by Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of External Affairs
Key videos, links and presentations from the 2015 NCAA Convention:
• Click here for the
NCAA video recap of the 2015 NCAA convention.
•
Download PDF from educational session "Crisis Communication: How to Use Social Media to Your Advantage
(two of the three presenters were former CoSIDA presidents Charles Bloom (South Carolina) and Justin Doherty (Wisconsin)
• WhyD3Show interviews with Doug Vance and Eric McDowell
LINK
• DI schools outside autonomy group ponder how to work together
LINK
• NCAA increases value of scholarships in historic vote
LINK
• Division II members decide on new branding moniker "Make it Yours"
LINK
• Debunking the myths: How the NCAA really works
LINK
• Sand volleyball to become NCAA's 90th championship
LINK
photo cutline (above): NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert meets with the CoSIDA contingent in a private session; the CoSIDA group pictured with Dr. Emmert; meeting during the convention.
Mid-January, CoSIDA officers and staff members joined CoSIDA divisional leaders from the NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA ranks
for our annual gathering at the NCAA Convention. In Washington, D.C., from Jan. 13-16, we gathered with hundreds of colleagues (athletic administrators, coaches) and student-athletes at a convention which saw some historic votes, including a a new governance structure for Division I, and a strengthening of the student-athlete voice in governance and committee decision-making processes.
In addition to meeting with NCAA leaders, conference commissioner groups and attending convention sessions and meetings, CoSIDA conducted a significant amount of mid-year business and convention planning.
Our most important reason to gather at the NCAA Convention however is to take advantage of the unique opportunity to visit face-to-face and network with colleagues in intercollegiate athletics. For that reason, our volunteer officers and divisional delegates work hard to adjust their campus and conference duties to attend.
"Our visit to the 2015 NCAA Convention was rewarding in so many ways,” noted CoSIDA President Eric McDowell (Union [N.Y.] Assistant AD/Sports Information). “This year, we were guests with dozens of conferences, presenting to presidents and athletic sirectors to provide them with updates on our initiatives and service to their student-athletes and sports communication professionals. With CoSIDA officers, staff and divisional leadership, we use this mid-year opportunity to discuss a variety of issues and plans that we then take to our full board.”
“Without question, one of the most meaningful opportunities for CoSIDA to be an effective advocate is having a seat at the table during the NCAA Convention,” stated Doug Vance, CoSIDA Executive Director. “CoSIDA was highly visible during the convention, meeting with NCAA President Mark Emmert, with leaders representing both Division II and Division III, with conference commissioners and athletic administrators during more than 20 conference meetings, and with the national student-athlete SAAC groups.”
Along with McDowell and Vance representing our organization and your interests in D.C. were officers
Judy Willson (first vice president, Mountain West Conference), Andy Seeley (second vice president, UCF), Rob Carolla (third vice president, Big 12 Conference) and
Jeff Hodges (secretary, North Alabama); divisional presidents
John Kean (Missouri Science & Technology; Division 2) and
Ira Thor (Jersey City University, board member and first VP for Division III SIDA) and Cindy Potter (Columbia [Mo.], NAIA). Also attending were
Mark Fleming (Moravian), Chair of the CoSIDA College Division Management Advisory Committee from Division 3, along with CoSIDA staff members
Barb Kowal,
Will Roleson and
Laurie Bollig. (Thor attended in place of Division III-SIDA president Dave Wrath (Augustana [Ill.] who could not be in D.C.)
The CoSIDA contingent kicked off the visit to the nation’s capital by hosting an evening reception for local CoSIDA members and Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Famers. Guests included
Tom McMillen, a Capital One Academic All-America honoree and former NBA star and U.S. Congressman, along with CoSIDA members from
Navy, American, Catholic University and Gallaudet. Accepting an invitation to the social from McDowell was special guest
Congressman Paul Tonko, the long-time U.S. Representative of New York's 20th Congressional District.
Congressman Tonko welcomed the CoSIDA leadership group in his office and his staff arranged a private visit and tour of the nation’s Capitol for the CoSIDA leadership group. That morning tour took place Wednesday before the bulk of the meetings, session and networking opportunities took place back at the NCAA Convention.
"I wish to express my gratitude to Congressman Paul D. Tonko. We appreciate him joining us with our reception for local Academic All-America Hall of Famers and area SIDs, as well as hosting us at his office with a staff tour of the U.S. Capitol,” McDowell stated. “It meant so much to me personally, for him to grace us with his presence and to welcome us to Washington."
For the second year in a row, we had a personal meeting with
NCAA President Mark Emmert who reviewed the changing landscape in collegiate sports and emphasized the key importance that communications professionals play in branding and messaging for the NCAA and member institutions and conferences. He emphasized the role that CoSIDA members play in “telling our stories” at this important juncture in NCAA history due to the magnitude of recent changes in college sports governance and public awareness.
"For NCAA President Emmert to take the time to visit with our contingent, especially considering the demanding
schedule for him during the week, is truly a statement of respect for our CoSIDA membership and our profession,” noted McDowell.
Emmertt’s conversation with CoSIDA mirrored the themes of his state-of-the-association keynote address a day later.
Emmert remarked that the challenge remains in how the public understands college sports, and it is our challenge to help them move beyond focusing on the two sports on national TV which constitute just
three percent
of the total of NCAA athletes – FBS football and men’s basketball.
“That’s how the world sees it (college sports) – it sees the sliver of the 3 percent of student-athletes playing FBS
football and men’s basketball,” Emmert stated in his keynote. “If you look at it from the perspective of the 97
percent – the vast majority – you see other issues and other concerns and other challenges. For us, as we make
decisions, as you collectively – and each of your governing bodies – make decisions, we need to make sure that the success of the three percent doesn’t come at the cost of
the 97 percent.”
We had many great conversations with other NCAA leaders.
Our friends from NCAA Division III,
vice-president Dan Dutcher and
director Louise McCleary, talked about about their initiatives, D3 communications and branding, and plans for a second annual Division III Day at this June’s CoSIDA Convention, building on the success of last year’s inaugural D3 programming day. In a visit with
Division II vice-president Josh Looney and
NCAA intern Nafessa Connolly, a former volleyball student-athlete and national SAAC representative, we discussed the future rollout of messaging and branding opportunities for D2 as it had just voted on its new brand moniker – “Make it Yours” – to replace “I Chose Division II.”
Erik Christianson, NCAA managing director of external affairs and a long-time friend of CoSIDA, continued President Emmert’s discussion. He highlighted the effect that the last year of changes to NCAA.org, social media strategies and NCAA
Champion Magazine has enhanced the NCAA’s communications with the membership, media and public, and talked about new strategies and directions to boost membership engagement.
We visited with
NACDA Executive Director Bob Vecchione and spoke about our new contract with NACDA, collaborative programming for the 2015 June
Convention, and future convention sites. Additionally, President McDowell and selected members of the CoSIDA group met with the
three national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (D1, D2, D3) and the role that SIDs and CoSIDA play to foster the positive student-athlete image and “tell our stories.” We also spoke to former ECAC-SIDA president and CoSIDA member
Kevin Beattie (RPI) about the ECAC-SIDA and CoSIDA partnership, networking and convention programming.
In addition to holding CoSIDA meetings to cover a myriad of business and convention issues, members of our contingent attended Division II and Division III issues forums; attended a crisis communications/social media panel where former CoSIDA presidents
Justin Doherty (Wisconsin) and
Charles Bloom (South Carolina) were among the presenters; met with the Big 12 Faculty Athletic Representatives group; and McDowell and Vance were interviewed for the web-based “Why D3 Show.” The #WhyD3 Show is supported by Division III and is hosted by Dave McHugh, broadcast director for the
D3Sports.com network of websites that helps produce the show.
Some also attended a reception hosted by our friends from NACWAA and a reception hosted by the national compliance directors group, NAAC, where we discussed future Convention programming and networking ideas with their leaders.
To cap off the meetings, CoSIDA met with over 20 conference groups, comprised of commissioners and athletic directors, during our stay. Several conference commissioners met one-on-one with CoSIDA, including
Joe Walsh (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) and
Mike Matthews (California Collegiate Athletic Association).
We sent delegations to the AD meetings of the following groups and conference to talk about three key issues (the Capital One Academic All-America program, the upcoming Convention, and our year-round continuing education programming):
D2 Conference Commissioner’s meeting; Western Collegiate Hockey Association; and the ECAC, Northeastern Athletic, Landmark, Colonial States, Iowa Intercollegiate, Southern California Intercollegiate, USA South Atlantic, Midwest, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics, SUNYAC, Great Lakes Valley, North Atlantic and Great Midwest.
“We were able to present a clear and concise message and have direct discussions about issues related to our profession, our members, our organization and the future," stated Vance. "It serves as one of the most productive advocacy opportunities we have available as an organization and we take full advantage of it.”