For the upcoming 2015-16 academic year, CoSIDA will unveil two new membership benefits to strengthen engagement and brand messaging: a membership online community "CoSIDAConnect", powered by Higher Logic, and a new quarterly magazine entitled "CoSIDA360" which will be produced in both digital and print formats.
CoSIDA members and external stakeholders will find that the branding and messaging revolves around circles of support and engagement and interactions between our members and between our members and external stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics.
Using
Higher Logic online community platform software, CoSIDAConnect will be a member-only community and forum to share, recommend, network and troubleshoot issues on a myriad of topics related to communications and our profession. The CoSIDA Board of Directors, CoSIDA committees, divisional leadership groups and special groups such as FAME, BCSIDA and those in CoSIDA's mentorship program will have an opportunity to develop their own online forums and discussions - open to all members, or closed to the group participants only - within the "CoSIDAConnect " framework. Additionally, all members will have access to a resource library of articles, how-to's and discussions on numerous topics effecting SIDs. The CoSIDAConnect communities will be integrated into, and accessible from,
CoSIDA.com.
The first issue of our new CoSIDA360 magazine will be available in February 2016. A copy will be mailed to every current CoSIDA member and to all athletic directors and conference commissioners. The quarterly publication also will be available in a digital format.
“Both of these new resources will be effective tools in helping CoSIDA better serve the membership in terms of communication, education and advocacy," stated CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance. "The online community approach and quarterly magazine will offer a multitude of networking opportunities for everyone to grow and learn as professionals who manage strategic communications in intercollegiate athletics.”
The CoSIDAConnect online comunity is scheduled for a rollout at the end of the fall semester. Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of External Affairs, serves as project manager with assistance from Director of Membership Engagement Laurie Bollig.
The CoSIDA360 magazine project will have the full CoSIDA staff (Vance, Kowal, Bollig and Director of Internal Operations/Treasurer Will Roleson) serving as the editorial and management staff along with CoSIDA board officer Jeff Hodges, North Alabama Assistant AD for Communications. Hodges is CoSIDA's long-time secretary and editor of the monthly E-Digest, which has been phased out and replaced by CoSIDA360.
“As an association of communicators, we are excited about two new ventures that we are undertaking this year to better serve the membership. The first platform will be our new online community (CoSIDAconnect)," noted Judy Willson, Mountain West Conference associate director of communications and 2015-16 CoSIDA president.
"This will be a place where we can share ideas and concerns related to our profession and the organization. You will start seeing a rollout of our online community in the late fall. The second project is CoSIDA360, a new quarterly magazine that will be full of features on our members. Look for your first edition in February.”