Beginning in October of 2009, CoSIDA President Justin Doherty will pen a
"CoSIDA Column" in every issue of NACDA's
Athletics Administration Magazine. Each
Athletics Administration issue is sent to over 10,000 university and athletics administrators, with CoSIDA's voice, thoughts and expertise shared with these key constituents.
Athletics Administration is published each October, November, December, February, March, April, June and August.
Find the FULL COLUMN HERE: CoSIDA Corner (October 2009, from Athletics Administration Magazine) - PDF.
EXCERPT'S from the
October 2009 CoSIDA Corner :
It is indeed a pleasure to author the first CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Corner for Athletics Administration. The members of the CoSIDA Board are thrilled to have this opportunity to communicate our organization’s thoughts, messages and ideas to others in the intercollegiate athletics community.
We owe a debt of gratitude to NACDA Past President Joan Cronan, as well as Executive Director Mike Cleary, Deputy Executive Director Bob Vecchione and the entire NACDA staff, for their vision and cooperation in helping to bring CoSIDA more closely into alignment with almost every major professional organization in college athletics.
... The incredible communications revolution of the past 25 years has affected all of our lives, maybe none more so than those who work in the communications field itself.
By the mid-1990s athletics department Web sites began to appear and vault us all further ahead at light speed. E-mail wasn’t far behind and neither was instant messaging, blogs, texting, social media, smart phones, Twitter, Skype and on and on.
All of this has resulted in a constantly connected, 24/7, all-everything, all-the-time communications scene. And that has played a huge role in changing how CoSIDA members go about their jobs.
Now the sports information director (or media relations director or athletics communications director) has to be about more than just making sure the totals in the box score add up correctly. If they’re not - if the communications person does not have a “seat at the table” in terms of athletics department decision-making - then that individual is not giving all he or she can give to their athletics department and, conversely, the athletics department is not getting all it can out of its communications arm.
NACDA’s invitation to CoSIDA to establish a partnership between the organizations sends a strong message to our members that athletics departments do, indeed, want the advice, counsel and strategic thinking that communications professionals can provide. And our members are ready, willing and able to provide it.
I would add, however, that because of the accelerated pace of the communications business today, our membership has become somewhat transient. At a time when people with experience and knowledge are more important than ever, we are losing so many quality professionals due to the demands of the incessant 24/7 cycle we live in. CoSIDA needs the help of others in the collegiate athletics community to reverse this trend that could have a negative, long-term effect on the overall enterprise.
The college athletics landscape is filled with talented, hard-working and bright communications professionals. It is also filled with people who have cut their teeth in athletics communications and have since gone onto become athletics directors, SWAs, conference commissioners and so on. Few positions in college athletics touch as many phases of the whole enterprise as communications staffs do. Who else works with administrators, student-athletes, coaches, athletics trainers,equipment staff, strength and conditioning staff, video staff, compliance staff, academic staff and the media on a daily basis?
CoSIDA held its annual convention in San Antonio this past June and was happy to welcome Kevin Sullivan as its keynote speaker. Sullivan began his career as a student in the sports information office at Purdue. He was the first public relations director for the Dallas Mavericks and was vice president for communications at NBC Sports. He served as director of communications in the White House from 2006-08.
Sullivan’s comments to our members reflected the need for communications professionals to be heard, particularly in today’s fast-paced, information-driven world.
“The communications people were always in the room; we always had a voice,” Sullivan said of his days in the White House. “At the very outset of any policy process or issue that was being managed, there was a communications person who could raise his or her hand and say, ‘we shouldn’t do it that way and here’s why.’
“You’re the subject-matter expert on communications the same way your special teams coach is the expert on punt coverage. Your coach would not put in an injured player without talking to the doctor and it is exactly the same thing (with communications).”
Kevin’s words were important for our members to hear and they are important for other athletics administrators to hear, as well. Few of us in college athletics would argue the importance of intelligent, efficient communications strategies. Proactive communications planning, along with well-coordinated and thoughtful responses, are critical in a world where the written word or visual image can travel so quickly.
CoSIDA members are capable of providing so much of the strategizing and responding necessary today and I believe our organization’s closer relationship with the other NACDA groups will help to foster new working relationships on college campuses, as well as strengthen old ones.