College Sports Information Directors of America

The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have chosen a new set of officers and Board of Director members to serve the professional athletic communications asssociation for the 2013-14 academic year and beyond.

Shelly Poe, Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations at Auburn University, will serve as the 58th President of CoSIDA for a one-year term in 2013-14.

Poe replaces Joe Hornstein, Director of Sports Information at Florida International University (FIU) who served as President in 2011-12. Poe was CoSIDA's first Vice President during 2012-13.

The passing of the gavel and the announcement of the new officers and Board members took place June 14 in conjunction with the annual CoSIDA Convention. The CoSIDA Convention took place June 12-15 in conjunction with the NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week at the Marriott World Center in Orlando.

Poe, a CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee who has earned numerous CoSIDA honors throughout her career, is in her second year serving as one of Auburn's football communications contacts after spending five years at Ohio State and 19 at West Virginia, her alma mater.

She is the third female president of CoSIDA. All three are from institutions in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She follows June Stewart (1990-91) and Tammy Boclair (2003-04), who both served in Vanderbilt University athletic media relations roles during their CoSIDA presidencies.

Also elected to serve the 2,900-member CoSIDA organization for the 2013-14 term and in the presidential rotation are 1st Vice President Eric McDowell, Union College (NY) Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Information; 2nd Vice President Judy Willson, Mountain West Conference Associate Director of Communications; and 3rd Vice President Andy Seeley, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications at Central Florida (UCF). Seeley was newly elected on the 2013-14 slate.

"I am honored to serve as CoSIDA President for 2013-14 and follow in the footsteps of so many tremendous leaders," stated Poe. "It is my goal to continue to develop the common ground that we all share and find ways to education and help promote our members as a group while also staying committed to the mission of each group. Our organization continues to grow in scope and strategic direction."

In addition to taking the CoSIDA presidency reigns in Orlando, Poe also earned the 2013 Arch Ward Award from the organization. The Ward Award is given annually for outstanding contributions to athletic communications information and who, through their activities, has brought dignity and prestige to the profession. She was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2002, just the fifth female so honored, and also received the distinguished CoSIDA Trailblazer Award in 2012.

In addition to Seeley's election as new vice president, four others were elected to terms of three years on the CoSIDA Board of Directors. Elected as at-large representatives are Chris Masters, Notre Dame Associate Media Relations Director and Chevanne Mansfield (Southeastern Conference Assistant Director of Media Relations). Selected to represent the College Division are at-large representative Dave Walters (Guilford College Assistant AD/Sports Information), Southeast Region and Steve Fleigel (Whitworth College Assistant AD/Sports Information), West Region. All these terms run through 2016. Walters and Fleigel had been appointed as Board members in unexpired terms of others before their election at the 2013 convention.

The slate of 2013-14 candidates were nominated by the membership during the spring semester and were selected by the CoSIDA Nominating Committee, comprised of the organization's past presidents and out-going Board of Director members. That Committee was chaired by Justin Doherty, University of Wisconsin Associate AD for External Relations and CoSIDA's third Past President.

The current CoSIDA Past Presidents serving on the 2013-14 Board are immediate Past President Joe Hornstein of FIU (serving through 2016); Second Past President Tom DiCamillo, Pac West Conference Associate Commissioner and Central Arizona Executive Director of Public Relations and Foundation (serving through 2015); and Temple University Senior Associate AD/Communications Larry Dougherty (serving through 2014).

Those currently serving on the Board of Directors are at-large representatives Rob Carolla (Big 12 Conference Director of Communications) and Dan Drutz (Arcadia University Sports Information Director) along with College Division at-large representatives Mark Adkins (Manchester College Sports Information Director) and Greg Goings (Bowie State Sports Information Director); Mark Fleming (Moravian College Sports Information Director), Northeast Region; and Cindy Potter (Columbia College [Mo.] Associate AD for Media Relations and Compliance), Central Region.

Concluding their three-year Board terms at the 2013 Convention were Kent Brown, University of Illinois Associate AD/Media Relations and Ed Hill, Howard University Sports Information Director.

Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) continues as Secretary/Digest Editor. Ex-Officio members are CoSIDA Director of External Affairs Barb Kowal and Director of Internal Operations/Treasurer Will Roleson.