CoSIDA Central: CoSIDA Blog from the NCAA Convention (DAY ONE)
This week in Atlanta, leading members of CoSIDA are attending the 2010 NCAA Convention to meet with various NCAA leaders to assist the profession and develop relationships within the divisional structure.
In attendance are CoSIDA Executive Director John Humenik, along with Rich Herman (Clarion), the President of DII-SIDA; Bill Wagner (Depauw), the President of DIII-SIDA; and Eric McDowell (Union, NY), Chair of the College Division Management Advisory Committee. John arrived in Atlanta on Tuesday, Rich and Eric came in Wednesday and Bill arrives Thursday.
From Wednesday through Friday, Rich, Bill and Eric will be providing a blog to the membership to talk about their experiences during the convention, with Eric penning the blog at the conclusion of each day.
Here is Eric’s first entry from Wednesday, Jan. 13:
What an exciting and wonderful opportunity for us, as we attend the Convention that features the leaders of the collegiate sports community.
First and foremost, our thanks to Erik Christianson, who has taken the time to meet with us Wednesday for briefings, input and schedule thoughts. Needless to say, Erik, the Director of Public and Media Relations for the NCAA, is quite a busy individual with his regular convention schedule, as well as recent events in the news and upcoming press conferences. So it is truly appreciated that he met with us this afternoon and this evening to provide us with his expertise, background and thoughts regarding the meetings that have been scheduled for us.
We also appreciate our campus Athletic Directors for their support as we take a few days from a busy winter season to come to represent our colleagues in the profession, the colleagues who proudly serve the student-athlete. And, a special THANKS to our staffs and students back on the campuses for their extra efforts this week.
From the moment of arrival, the Convention had a welcome feel. Individuals in NCAA garb greeted us right off the train and directed us through the station, the mall and food court and on our way. No, a GPS isn’t needed to get you to your registration desk!. The registration features a fantastic, colorful and informative detailed schedule publication that could surely cop a Best Guide contest award at CoSIDA.
Although I was a bit fatigued from the 3:30 a.m. wake up call at home, the adrenaline kept me going and I first made a visit to the vendor area. It is there where I could put faces to names with companies I have used in the sports information field, and also meet new vendors with various products. It is most definitely a “farmer’s market” for any athletic director … scoreboards, turf, mascots, lighting, meeting planners, you name it. And the vendor reception provided everyone with a time to meet, mingle and connect with these outstanding companies and their representatives. It is so important to thank these people for their support.
OK, now down to business. We met with Erik to go over the upcoming schedule along with (CoSIDA Executive Director) John (Humenik), and to look at meetings that they set up with various NCAA individuals.
Our first private session was with Mike Racy, the NCAA Vice President for Division II. We came to offer our support from DII-SIDA and the college division, to work together to assist him and offer our time and experience to promote the division and his goals and objectives. An open line of dialogue is developing with the DII-SIDA leadership, and Rich (Herman) and his DII board will expand on the communication with Mike in the near future.
Face to face meetings are rewarding and valuable and we all felt excited about the relationship that we can have with Mike to work with him and, as we put it, provide “communication and production.”
These are two fundamental traits of a sports information director and we believe that our communication with Mike for the Division II membership, and our production, will show that we are by his side for his initiatives.
Mike was approached to consider attending CoSIDA in San Francisco, to speak to the Division II membership, and we know he will do his best to consider this proposal. The meeting was rewarding and it is important to know that Mike understands what our membership has to offer and that he can count on our assistance.
Later, Erik previewed our plans for Thursday, and we look forward to Bill (Wagner) joining us later Thursday. Tomorrow features meetings with the Division II Collegiate Commissioners and with Eric Schoh, the Second Vice President of the Division II Athletic Directors Association. We will be attending panels that will discuss “how new technologies are influencing media and intercollegiate athletics,” “The Student-Athlete Experience: Communicating Across Campus,” and also “The Value of Division II Intercollegiate Athletics.”
Still to come will be our meetings with Roberta Page, the NCAA Director of Championships, and Dan Dutcher, the NCAA Vice President for Division III. Other meetings and panels also will be scheduled before we depart Friday.
Fellow members of CoSIDA, you can be proud of the respect that we have from the NCAA, and the long standing relationship and support that we have received for many years continues to grow as we promote our profession and your excellent work.
Thanks for the time to catch up here with us, and watch for another update tomorrow.