April 2012 Issue
See email version of e-newsletter
Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s e-newsletter. Please link to the subheaders below which will take you to the different sections of the April 2012 e-newsletter where you can read more on each subject.
The following is a list of upcoming continuing education sessions. Links to the streamed audio, phone lines, ASAP full transcript (FastScripts) and CoverItLive blog for each session will be posted on CoSIDA.com, CoSIDA's Twitter account and will be emailed to each CoSIDA member in advance.
· Thursday: April 12
Social Media Promotion & Communication
Time: 3-3:50 pm Eastern/2-2:50 pm Central/1-1:50 pm Mountain/Noon-12:50 pm Pacific
Presenters: Charles Bloom (SEC); Nick Joos (Baylor), others TBA
A two-part discussion presented by the University Division Management Advisory Committee. Part 1: will discuss using social media to promote individuals for honors and awards; Part 2: will discuss communicating with media using social media.
· Thursday: April 19 (tentative- date may be changed)
Discussion with Jim Carr, President and CEO of the NAIA
Time: 3-3:30 pm Eastern/2-2:30 pm Central/1-1:30 pm Mountain/Noon-12:30 pm Pacific
Discussion and Q&A session with Carr and selected staff members focusing on pertinent topics for NAIA sports communicators.
· Thursday: May 31 (TWO SESSIONS)
SESSION #1: Discussion with Dan Dutcher, NCAA Vice President for Division III
Time: 3-3:30 pm Eastern/2-2:30 pm Central/1-1:30 pm Mountain/Noon-12:30 pm Pacific
Discussion and Q&A with Dutcher and his staff members of pertinent topics for NCAA Division III sports communicators.
SESSION #2: Discussion with Mike Racy, NCAA Vice President for Division II
Time: 3:30-4 pm Eastern/2:30-3 pm Central/1:30-2 pm Mountain/12:30-1 pm Pacific
Discussion with Racy and DII staff members on pertinent topics for DII sports communicators, along with a Q&A session.
You will be able to access the sessions via internet audio stream or phone line courtesy of TRZ Sports/ Teamline - CoSIDA’s official conference call provider - HERE. Full transcripts of each sessions (Fastscripts) will be provided by ASAP Sports - CoSIDA’s official instant transcript provider following each session and will be available on CoSIDA.com. A CoverItLive blog will accompany each continuing ed session as well.
On-Demand Availability of Continuing Ed Sessions
Did you miss an education session or want to review the material? Each educational session is available to CoSIDA members on-demand the night following each session via CoSIDA.com.
• CoSIDA 3rd VP Eric McDowell (Union- N.Y.) coordinates our continuing education initiatives this year. If you have ideas in this regard or want to coordinate/moderate a specific session, please contact him at mcdowele@union.edu.
• NewTek, CoSIDA’s official continuing education video archive provider, is making available several taped sessions from the Marco Island CoSIDA Convention held this past June. The CoSIDA Board would like to thank NewTek for its support of this continuing education initiative.
• The Convention takes place Saturday-Tuesday, June 23-26 at the Renaissa
nce Grand Hotel (800 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63101).
The online registration and hotel reservation systems for the St. Louis Convention are found at CoSIDA's online "Convention Central" webpage: http://cosida.com/workshops/convention12.aspx
This is your one-stop site for links about: the hotel property, the city of St. Louis, how to register for the convention, how to reserve your hotel rooms, the reasons why this convention is a "must-attend" event, the convention schedule and programming being put into place for you and your colleagues.
We encourage you to read the registration "Frequently Asked Questions" before you begin the registration process and carefully read the registration instructions. In addition, there is a PDF entitled “Why Attend the 2012 Convention” which highlights all of the reasons why you should attend and provides information to others at your institution/conference who might need convincing about the benefits of attending.
• Remember, convention programming and panel/session details will continue to be added and the schedule will be updated continuously.
• Registration & Hotel Details
PREREGISTRATION FEES: $280 for non-CoSIDA members, $195 for CoSIDA members and $195 for spouses, friends and children. Deadline for the pre-registration is June 1, 2012. Everyone who wishes to attend any of the events must be registered. These registration fees have held steady at the same price point for the last three years. Go directly to the Convention registration site, coordinated by Sports Systems, HERE.
HOTEL ROOM RATES: Per night, the hotel room rate is $162.50 for single/double. If you require reservations for a triple (3 per room) or quad room (4 per room) they are at the following rates: triple $182.50; quads $202.50. As part of the CoSIDA Convention package, Convention attendees will receive wireless in-room discounts and will enjoy a reduced daily parking fee. Direct link to Convention room reservations.
PAY ANNUAL DUES FOR 2012-13: Additionally beginning on Feb. 1, CoSIDA members can pay for 2012-13 annual dues, and those dues will cover the period from purchase through September 15 of 2013. PLEASE NOTE: PAYING COSIDA CONVENTION REGISTRATION does NOT cover your dues payment – that is a separate payment/transaction. Link to the CoSIDA membership/dues page HERE.
• Convention Social Schedule
A “Kickoff Welcome Reception” will take place in the Exhibitor Hall area on Saturday, June 23 (6 p.m.) and ESPN’s annual reception will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 24.
On Tuesday, June 26 we will close the annual convention with a Farewell Party at Busch Stadium beginning at 6:15 p.m., and that event includes a special presentation to the CoSIDA membership by Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. Food/beverages will be served at the conclusion of “The Wizard’s” presentation. See information on Smith and the presentation announcement HERE.
• Special Award Recipients/Awards Luncheons & Capital One Special Awards Gala
Tam Flarup (University of Wisconsin), Chair of the Special Awards Committee, and the Committee announced in late February the full slate of 2012 CoSIDA award winners. Please see this link for the 2012 Special Awards general announcement and schedule of features for each individual award recipient.
Sunday, June 24: CoSIDA’s Kickoff Luncheon, and CoSIDA awards presented will be 25-Year, Rising Star, Trailblazer, Kenworthy and Keith Jackson honors.
Monday, June 25: CoSIDA Hall of Fame Luncheon where the Lifetime Achievement and Bill Esposito Awards will be presented along with the CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductions.
Monday, June 25: Later that evening, the Capital One Special Awards Gala, featuring the Academic All-America Hall of Fame induction ceremony, will be held. ESPN’s Rece Davis will once again serve as emcee and the legendary Dick Enberg, a long-time supporter of CoSIDA’s Academic All-America® program, will attend to personally present the 2012 Enberg Award. Prior to dinner, CoSIDA’s Jake Wade, Warren Berg, Arch Ward and Lester Jordan awards will be presented. Following dinner, the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place.
• CoSIDA 2nd VP Shelley Poe (Auburn University) is coordinating the overall program for the St. Louis Convention. She is in the process of finalizing the first full draft of the potential program for review by members of the Program Committee and reps from the CoSIDA Board. Contact Poe at slp0019@auburn.edu.
• Blake Timm (Pacific- Oregon), chair of the College Division Management Advisory Committee, and Charles Bloom (Southeastern Conference), chair of the University Division Management Advisory Committee, are coordinating specific “college division” programming concepts (joint NCAA DII and DIII and NAIA) and ”university division” (NCAA Division I based) for the St. Louis Convention. If you have specific programming concepts for those sessions please contact them soon at timmbr@pacificu.edu or cbloom@sec.org.
Representing the Organization
CoSIDA’s leadership was represented at the following event/ meetings in March, is in attendance the Division I Women's Final Four currently in progress, and will be represented at the mid-April NAIA event:
• March 30-April 1: Men’s Final Four, New Orleans (John Humenik)
• March 31- April 3: Women’s Final Four, Denver (Barb Kowal)
• April 13-15: NAIA National Convention, Newport Beach, CA (CoSIDA 3rd VP Eric McDowell)
NACDA
• Each month, dating back to 2009-10, CoSIDA’s leadership discusses our organization and profession via a “CoSIDA Corner” column that is published in NACDA’s Athletics Administration Magazine. The most recent column, appearing the April 2012 issue was written by Eric McDowell (Union College - N.Y.), CoSIDA 3rd Vice President and can be found HERE. The column, entitled "SAAC and the athletics communications professionals: A partnership of promotion," focuses on CoSIDA's work with national and on-campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) initiatives. The March column was written by Shelly Poe (Auburn), CoSIDA 2nd Vice President as she focused on CoSIDA’s upcoming 2012 Convention programming – and encouraged athletic administrators to support their CoSIDA members' attendance and participation in St. Louis.
The NACDA magazine, which is published in October, November, December, February, March, April, June and August, is sent to more than 10,000 university and athletics administrators. That, combined with the exposure that CoSIDA receives via NACDA’s daily email blast, provides CoSIDA incredible exposure, something that was not the case prior to CoSIDA’s partnership agreement with NACDA that was agreed to in Dec. of 2008.
• A “transition team” was put in place by CoSIDA’s leadership to deal with various management and organizational matters associated with the joint June 2013 CoSIDA/NACDA convention in Orlando. At this time our organizational team includes Joe Hornstein (CoSIDA 1st VP), Shelley Poe (Auburn- CoSIDA 2nd VP), Eric McDowell (Union College- N.Y., CoSIDA 3rd VP), Nick Joos (Baylor- CoSIDA Past President), Julie Work (NACDA Associate Director), Kevin Keys (Liberty), Anne Abicht (St. Cloud State), Ann King (The Sage Colleges) and CoSIDA staff members Barb Kowal, Will Roleson and John Humenik. Representing NACDA on the team are Senior Associate Executive Director Pat Manak and Assistant Executive Director Julie Work.
That group continues to update and refine a CoSIDA/NACDA Convention “Frequently Asked Questions” document to address numerous questions associated with the 2013 convention, and the group continues to discuss other educational ways to update the membership on this new endeavor, including how best to use the convention in St. Louis.
The new CoSIDA.com online Resource Library will be launched the week of April 9-13. All members will be notified by email and CoSIDA's Twitter and Facebook accounts when the section is available for viewing. The Resource Library concept was designed by Executive Director John Humenik and Director of External Affairs Barb Kowal. Working to develop the project over the last several months have been Kowal alongside the Membership Services Committee – chaired by Blake Timm (Pacific-Ore.) - with assistance from Director of Internal Operations Will Roleson.
NAIA
• NAIA-SIDA President Jay Stancil (Union, KY) and that group’s Board of Directors have compiled panel sessions for the annual NAIA National Convention taking place in Newport Beach in mid-April. Stancil and NAIA Director of Communications and Sports Information Chad Waller will coordinate a panel on “How to Market Your University Using Your Athletic Department.” Ron Smith, Cindy Fotti (Columbia College-Mo.) and Eric McDowell (Union College-N.Y.) will present a panel discussion on “How Strategic Communications Can Be Used at the NAIA.” Stancil, Waller and McDowell also are working on setting up meetings at the convention with NAIA-SIDA leadership and other NAIA leaders.
NCAA Division I
• On Thursday, April 12, University Division Management Advisory Chair Charles Bloom (SEC) and Nick Joos (Baylor) of the CoSIDA Board of Directors will join others and coordinate a continuing conference call for CoSIDA’s University Division members on “Social Media” Promotion and Education.” See information, above in "Continuing Education Sessions" note, for details.
• Football Championship Subdivision Management Advisory Committee Chair Scottie Rodgers (Ivy League) is in the process of finalizing an April conference call with the leadership of the FCS ADA and CoSIDA’s FCS MAC to discuss ways that the two leadership groups can best work together moving forward.
• Access the Academic All-America master schedule for nomination deadlines/team announcements, the AAA Committee list of chairs, vice-chairs and district representatives and the district nominating/voting maps for all four divisions.
• Check CoSIDA.com for the latest Capital One Academic All-District and Academic All-America® 
information. We remind everyone that you must be a member of CoSIDA to nominate your deserving student-athletes and we strongly encourage you to not wait until the last moment to do those nominations. Next nomination period will run Tuesday, April 3-Tuesday, April 17 for baseball and softball nominations.
NOTE: Deadlines for nominations will be strictly adhered to. There will be no extensions and no exceptions if the deadlines are missed. Please plan appropriately to make sure your information in place to meet the respective deadlines and that the people at your school who will be nominating student-athletes are paid members of CoSIDA for the 2011-12 year.
If you have questions regarding the nomination criteria for the AAA program, or other questions relating to the awards program, please click HERE and closely review the information page and FAQ document on the CoSIDA website which we believe will address your question.
• The Board and Academic All-America® Committee leadership remind CoSIDA members that CoSIDA's "Academic All-America®"mark is federally registered. As such, CoSIDA members must help the Board and AAA Committee monitor the wrongful use of this registered trademark. If you see any other organizations, including coaching associations, using this registered trademark, immediately contact CoSIDA Executive Director John Humenik (jhumenik@bellsouth.net) or Academic All-America Committee member Dick Lipe (rlipe@bentley.edu). We will have our legal counsel, Collegiate Images, follow up with a letter regarding infringement of our federally registered mark and they will be asked to "cease and desist" from future use of that mark.
Many times during the year we find that our own membership is using "Academic All-America®" in releases that they prepare for student-athletes receiving academic achievement awards from other organizations - when in fact those organizations refer to their awards as "All-Academic," "Scholar-Athlete," "Academic All-Star," etc. We remind CoSIDA members to be cognizant of only using "Academic All-America®" in relation to CoSIDA's Capital One partnership program. There are NO exceptions and you should make sure your administrative staff and coaches understand that they do not have the right to take another award that is being presented for combined academic/athletic excellence by coach’s associations or other organizations and change it to “Academic All-America®” instead of its appropriate title given by that awarding organization.
• The Publications Contest information and upcoming deadlines can be found HERE; deadlines vary throughout the year. Questions can be sent to Publications Chair Chad Grubbs (Hardin-Simmons) at cgrubbs@hsutx.edu.
• Nomination forms and details for the CoSIDA Scholarship & Grant Program are available for CoSIDA scholarship/grants to be awarded for the 2012-13 academic year. Carol Hudson, Jr. (Old Dominion) is Chair of the Scholarship Committee and questions can be directed to him at chudson@odu.edu. CoSIDA members are encouraged to nominate worthy candidates for undergraduate scholarship and post-graduate scholarship monies available via the Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship (April 13 deadline), Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship (April 13 deadline) and Fred Nuesch-Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarships (May 4 deadline). Additionally, any institution in need of boosting its media relations/sports information office and in search of funding for a graduate internship position also is encouraged to apply for the Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant (April 6 deadline).
• In March, email marketing service provider Constant Contact recognized CoSIDA’s email marketing efforts with a “Constant Contact All Star Award” – which recognizes the small business and nonprofit organizations that are finding great success with their marketing efforts. This award is given to the top 10 percent customers of Constant Contact’s 550,000+ customers.
CoSIDA’s email marketing program, developed by Executive Director John Humenik and Director of External Affairs Barb Kowal and managed and coordinated by Kowal since its inception, was singled out for consistently high open rates (greater than 25%), click-through rates and low bounce rates; making regular contact with CoSIDA’s audience; sending at least three surveys or publishing at least three events in the last year; using social media tools to share and promote content and events; and regularly viewing CoSIDA reports to review email marketing efforts.
The high “open” rates by CoSIDA members indicates that this email communications tool used by the CoSIDA leadership is effective, for both dissemination of information and for the corporate sponsors who support CoSIDA’s email marketing initiatives. Thanks to the membership for being engaged and receptive to this CoSIDA communication tool and helping CoSIDA be a leader among non-profit organizations in its email efforts.
All Star Award recipients get first access to new products and features, are eligible to receive promotional opportunities, such as professional videos, promotion on Constant Contact’s Facebook Page and other social channels, and the chance to be featured as a case study for Constant Contact’s entire customer base.
• During the month of March, 31 CoSIDA-based stories appeared on NACDA’s Daily Review email blast. There were 22 Daily Review emails during the month. Through the Daily Review email, thousands of university and athletics administrators are exposed to professional and organizational news. This outreach primarily came about due to CoSIDA’s decision in December 2008 to become an affiliated partner within the NACDA organizational umbrella.
• Also in March, three CoSIDA-based features/stories were circulated a total of seven times on the NCAA Daily News Direct email blast.
• In March, 38 articles were posted on CoSIDA.com. The CoSIDA Twitter page had 320 tweets/postings, all of them of an informative nature with breaking news and timely topics for athletic communication professionals.
• The CoSIDA LinkedIn group surpassed the 1,000-member mark in February and membership current stands at . The group now has 1,139 members and is actively holding discussions, soliciting final convention panelists and sharing articles and videos of interest to athletic communicators.
• CoSIDA Survey results: The state of crisis communications in college athletics
Nearly 160 CoSIDA members responded to the survey, conducted in January/February. See the findings HERE. The data from this survey, written and coordinated by Chris Syme, Chair of the New Media/Technology Committee and committee members, suggests that many university athletic departments are inadequately prepared to deploy multiple communications channels, including social media, as needed in a crisis. Departments might consider reviewing the information here and implementing the five best practices listed at the end of the survey summary.
• Clay Stoldt, Chair of the Sports Management Program at Wichita State and a former SID at that school, worked with Barb Kowal and John Humenik to complete his survey/study with our CoSIDA membership on the growing use of social media in college athletics. That survey concluded in mid-January after being circulated four times to the membership via email and four times via the weekly Communications Watch email. Thanks to the 500-plus CoSIDA members who participated in the survey. Stoldt is gathering and analyzing the information and plans to present his findings at the St. Louis convention and also will provide a summary of his research to CoSIDA’s membership.
• Joe Moore, a former SID at Central Missouri who now teaches in that school’s Department of Communications, completed his dissertation on “Influence in the Collegiate Sports PR Community.” CoSIDA’s Board of Directors and its various leadership groups agreed to work with Moore on this project at the 2010 San Francisco Convention.
The completed project, which included interviews with CoSIDA’s Board, divisional leadership groups and participation by nearly 300 CoSIDA members, was provided by John Humenik to the CoSIDA Board of Directors and the various divisional leadership presidents/chairs in December. Moore is preparing a survey on this topic which he will provide to athletic directors. An executive summary of the report will be produced by Moore/Humenik and provided to the CoSIDA membership in the future. Moore also plans to attend the St. Louis Convention and present his findings to the Board and to the membership.
• John Humenik is working with the NFL Communications Department in New York (Corry Rush and Greg Aiello) to assist the NFL - as a part of the inventory for its $10,000 sponsorship for the upcoming convention and 2012-13 academic year - with publicizing the NFL’s PR-based internships for the 2012 season. Rush will work with the league’s individual teams and NFL office in New York to compile one document listing all pr/communications internships that the NFL will offer in 2012. That document will then be provided to Director of External Affairs Barb Kowal and will be sent via email to all of our members, posted online and on CoSIDA's social media channels. The NFL staff plans to provide this to CoSIDA during April so please look for this and pass it along to your students/interns/grad assistants who might have an interest in these NFL internships.
• CoSIDA’s fund raising organizational team for the 2012 convention is in the final stages of soliciting sponsorships for the convention as well as the 2012-13 academic year. That team of CoSIDA Vice Presidents Joe Hornstein and Shelley Poe (Auburn) along with Larry Dougherty (Temple), Justin Doherty (Wisconsin), Nick Joos (Baylor), John Paquette (Big East), Joe Browning (UNC-Wilmington), Kent Brown (Illinois), Dave Wohlhueter, Jeff Hodges, Will Roleson, Barb Kowal and John Humenik has personally contacted more than 120 firms/organizations with regard to their support for the CoSIDA convention in St. Louis.
• During March, the following seven groups pledged sponsorship support for the convention and upcoming year: TRZ Sports ($7,500- Tom Zawistowski/ Josh Mathus), Turner Sports ($5000- Sal Petruzzi), XOS Digital ($3500- Chris Kesicke/Gregg Brandon), Lott Trophy ($1000- Pete Donovan), American Football Coaches Association ($750- Vince Thompson), Pac-12 Conference ($500- Dave Hirsch) and Lindy’s Sports Publications ($500- Lindy Davis).
• As of the end of March, 41 groups have stepped forward in support of CoSIDA for the convention and/or the upcoming academic year. They are:
Platinum Plus Sponsors: Capital One (Byron Daub) and NCAA (Bob Williams, Erik Christianson, Mike Racy and Dan Dutcher)
Platinum Sponsors: SIDEARM (Jeff Rubin)
Diamond Level Sponsors: ESPN (Josh Krulewitz, Rachel Margolis), TextCaster (Rob Sweeney and Mike Sadler)
Silver Level Sponsors: NFL (Greg Aiello and Corry Rush), Stat Crew (Rob Schupler/ Monica Pellman), TRZ Sports (Tom Zawistowski and Josh Mathus)
Bronze Level Sponsors: Rose Bowl Game (Gina Chappin), Fiesta Bowl (Andy Bagnato), Sugar Bowl, (John Sudsbury), Heisman Trophy (Rob Whalen and Tim Henning), Turner Sports (Sal Petruzzi)
$3500 Sponsor Level: XOS Digital (Chris Kesicke/Gregg Brandon), Sports Systems (Brian Binette )
$1750 Sponsor Level: Provations Group (Jai Giffin)
$1000 Sponsor Level: NCAA Football (Bret Krift), Football Bowl Association (Charlie Fiss), Football Writers Association of America (Steve Richardson), Lott Trophy (Pete Donovan)
$750 Sponsor Level: Big 12 Conference (Bob Burda), AFCA (Grant Teaff /Vince Thompson), National Football Foundation (Steve Hatchell/Matt Sign)
$500 Sponsor Level: SEC (Charles Bloom), Big Ten Conference (Diane Dietz), Colonial Athletic Association (Tom Yeager), Missouri Valley Conference (Doug Elgin), College Press Box.Com (Ted Gangi), Alamo Bowl (Rick Hill), Awards Recognition Association (Dave Bergeson), Licensing Resource Group (Lewis Hardy), ACC (Michael Kelley), Horizon League (Bill Benner), Paul Hornung Award (Karl Schmitt), USBWA (Joe Mitch), Big East Conference (John Paquette), Big Ten Network (Elizabeth Conlisk), Cotton Bowl (Charlie Fiss), Sporting News (Laura Dantzler), Pac-12 Conference (Dave Hirsch) and Lindy’s Sports Publications (Lindy Davis)
• The following companies/sponsors have CoSIDA "official provider" recognition for the balance of the 2011-12 academic year:
Capital One - Entitlement rights holder for CoSIDA's Academic All-America® program
SIDEARM - Official provider of CoSIDA's website (including Academic All-America online nomination and selection system, Career Center, Online Directory, awards and online membership systems)
ASAP Sports - CoSIDA's official instant transcripts provider
TextCaster - CoSIDA's official and exclusive text messaging services provider and partner
Expion - CoSIDA's official social media advisor
NewTek - CoSIDA's official continuing education video archive provider
TRZ Sports/Teamline - CoSIDA's official teleconference call provider
Eclaro Sports - CoSIDA's official career development partner
Sports Systems - CoSIDA's official online convention registration provider
Populous - CoSIDA's official convention registration badge printer and provider
XOS Digital/Collegiate Images - CoSIDA's official legal services provider for the Academic All-America® program
The 2011-12 sponsorship directory can be accessed HERE. We ask that you be aware of all of CoSIDA's sponsorship partners.
• The new membership period for 2012-13 began on February 1. For those who want to renew or for those who want to join CoSIDA, if you renew after Feb. 1, 2012, your membership period covers you through September 15, 2013. If you have already purchased a 2011-12 CoSIDA membership, that membership is active for the next five months - though September 15, 2012. See more details and how to join or renew HERE.
Please remember: you must be a current CoSIDA member to nominate for - and vote on - Capital One Academic All-America® All-District Team honors.
If you have any questions in this regard, please contact Will Roleson (willroleson@cosida.com), CoSIDA’s Director of Internal Operations.
CoSIDA E-Directory information
• For those who have moved into a new position or who have had staff changes recently are reminded to update their personal and/or organizational CoSIDA E-Directory information. There is an online directory and a PDF version of the directory. You can access your information and update it and/or request custodial status of your organization's account so you can update staff and organizational information, pay dues online, etc., by going HERE. Questions? Please contact Will Roleson, CoSIDA Director of Internal Operations, at willroleson@cosida.com.
• Access the updated calendar of events/deadlines for the April 1-June 30 period HERE. We encourage all members to review this closely so you are aware of important dates and deadlines.