. “All schools have marketing departments on campus that can help athletics from time to time to create video feature and aid in branding,” said Bajulaiye. “However, having an individual (or individuals) within athletics allows not just more stories to be told, but arguably better stories. Student-athletes, like most people, are more likely to open up and be themselves around someone they see often and are comfortable around.” Creatives + Communicators Jarrett Thorn (top), a former CoSIDA Academic All-America® baseball player, is the Associate Athletic Director at alma mater Corban University. Temi Bajulaiye (bottom left) is Babson College’s Athletics Marketing & New Media Specialist, working alongside Associate AD for Strategic Communications Scott Dietz. Jon Holtz (bottom right) is the Director of Athletic Communication at Slippery Rock.16 | Even if your school doesn’t currently have the budget to add a full-time position, the conversation should be a constant one. Show your boss what you could be doing with another full- time creative communicator, and how that helps the college or university’s overarching mission and goals. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced everyone in the world to rethink how they work and sped up the learning curve for operating in a digital world. Many schools have realized the impact that athletics communications professionals can have on recruiting and fundraising. From virtual visits to storytelling, the shifts from the pandemic will force schools to reconsider their priorities heading into the post-pandemic era, where we will hopefully see an uptick in creative services at smaller institutions with the addition of added positions. Creatives + Communicators 2YSIDA Sports Information Department of the Month Led by the new CoSIDA Two-Year Colleges Cabinet, an office is being recognized each month for exceptional work. Outstanding work is on display at all levels of college athletics. Beginning in December 2020, a Sports Information Department of the Month has been awarded to a two-year institution. The certificate reads: “Awarded for outstanding work in the sports information field, including but not limited to: the promotion of student-athletes, the quality and timeliness of information provided, the amount of information presented and appropriately updated on websites, personal responsiveness to media inquiries and going the extra mile in serving the media.” Congratulations to those winners who have been honored so far: April 2021 Tyler Nordman – Butler Community College Twitter: Instagram: March 2021 Tod Hess – Michigan Community College Athletic Association Twitter: Instagram: February 2021 Wes Johnson – Northwest Florida State College Twitter: Instagram: January 2021 Jake Ryan & Travis Jacobson – Iowa Western Community College Twitter: Instagram: December 2020 Tony Altobelli – Orange Coast College Twitter: Instagram: “If you were to put a dollar amount on the exposure that institutions get from creative services through athletics, especially on the digital side with social outlets, it would be off the charts. Yet, it is very rare to see small schools with exclusive positions for creative services, and the ones that do...are often not full time.” Jon HoltzCoSIDA 360 | MAY 2021 | 17 “At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” - Denzel Washington Cindy Potter, Columbia College CoSIDA First Vice President/ Co-Chair, CoSIDA Advisory Council/ NAIA Cabinet Past President My schedule is out of the norm. It doesn’t work for everyone. I don’t like saying no and I like to please people; I don’t miss deadlines; mistakes are for learning but that doesn’t mean I like them; I’m a rule follower until the end. Those are all things to keep in mind before understanding what I do is a choice I made by accepting the job I have…and that job is wife, mom, daughter, friend, Senior Deputy Director of Athletics and Disney Travel Planner. The one job I wasn’t given the choice to take was Type 1 Diabetic momma, but I’m pretty sure T1D kids are the bravest of the brave and it’s a job I gladly accept. No day is identical, but this is a typical day for me: I’m awake during the week by 7 a.m. Since my husband goes into work at 3 a.m., I’m flying solo to get the kids ready and off to in-seat school (finally, thank goodness!). Getting a kindergartner and first grader (who happens to be very fashion conscious) up and going in the mornings is a challenge. Cindy Potter estimates she’s investing 78-80 hours a week in her job at Columbia (Mo.) College. Tommy Chasanoff calculates his current work week at 70-80 hours at the University of the Cumberlands and Kevin Lanke approximates his schedule at Rose-Hulman now is also in the 70-80 hour range. They are busy people with families and demanding jobs. That’s the daunting truth for anyone working in the sports information profession. Yet, they never hesitate to give their time and talent as volunteers. In particular, volunteers who engage in CoSIDA and contribute to its value. Potter, Chasanoff and Lanke are prime examples of three members who always are willing to step forward when asked. While CoSIDA has a full-time staff to handle the daily nuts-and-bolts duties, the backbone of its success throughout many years is illustrated by volunteer members who are on the forefront in executing the organization’s programs, resources, and leadership. CoSIDA boosts more than 500 members who volunteer in service on its 17 committees, working groups, seven divisional cabinets and an executive board of directors. Plus, there are many others who contribute by writing stories for CoSIDA 360. These volunteers attach an importance in serving their national organization to help make it better and stronger. April was National Volunteer Month and in recognition of its volunteers, Potter, Chasanoff and Lanke shared their stories and motivation for giving back. by Doug Vance | CoSIDA Executive Director | Member Volunteers, the Backbone of CoSIDA Each year, over 500 members volunteer their talents and time for the betterment of our CoSIDA community. Membership “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” - Maya Angelou “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.” - Elizabeth AndrewNext >