Note: Have transactions/hirings/feature stories involving CoSIDA members and collegiate athletics communications pros? Please send all information to Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of External Affairs (
barbkowal@cosida.com).
Here are two features - one on current Assistant AD for Media Relations Frank Mercogliano (pictured, left) who is trading in his Idaho State colors for a new position at the University of New Mexico; and another feature on former PR leader and sports information director Craig Thompson (right) who is taking the Mountain West Conference into new areas of growth.
• Mountain West commish a guiding force: Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson (who began his intercollegiate athletic career as a sports information director) is heralded for making the MWC an automatic-qualifying BCS league and for building a conference TV network, despite heavy criticism at the onset. Thompson was first an assistant SID at Kansas State, then worked in communications for the NBA's Kansas City Kings before serving as Director of Communications for the Metro Conference in Atlanta.
• From the Idaho State Journal comes this
Q&A with former Idaho State longtime Assistant AD for Media Relations Frank Mercogliano, who is leaving ISU to become the University of New Mexico Assistant AD for athletic media relations.
• Mountain West commish a guiding force, by Jake Schaller, The Colorado Springs Gazette
read full feature online HERE
excerpt:
Craig Thompson heard the boos. He read the angry e-mails. And, of course, he was aware of the websites that – in a virtual world filled with anonymous vitriol – inevitably sprout whenever there is discontent.
“At the time, my son was in high school at Lewis-Palmer,” the Mountain West Conference commissioner said last month, while reflecting on the struggles his league’s television network –
The mtn. – had gaining traction.
“And on occasion when they had breaks and they were in the computer room, he’d call and say, ‘Hey, Dad, there’s two more firecraigthompson.coms that came up today.’”
Much has changed for Thompson and the MWC in the past few years.
Once the scapegoat for television distribution troubles, Thompson now is heralded as a crusader for the little guys, the man leading the fight to right the injustices of the Bowl Championship Series and the leader who helped the MWC navigate the choppy waters of conference realignment this past summer.
Humble beginnings
Thompson grew up in Southwest Minnesota and was a three-sport athlete at Redwood Falls High, playing football and basketball and running track.
He went on to Minnesota where he competed in one track event before deciding he “probably wouldn’t earn a living running track.”
Nearing graduation, Thompson toyed with the idea of becoming a sports reporter – at one point he was a stringer for UPI, earning $20 per game covering his beloved Minnesota Twins. But he went into sports information instead, working in that field for about 10 years. In 1987, he became the commissioner of the American South Conference, and four years later, the commissioner of the Sun Belt when the leagues merged.
When teams split from the Western Athletic Conference to form the Mountain West Conference in the late 1990s, Thompson was selected to run the league.
“We had initial choices of old, worn-out folks,” Weber said. “But Craig was the first choice for all of us. He was someone open to new ideas.”
The mtn.
One of the solutions Thompson presented was creating a network just for the conference. The league’s presidents voted for that course of action, and The mtn. was born. It allowed the conference to play most of its games on Saturday – traditional for college football games – and the bold move was the precursor for the Big Ten Network. But for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the network was not picked up by satellite companies, and it was available only on select cable systems inside the conference footprint.
“We needed a new model, and the new model was our own network,” Thompson “And it’s offered us four times the exposure, it’s offered us a 70-something percent rights increase, but the challenge was not everybody that wanted it could get it.”
As MWC associate director for communications Javan Hedlund pointed out, the decision to create a network for the league was made by the presidents. But Thompson became the lightning rod for criticism by fans and the media.
“It became kind of personal, ‘Craig Thompson made the dumbest decision going,’” Thompson said. “Well, I don’t have a vote. … I have some influence, I hope. They ask me for solutions to problems, I give them several, and they choose one, two or three or none of the above.”
“He fought tooth and nail, night and day, 24/7 for the TV contract,” Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh said. “But you can’t make it happen. It had to fall into place. And when it finally did, I know he breathed a sigh of relief.”
Indeed, in early 2008, The mtn. struck a deal with DirecTV, giving fans across the country the opportunity to see the network. It’s also now available on 25 cable systems.
Just as Thompson was being vindicated for the television struggles, he became more vocal about another cause – making the MWC an automatic-qualifying BCS league.
Armed with numbers that back up the MWC’s strong case, Thompson has argued for his league tirelessly and all over the country – including on Capitol Hill. While the league will gain inclusion in the BCS only by continuing to perform well on the field, Thompson’s efforts certainly have helped the Mountain West become a more recognizable brand nationally.
• Leaving Idaho State: Media relations director for ISU Athletics takes job in New Mexico, by Bob Devine, Idaho State Journal
read full feature online HERE
excerpt:
Time is short now for Mercogliano at ISU. His tenure as media relations director for ISU Athletics is coming to an end this week. He has taken a job at the University of New Mexico to cover media relations for both the Lobos basketball and men’s tennis teams.
Regarding Mercogliano’s work ethic, KaLee Kopp, director for marketing and promotions for ISU athletics, said, “He takes a lot on his shoulders. Everything that comes through this place, whether it’s media, press releases, new items on the Web sites, that’s Frank. He loves the Bengals and it’s shown in the product he puts out.”
Q: What made you decide to leave Pocatello?
Frank: “I have to tell you it was really, really hard to make this decision. I raised all my kids here in Pocatello. I’ve been here 12 years. My wife has a good job here. It was really a situation of an offer I just could not pass up. Albuquerque is very similar to Pocatello, just bigger in size. Other than more people, it’s the same kind of atmosphere and ironically the weather is kind of similar. It’s a wonderful opportunity to move into a very high level conference and I think ISU’s prepared me well for it.”
Q: Will you be involved in multiple sports or is it just basketball?
Frank: “I’m handling basketball and men’s tennis. The basketball program there is phenomenal. They went 30-5 last year, so it’s really kind of exciting to jump into a place where they’re going to be playing at that high of a level, potentially being in the NCAA tournament every year.”
Q: So what do you think you’ll miss the most about Pocatello?
Frank: “Without a doubt, the people. We have so many good friends and even today I was walking downtown over by Poky High and a person I’ve never seen before says, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ I’ll miss that hominess, that sort of hometown feel. It’s also tough to leave ISU because I really think this is going to be a great year for them. In some of these sports I’ve known the athletes going into their fifth year and it really sucks that I won’t see their last year. But by the same token it’s a smaller world, I can follow them on the internet, on Big Sky TV and Facebook is a wonderful tool for keeping in touch.”
Q: Now what about that “Dharma van” you won from the show “Lost?” Weren’t you planning on driving that at homecoming? (for more info, see:
Local 'Lost' contest winner: 'I learned the power of Facebook in getting the message out')
Frank: “You know, that was a difficult thing. I was looking forward to driving the van in the homecoming parade, but the van’s going down there with me. It would be a long drive back in a 40-year-old car to do something like that.”
Q: What are you looking forward to most about New Mexico?
Frank: “I’ve never moved to a place where we were both new to it. When we moved to Pocatello, (my wife) lived here before. I met her in Augusta and she’d lived there before. It’s really a new adventure for the two of us. On a personal level, it’s going to be fun learning about a new town with her, and watching my daughter acclimate herself. The best part about the job for me is that it’s way less travel, so my wife and I will have more time together which is good. I’m also really looking forward to working with people above me who are very experienced in college athletics, where here we have Jeff (Tingey) who’s kind of running things and he’s new to it all. I think he would be the first to admit he’s learning as he goes. In New Mexico there are really experienced people, 25-year veterans, who I can learn from, pick their brains, and who are also open to whatever new ideas I have. It’s just a different environment. I’m not going to say it’s going to be better or going to be worse. It’s just going to be different.”
Q: Is there anything else you wanted to share with people?
Frank: “If you can just let people know we love this town. It’s great and the people are great and we’ve loved every minute we’ve been here. It was really hard to make the decision to try something new. I had met with Dr. Vailas about this, and we talked about how some people view ISU as a stepping stone to other jobs. I didn’t view it that way. For my family it was just time to take a look and this just fell into my lap. There are very few jobs I would have left for and this was one of them.”