College Sports Information Directors of America

Rosa Gatti, a senior vice president for corporate communications and outreach at ESPN, has been selected to receive the 2003 Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Gatti will be presented the award at the group's annual workshop, which is being held this year in Cleveland, Ohio. This award is presented to an individual who, or an organization which, has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission. Gatti has been responsible for ESPN’s public relations since its first year of operation as one network. Today, she oversees the communications initiatives for ESPN, Inc., the leading multimedia sports entertainment company including six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Now and ESPN Today), ESPN HD ( a high-definition simulcast service of ESPN), ESPN International (25 networks), ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Zones and ESPN Enterprises. Gatti joined ESPN in July 1980 as Director, Communications and with her staff built the communications department, establishing policies and procedures pertaining to media relations, viewer response, and speaking engagements. A year later, she became a Vice President and in July 1988 she was promoted to Senior Vice President, Communications. In 2003, she was promoted and given additional responsibilities as the ESPN Communications and Investor Relations liaison with The Walt Disney Company and for Corporate Outreach – the company’s employee volunteerism, corporate giving, and cause marketing initiatives. In the early years of ESPN, she served on the Policy Committee to develop company guidelines. In 1992, she founded ESPN’s Diversity Committee, to accelerate employee awareness of diversity issues and recommend ways to incorporate and cultivate diversity in the workplace. From 1996 to 1998, she oversaw the reorganization and enhancement of the human resources department. For two years, she coordinated the company’s synergy efforts with ESPN’s parent companies, ABC and The Walt Disney Company, until a full-time position was established. Prior to joining ESPN, Gatti spent four years as the Sports Information Director at Brown University (1976-1980). During her tenure, she served as the publicity coordinator for several NCAA championships and chaired a variety of national sports information committees. Before Brown, Gatti was employed by her alma mater, Villanova University, where she advanced rapidly. Starting as a secretary in the University’s sports information office in 1973, Gatti was promoted to assistant director within a year, and shortly thereafter (Dec. 1974) became the first female SID at a member school of the NCAA’s major university division. During her career as a Sports Information Director, Gatti was selected President of the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Sports Information Directors and served as Vice President of CoSIDA (the national organization of College Sports Information Directors of America). She also served on the public relations advisory committee of the U.S. Olympic Committee in the 1980s. In 1983, she became the first woman to receive Villanova’s Arts & Sciences Medallion, awarded to alumni for their professional achievements: "In a male-dominated field of endeavor, Rosa has shown a creative and positive approach to sports publicity and public relations. Gatti received the prestigious 1987 Jake Wade Award, given annually by CoSIDA to the person who has made an outstanding contribution to intercollegiate athletics in the communications media. In 1992, she received the Bristol Plus Award for leadership and service in the community. In 1995, she was honored by WISE, Women in Sports and Events, and in 1996, Connecticut Women in Communications gave her the Matrix Award, presented each year to a woman who has achieved success in her field, given to the community, and served as a mentor to girls and young women. In 2002, she received the ECAC-SIDA "Bob Kenworthy Good Person Award" and CableFax’s Do Gooder Award for her public and community relations efforts. Her communications staff has won several public relations awards. Gatti graduated with a bachelor's degree from Villanova in 1972. She serves on the Board of Directors for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, Women in Cable and Telecommunications, and Cable Television Public Affairs Association. She held board positions with the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association, Bristol Family Center for Girls and Boys, The Franciscan Life Center and the 1995 Special Olympics World Games, and was a trustee of Villanova for 10 years. Contact: Joe Hernandez, Ball State, CoSIDA Third Vice President, 765.285.8242, jhernand@bsu.edu