• 2015 CoSIDA Special Awards general announcement/release
• Special Awards feature story schedule
by Ann King, The Sage Colleges Director of Sports Information/CoSIDA Special Awards Committee
Steve Marovich has been the glue that has held the sports information department at Carthage College together for more than two decades, while helping our profession evolve and grow.
Nearing retirement after his illustrious career, Marovich will receive a CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual CoSIDA Convention in Orlando during the Special Awards Luncheon on June 17.
A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Marovich received his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Michigan in 1975 and a master’s in athletic administration from Western Michigan University in 1990. He was a graduate assistant at Western Michigan from 1987-89 under SID and lifetime achievement award winner John Beatty. Marovich was the women’s volleyball contact in 1987 and 1988 and the baseball contact in 1988 and 1989 and assisted with home football and home basketball events. Marovich also introduced baseball computer stats to the WMU sports information office in 1988.
Becoming the first-ever sports information director at Nazareth College (Michigan) from 1989-91, he produced the school’s first-ever athletic media guides. Marovich represented Nazareth when the Moles won the 1990 National Small College Athletic Association Women’s Volleyball Championship at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. The school closed in 1991, certainly not a result of Marovich’s handywork!
He would go on to serve as the staff director for
the 1993 “Barrier Bash,” a benefit basketball game in Kalamazoo, Michigan, featuring
former NBA and college players and coaches, including George Gervin, Nancy Lieberman and Tom Izzo. Following a stint as public relations director for the Kalamazoo Center for Independent Living from 1992 to 1994, Marovich arrived at Carthage for the 1994-95 academic year. Since 2002, he has also served as Carthage’s assistant athletic director. Marovich and the Carthage communications team have received 124 publication awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) since 1997, and he is a former member of the CoSIDA Publications Committee.
Behind this bio is a talented person who has been at the forefront in so many changes in our business. Marovich is one the first SIDs in his league to use in-game scoring products. He was instrumental in the development of the Automated Scorebook for golf and helped organize support for the product and the need for it among CoSIDA College Division colleagues. He has never missed a CoSIDA convention since attending his first one in Denver in 1995, and he has also served on several table topic panels. Marovich is a longtime member of the CoSIDA Publications Committee and a six-year committee vice-president. He also was a member of the CoSIDA Site Selection Committee for two years.
Steve and his wife Melissa live in Harbor Park in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the city where Carthage, a NCAA Division III institution, is located.
As Marovich pointed out, “By far the most special moment of my career was meeting the former Melissa Carey, now Melissa Carey Marovich. I’ve heard dozens of CoSIDA award winners talk about how important an understanding spouse is and they were all absolutely right.
“We met in 1999, my fourth year at Carthage, and we got married in the Carthage chapel in 2000. When we chose a wedding date, I told her that my calendar was wide open - after baseball ended and before football started. Melissa is my best friend and part of the staff. Whether it’s running stats, checking in with guests to see if they need anything, software trouble-shooting, you name it, and she’s done it on behalf of Carthage sports information. As much as she loves being a part of it, she was equally supportive when I made the decision to leave. I wouldn’t have lasted 21 years in this business without her.”
During his long tenure as the story teller for the Red Men and the Lady Reds, there has certainly been many memorable and exciting times. For Marovich, a few of the program highlights certainly include a couple of near-misses on an NCAA Division III baseball championship, a trip to the 2002 NCAA Division III men’s basketball national championship in Salem, Virginia, which was another near-miss on a national title, along with a run to the 2004 NCAA Division III football championship quarterfinals.
Marovich has always know the value of surrounding himself with quality people.
“One thing I learned early on was the importance of getting local people involved,” Marovich explained. “Chris Dose, my spotter for both
football and basketball, has been with me since 1996 and he’s as good as they get. He could spot for national championship game or even an NBA contest—he’s that good. My table crew for both sports are retired local officials and they’ve also been with me since 1996. They all think that a seat at the scorer’s table is the greatest ticket you can have to a game.”
Marovich added, “I’ve enjoyed working Carthage family members into key roles. Amanda Djurickovic, the daughter of our men’s basketball coach Bosko Djurickovic, has worked for me since she was 13 years old. In 2015, she’ll start her third year doing live stats for soccer and lacrosse, and she does a great job. Baseball coach Augie Schmidt’s daughter, Chelsea, just started her first year doing live stats for volleyball, and you’d think she’d been doing that for years. She’s a natural. Even if I might at the point where the work isn’t always fun anymore, I love it when people you bring in still think you have the greatest job in the world.”
Steve Kratochvil, former SID at UW-Parkside said of his friend, “I was SID at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside for 13 years, beginning in July of 1998. I had no experience as an SID, coming from the newspaper industry. Carthage College is two miles away, and a coworker told Steve about the new guy at UW-Parkside. Without even asking, Steve came over to UW-Parkside to teach me the basketball statcrew software. He also gave me many valuable tips regarding the field of sports information.
“When I resigned from UW-Parkside, the school's Career Achievement Award was bestowed up me," Kratochvil noted. "I say that not to impress you, but to impress upon you that I'm confident this would never have happened without Steve's early guidance. He didn't have to come to another school to help out someone he didn't even know. Yet, he did.
“Steve Marovich is not only one of the best SIDs in the business, he selflessly shared his talents and experience with others in the field - even one which could be considered a rival school in terms of local media coverage.”
Among the many colleagues that have worked with and alongside Steve is Dave Wrath of Augustana College (Illinois).
"Steve Marovich made us (the SIDs he dealt with on a regular basis) all better,” Wrath said. “His attention to detail and his refusal to accept anything other than first-rate work from himself made those of us who worked with him step up our collective games. He was a first-rate professional at all times and his work was top-notch. He also had the gift of always being able to separate the outcome of a contest from the friendships he made with fellow sports information directors. He will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure of working with him."
Chad Grubbs, SID at Hardin-Simmons, added, “Steve is what I call a 'pro’s pro'. He does it all well. I first met Steve working on the Publications Committee and he was later one of my vice-chairs when I was the chair. He was one of the most efficient professionals I dealt with on the committee. He was always willing to help find a solution to a problem and wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion on a subject even if it was different than most of the group.
“His publications were always top notch as well. He didn’t wow you with glitzy graphics but whenever you went to judge a contest his books would always find a way to the top because they were what they were supposed to be, a media guide. He had way more information in a readable format than anyone. I think in many ways that mirrored Steve’s personality as a SID as well. Steve has been a great colleague and we are losing a great one on the Division III level and the profession as a whole. I hope his impending retirements brings him all the rewards he deserves because he worked diligently to make sure he put the word out about Carthage College.”
Stew Salowitz, Illinois Wesleyan University Director of Sports Information, echoed Wrath and Grubbs with his thoughts about Marovich.
"Steve is one of the hardest-working and most professional people I have ever met in the sports information business. His dedication to Carthage has been unbelievable - he was meticulous in checking his teams' histories dating way back to the beginning and, as a result, his team and individual records are likely among the most accurate in Division III," Solowitz said.
"I think all of us, his peers in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, stepped up our games in response to the good work that Steve was doing at Carthage," Salowitz added. "And that kind of self-improvement is never a bad thing, so I personally thank Steve for helping me get better as an SID and as a promoter of my school."
Monica Pellman, manager of Stat Crew Software, commented on Steve, “Steve Marovich has been a long-time customer and friend of Stat Crew Software. Over the years he has provided suggestions, reported bugs, asked questions, about scoring in general, and the software in particular, that have helped the products. We are grateful to Steve for his contributions to our products.
“Providing official game statistics is just one small part of the profession. We have experienced first-hand over the years, his dedication to this part of the job. His suggestions and questions, are always thoughtful, courteous, sometimes blunt and always expressed as a way of improving our products, and helping SID's solve problems. As technology in this field continues to advance, so do his questions for us, his willingness to try new things, his understanding of what is required to meet demands of the profession," Pellman stated.
"It has been clear to me personally, throughout the years, that he is a great representative of this profession. I have always counted on him for honesty and professionalism as we work to solve problems together. It has been an honor to reflect on this work with Steve. He is a most deserving recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Marovich’s time at Carthage has seen numerous changes and evolutions as he was instrumental and behind the scenes as he helped design and launch Carthage’s first athletic web site in 1997. He oversaw one major re-design, along with two Sidearm rollouts, one in 2009 and the other in 2014. He has served at the host SID for several NCAA women’s volleyball regionals, baseball regionals, basketball sectionals, a Molten Men’s Volleyball Championship and a national women’s water polo championship. He has also volunteered his time and talents as a volunteer at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship and the Michigan High School Athletic Association baseball/softball championship.