Outgoing CoSIDA New Media Committee Chair Chris Syme (right) sat down w
ith incoming committee co-chair Matt Brady, Director of Athletic Media Relations at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Their discussion revolved on where social media in college athletics is headed - and where the CoSIDA New Media Committee also is headed in the future.
Brady also is pictured, lower right.
Chris, what is your background in sports information?
Syme: Sports Information was really my third career. I grew up in an athletic family. I started out writing for my high school newspaper—I was the first female sports editor in the history of the school. I went on to write for my college paper and also played three sports in college—volleyball, basketball, and tennis. After one year of that, I cut back to two. I also worked in radio and TV production for a while.
I taught high school English and coached volleyball until my kids left for college. I don’t know if it was empty nest or what, but I decided to go back to graduate school at Eastern Washington University for a degree in athletic administration.
About that time, Bobby Knight had just been fired and then the Oklahoma State basketball program plane crash happened, and I decided to do my thesis work in crisis management. There were no texts or resources for athletics—they were all in the business world. I was also working as an assistant sports information director at EWU under Dave Cook. I got a grant to survey all the NCAA schools on their crisis preparedness and that’s how I got started in crisis management in athletics. In 2005 I went to work as an assistant SID at Montana State University, and the social media boom was just on the horizon. We all had websites but nobody even knew what social media was. Hard to believe that was only eight years ago.
What is your background in social media?
Syme: I have always loved gadgets and technology—got that from my Dad. When social media started to take hold around 2006, I knew it was going to be a difference maker for our athletic department at MSU, so I went to work developing an editorial strategy. I think we were the first Division I school in the country with a social media policy. We were definitely early adopters—way ahead of our campus counterparts. I started writing a blog called The New Adventures of an Old SID and it got a lot of traction with other athletic media relations professionals. We were all kind of shooting in the dark back then. In 2009, Bob Lowe (now at Berry College) asked me if I would be interested in chairing the New Media Committee and I gladly accepted. It’s been a challenge but a lot of fun.
How much has social media changed college sports and the vocation of the athletics communicator?
Syme: Wow—some days I forget what it was like without a 24/7 news cycle. I feel distracted all the time, do you? I think there are three major changes. First, the news cycle is 24/7 and is no longer powered by our press releases. Now, people are announcing head coaching hires on their Facebook pages and completely bypassing the traditional media process. Second is the push to keep up with technology. It feels like every day brings a new app I have to learn. I don’t have to implement them all, but at least I have to know what they can do.
Mobile phones are the new personal computer. Responsive web design is a must. You must have video. Makes my head spin just thinking about it. Third is the invasion of the fans as journalists. It used to be just the coaches that had input into what we wrote. Now, the fans are the main attraction. They are what social media is all about. Better wi-fi in stadiums and arenas, live chats during events-and the list goes on. We are pulled in many different ways—we’ve always been busy but not like this.
Social media has changed so much so fast - where will social media be in five years?
Syme: That’s a great question. Have you got a crystal ball, Matt? One of the reasons we petitioned the CoSIDA board to change the structure of the New Media Committee was because of that very question. When I took over in 2009, there was only Facebook and some people were on Twitter. Now look where we are. Digital game notes, QR codes with game programs, twitter feeds on scoreboards, video channels. We decided to set up the committee with three co-chairs to try and accommodate the need for resources in the areas of traditional media relations, social media, and web/video. This year we have three great co-chairs in you (Matt Brady) taking the social media piece, Ben Taylor (Illinois) doing media relations, and Mat Kanan (Western Michigan) chairing the video/web piece. Athletic communicators are expected to be fluent in all those areas anymore, so we divided up the duties on the committee to accommodate those needs.
One of my biggest concerns is small schools and social media. I think sometime they feel like they can’t keep up. I’m really excited about the work of people like Jay Stancil (Union College) who moderates
#SIDChat and David Petroff’s (Edgewood College) new blog,
Small School Social. They are resources we need to tap.
Let me turn the tables and ask you a question, Matt.
What do you see as the mission of the CoSIDA New Media Committee? How do you see the 
committee evolving in the future?
Brady: As is easily seen from the CoSIDA/NACDA convention, the best ideas come from hearing what other people are doing. So a big part of the future of the committee is going to be connecting with both members of the committee and other influencers in sports social media, be it through Twitter chats, Google+ hangouts, Skype chats or any other means. Getting ideas and innovations from those who are doing the work is going to be a huge part of the committee’s future.
Chris, what is the most important aspect of social media that athletic communicators aren’t focusing enough on?
Syme: I think there are two areas of concern that I have. First is crisis communications. I think the Cryder-Reinbold work for CoSIDA confirmed that. Athletics communicators are in a unique position to provide much needed guidance to athletic departments on this important piece whether it’s training student-athletes and coaches to use social media responsibly or managing a full blown crisis communications plan. We are the people that know how to communicate. We should be running point there.
The other is collaboration with all the pieces of the department that need to have a hand in social media. We SIDs are kind of islands by nature. I love the idea that our convention is with NACDA now. That brings some perspective to our importance to the department and helps us understand that we are part of a bigger team.
How did your experience as a sports information director help you start your own business?
Syme: I decided to quit my job in 2011 to help my Dad take care of my mom. At that time I had already been doing some consulting for other schools on social media so it was a natural for my experience.
As an athletic communications professional, I was used to wearing many hats and working long hours. But, I love athletics. I’ve been there most of my adult life. Last year when schools started approaching me about doing social media training for student-athletes, there was nobody with an athletic background doing it at the time. I felt there was a need for someone who knew athletics and had communications and social media experience, so that was another natural path that developed.
I think SIDs are the most resourceful people in the athletic department. I knew I would always be a part of CoSIDA—once an SID, always an SID. But, I wanted to be part of helping the profession go forward. After this year’s NACDA/CoSIDA convention, I’m more confident than ever that the organization is on the right path. And the New Media Committee will be a big part of that collaboration.