The CoSIDA Ccolumn below was written by Larry Happel, the communications director and sports information director at Central College (Iowa). He also serves as the chair of CoSIDA's Division III-SIDA Committee.
Happel's column on the current Division III initiatives being undertaken in CoSIDA and on campuses and at conference offices appears in the April 2013 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 of the Athletics Administration Magazine. In October of 2009, CoSIDA President Justin Doherty penned the first "CoSIDA Column."
In October 2012, CoSIDA President Joe Hornstein wrote a CoSIDA Column on the CoSIDA/Cryder Rinebold strategic branding study; in November, Director of External Affairs Barb Kowal wrote the November column which focused on the online CoSIDA Resource Library, while Academic All-America® Committee Co-Chair Bernadette Cafarelli followed with a December piece on the Capital One Academic All-America program. In February, the magazine was dedicated to social media issues, and CoSIDA's New Media/Technology Chair Chris Syme wrote on how CoSIDA is at the forefront of college athletics social media education, webinars, studies and convention presentations.
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.
See the CoSIDA Corner archives HERE.
Sports communications directors at any level lead a rather anonymous existence. That’s especially true in the NCAA Division III, where it’s been suggested that serving as an SID is the athletics equivalent of life in the Federal Witness Protection Program.
Yet, while keeping the lowest of profiles, those of us fortunate enough to have such a position love what we do. Cryder Rinebold strategists visited with a group of Division III SIDs while conducting research for CoSIDA last summer. They were struck by seemingly contradictory, but consistent, responses. The athletics media relations professionals’ level of concern about the long working hours and sacrifices the job demands was exceeded only by their passion for their work. Serving as an athletics communications professional isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle. And many of us can’t imagine doing anything else.
Well under the radar, exciting things are going on in our profession.
Nowhere is that more true than in Division III, where CoSIDA Executive Director John Humenik has aggressively worked to create partnership opportunities. He and the group’s energetic 2nd Vice President Eric McDowell, of Division III Union College (N.Y.), reached a milestone when they were asked to address the Division III delegation at the NCAA Convention in January. We could ask for no finer spokesmen for our profession.
Our own group, the Division III Sports Information Directors of America (D3SIDA), was formed in 2008 for Division III athletics communications professionals, including nearly 550 who are CoSIDA members. Just as it would be inaccurate to assume that student-athletes land at Division III institutions simply because they aren’t good enough to compete in Division I, it is wrong to think that SIDs view Division III solely as a stepping stone to the bright lights of a BCS program. We value the Division III experience, where athletes are not only treated like other students, they are like other students. Most just happen to have better 40-yard dash times.
So it was with great enthusiasm that we embraced one of our first opportunities to stretch our legs as an organization, by partnering with the NCAA in promoting the Division III Identity Initiative. Jack Copeland coordinates the program for the NCAA and he’s reached out to Division III SIDs in every way imaginable to help us drive the initiative forward.
The process demonstrates the benefits of college athletics decision-makers partnering with SIDs. Familiarizing those on Division III campuses with the strategic-positioning platform, promoting the division’s values and key messages, speaking with one voice — who better to implement these strategies than Division III’s athletics communications professionals?
D3SIDA helped the NCAA connect with its membership with several ideas, notably including Division III Week, coming again April 8-14. Meanwhile, the NCAA provided additional funding to expand CoSIDA’s signature program, the Capital One Academic All-America program, creating separate teams for Division III, thanks to the efforts of Division III Vice President Dan Dutcher.
We’re also enthused about another partnership, the broad-based NCAA Division III/CoSIDA Strategic Communications Working Group. It’s chaired by past D3SIDA board member Ann King of The Sage Colleges (N.Y.) and includes D3SIDA 2nd Vice President Ira Thor of New Jersey City University.
It also includes Division III Management Council members Steve Nelson, athletics director at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and Portia Hoeg, athletics director at Allegheny College (Pa.); Division III Commissioners Association members Chuck Yrigoyen of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics Conference and Patrick Summers of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference; a national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member, Nafeesa Connolly of Simmons College (Mass.); and NCAA representatives Louise McCleary, Director of Division III, and Kat Krtnick, assistant director of communications at the NCAA.
One tool the group is using is a survey conducted by D3SIDA last summer, largely through Thor’s tireless efforts. Based on a groundbreaking survey created by Blake Timm of Pacific (Ore.) in 2005, it revealed that nearly half of Division III SIDs work between 60-90 hours per week. And more than half are still in one-person shops, just as they were 30 years ago.
Consequently, the NCAA/CoSIDA group is studying workloads and looking at rethinking staffing models to reflect the mushrooming demands of the digital age that are causing an alarming number of Division III SIDs over age 35 to leave the profession.
The group is exploring other innovative notions, including:
• the creation of an athletics communication certification process, with better access to continuing education opportunities;
• increasing SID involvement in departmental and institutional strategic planning;
• development of a strategic communications best practices document;
• proposing that SIDs be allowed to serve on NCAA committees.
Division III will never claim more than a sliver of the sports media spotlight. Division III SIDs know that if they get a call from Sports Illustrated, it’s probably about a subscription offer.
Yet as communication professionals, they also know that their work is no longer just about scores and highlights. The Division III Model Strategic Communications Document notes, “As new forms of technology and communication continue to emerge, the role of the athletics communicator demands a significant expansion beyond traditional tasks ... (they are) communicating a mission and brand instead of simply pushing information ... There are many opportunities to develop a more comprehensive communications strategy for athletics.”
D3SIDA members stand ready to partner with NACDA and other leadership groups as we jointly tackle a range of intercollegiate athletics challenges and opportunities. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando in June for the NACDA & Affiliates Convention and CoSIDA Convention!