For the third consecutive academic year, CoSIDA will have a column running in each issue of NACDA's
Athletics Administration Magazine. Beginning with the 2009-10 academic year and with its new partnership with NACDA at that time, the CoSIDA leadership was invited to contribute to each issue.
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. The magazine is published each October, November, December, February, March, April, June and August.
The October 2011 column (below) was written by
Tom Di Camillo, CoSIDA’s President for 2011-12. Di Camillo serves as the Pac West Conference Assistant Commissioner/Media Relations and is the Central Arizona College Director of Media & Community Events.
See the CoSIDA Corner archives HERE.
by Tom Di Camillo, 2011-12 CoSIDA President
When the term sports information director — is freely bandied about in our world of collegiate athletics, administrators, coaches, student-athletes and members of the media immediately know the meaning of the title. But is the role of the sports information director really understood?
Maybe not.
Assistant athletics director for communications, director of athletics communications, director of athletics media relations, sports information director —all titles describe an individual who uses athletics to promote, publicize and market an institution of higher education.
Where communication managers and public information officers use cultural events, enrollment figures and innovative programs to hype a college or university, an SID’s shopping aisle is shelved with scores, stats, awards and human interest stories about student-athletes.
Maybe to better understand the role of a sports information director is to look at what the position is not.
SIDs are not assistant coaches sitting at the end of a bench helping scout opponents. SIDs do not report to coaches, serve as a liaison to coaching organizations, nor breakdown game video. SIDs are not travel agents or gophers - they are strategic communicators who serve as key administrators in an athletics department or in a university relations division.
The SID field has loaded its bases with unbelievably talented leaders who are passionate, creative and forward thinking. Years of training and professional development thanks to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and to highly respected organized groups like ECAC-SIDA, BCSIDA, and the Division II, III and NAIA leadership groups, have fostered this professional talent and growth.
SIDs understand statistics, author press releases and post news and scores on websites, but their skill set makes them one of the most versatile and valuable employees on any college campus. SIDs are strategic planners and communicators who see the greater picture of where college athletics fits into an institution. They revel in technology, but find ways to maximize its use — seeing the application and the advantage while others still play computer solitaire between bites of Big Macs.
They are historians who recall records, games and events that make alums feel included — and make the job of an alumni director much easier. They are outstanding writers with a keen sense of news and the experience to play devil’s advocate for presidents, athletics directors and coaches before members of the media pitchfork the front door — microphone in hand.
SIDs are recruiters for the institution, using their publicity skills to serve as the set-up pitcher for the coaches and admissions recruiters who enter the game as the closers.
They are broadcasters who create both value and a commodity for marketing directors to sell, and they are event planners and game managers who are excruciatingly detail oriented. And they are teachers and mentors, cultivating student employees, volunteers and graduate assistants wanting to break into the field.
Working in the athletics communications field gives SIDs experience that translates into a multitude of jobs. Their shear versatility and ability to see the proverbial big picture makes SIDs outstanding candidates for athletics directors, commissioners, alumni directors, communications managers and marketing directors. Institutions of higher education that strongly invest in human capital often are the ones who identify leaders for their athletics communi cations departments.
Take a look at the Kutztown University sports information department across the years. The institution hired Matt Santos as its SID in the early 1990s. Today he is the director of university relations for the institution. Josh Leiboff followed in Santos’ footsteps and became a leading authority on baseball scoring and new technology. Now he is the assistant director of university relations for web content at Kutztown. Rob Knox replaced Leiboff and has served as a member of the CoSIDA Board the last two years. He recently served as president of the Black College Sports Information Directors Association (BCSIDA).
Some of the misconception about the role of an SID may come from the title itself — sports information director. It may not be adequate given the professional skill level required to fulfill the position and the ever-changing responsibilities. Even the name — College Sports Information Directors of America —may not do justice to the profession. We are, however, as our logo indicates, the “strategic communicators in college athletics.” However, the name CoSIDA and the term SID both have tremendous value. CoSIDA has existed for more than half a century and is synonymous with its flagship Academic All-America program, currently sponsored by Capital One.
The point is that sports information directors recognize the need to change while respecting the history of their profession. The decision to advocate for new professional titles, revamp an organizational name or embrace the historical significance is really irrelevant; the fact that communicators in the field of college athletics are taking a good hard look at their profession, their history and their future is paramount. It will help define the future of the profession while shaping how we see ourselves, and how our peers view the role of the SID.
In 2013, the CoSIDA annual workshop/convention will be held in conjunction with the NACDA Convention in Orlando, Fla., for the first time giving all collegiate athletics administrators an opportunity to take advantage of the experts in athletics communications.
It has been argued that sports information directors need to have a seat at the administrative table. In an era of maximizing resources, it would be shortsighted not to include the experts in so many fields as a key member of the leadership team.
Yet I would argue the seat is there. Progressive administrators recognize the need for the SID to be an important contributor to the team. They slide the chair from under the table the first day the SID steps onto a campus, demonstrating the value of the position. SIDs just need to take a seat.
Administrators that don’t see the SID as a key member of their leadership are missing a tremendous opportunity. It’s like having Robert Plant and Jimmy Paige in the room while a cover band performs Stairway to Heaven.