College Sports Information Directors of America

By Jenny Leonard write for University of Rochester's CURRENTS publication

In the early fall of 1988, Dennis O’Donnell boarded an 8 a.m. flight out of LaGuardia with a pot of chili on his lap. He was headed for his first home game at Rochester, a place where he has built a remarkable career as the University’s sports information director.

O’Donnell says his “lucky chili” had been a great way to open the seasons at Kings Point merchant marine academy, where he worked for almost a decade. His wife, Carol, had suggested that he continue the tradition in Rochester.

“I called ahead to find out if I could arrange to have a hotplate and some dishes in the press box. I think the folks in Rochester were starting to wonder about this guy they had just hired. The check-in person at the airport looked at me funny when she put the chili through screening. ‘Is that your lunch?’ she asked. ‘No,’ I told her, ‘it’s my in-flight snack. I’ve flown this airline before.’ She just looked at me, a little confused. I picked up my chili and walked through the gate. The game started at 1 p.m., and the chili was still in good shape. Rochester played Union College and won big.”

In O’Donnell’s nearly 20 years at Rochester he has seen his fair share of big wins, including the 1990 NCAA men’s basketball championship, an experience that he describes as one of the “wow” moments in his career. He’s also seen lots of long hours, thousands of games, and an endless stream of stats, many of which he seems to recall with remarkable detail.

The down-to-the-wire showdowns and overtime thrillers keep the work exciting, but it’s that search for the great story that O’Donnell says makes it seem less like a job and more like a passion.

“What I love most about this job is that I get to tell the students’ stories. When I was growing up in Long Island my parents used to watch this police show called Naked City. At the end it always had the same line: ‘There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them.’ On a college campus, there are thousand of stories, and as a sports information director I get to tell a few of them. I love writing, and I love what I do. I try to share that passion with my student interns.”

O’Donnell oversees a student staff of 15 who handle a variety of tasks at home games. Rachel Askin ’07, who interned for O’Donnell for four years and is now the athletic media relations assistant director at West Texas A&M University, says she would never have discovered her own passion for the public relations side of athletics if it hadn’t been for O’Donnell.

“Working with Dennis was one of the best experiences of my life because I learned so much from him, both about working in sports information and about life. I owe him much thanks for offering me the opportunity to learn and grow under his tutelage,” says Askin. “What truly makes Dennis stand out is his patience, knowledge, and dedication to Rochester athletics. Many people don’t fully understand how demanding the sports information director position is. When the athletes, coaches, and fans have all gone home, Dennis is often in his office working for hours to make sure that all scores are reported and that the game story is sent out to the media. There is no one more devoted to promoting the Rochester athletic program than Dennis, and he does so solely because he loves the University and loves athletics.”

This summer O’Donnell received national recognition for his work in the field. He was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame by the College Sports Information Directors of America. O’Donnell is one of less than a dozen sports information directors from Division III schools to receive the honor from an organization whose members include those from high-profile Division I programs. Later this year O’Donnell will travel to Boston to receive another prestigious honor, the Elmore ‘Scoop’ Hudgins Outstanding Sports Information Director Award from the All-America Football Foundation.

Eric McDowell, director of sports information for Union College, nominated O’Donnell for the CoSIDA hall of fame. McDowell says sports information directors at small colleges, such as Rochester, have to do everything themselves. There is no to-do list, you have to know how to do it all, and you have to think on your feet to be able to handle whatever situation develops. O’Donnell, he says, has done that for years, while adapting to a rapidly changing field. McDowell says Rochester has been fortunate to have that consistency and level of professionalism.

“Beyond the new technology and the intense 80-hour weeks, Dennis loves what he does and knows that in the end it’s a people business. He is a model person, both personally and professionally, as a father, husband, and sports information director. He’s the example I point to when I want to show young people that you can do what you love, you can stay in this field for a long time and be passionate about the work you do, and you can succeed. That’s who Dennis is, someone who is passionate about his profession and about the students who play the sport. He’s exactly the kind of person who should be in the hall of fame.”

Dave Hilbert, an assistant athletic director from the University of Chicago, has known O’Donnell for years and describes them both as “grizzled veterans.” While the profession has changed dramatically in the past two decades, from the days of typewriters to today’s sonic speed of posting instant stats to Web sites, O’Donnell has adapted well while staying true to his roots as a writer and reporter.

“He’s always looking for that unique story. He’s genuinely interested in the person behind the athlete—who they are as students and as human beings. Dennis also is a great sounding board. I probably call him once a week for advice or just to see how he would approach a certain issue. I think I speak for all my colleagues in the UAA in saying that he is an invaluable resource on how to do this job and do it well. Whatever the issue, you know he’s been there.”

Terry Gurnett ’77, associate director of athletics and the women’s soccer coach, says he is fortunate to have worked with the same sports information director for nearly two decades. O’Donnell, he says, throws himself completely into the job and cares deeply about the athletics program and the young people who take part in it.

“Dennis personalizes his work. He knows every kid, who they are and where they grew up. He not only knows them while they’re here, but keeps in touch after they leave. We have athletes from around the country, and their parents just can’t wait for the game stories to hit the Web site. Dennis knows that and he makes it happen, game after game.”

It’s in his office in the Goergen Athletic Center where he makes it all happen. The space is a chaotic landscape of athletic programs, paperwork, binders of stats dating back to the 30s, and crates filled with 20-ounce bottles of diet coke—the latter may explain how he’s able to get those game stories up so quickly on those long Friday and Saturday nights.

Ask O’Donnell what he’d be doing if he weren’t working in this field, and there’s a rare moment when he’s speechless. “I’ve got the mouth to be a lawyer, but I don’t have the discipline,” he laughs. “Well, maybe the hours could be better, but, really, I love what I’m doing.”