College Sports Information Directors of America

This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2016 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories leading up to - and during - CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week, please click HERE.

OUR STORIES

Wade Steinlage
William Penn University Sports Information Director
CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Committee chair

by Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Relations
CoSIDA Week Committee member

Steinlage has parlayed his love of journalism into an athletic communications career. He is in his 13th year as SID at NAIA William Penn University, located in rural Oskaloosa, Iowa. In 2001, Steinlage was introduced to the SID field while serving as a student worker at Central College for Larry Happl, a 2010 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee. Prior to that experience, Steinlage was a sports writer for the Oskaloosa Herald and Pella Chronicle newspapers and also interned for the West Ealing Newspaper Group in London on a semester abroad.

He has been a long-time member of the CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Committee, and has served as chair of the committee for several years, coordinating the annual popular writing contest which has attracted as many as 500 entries annually.

What originally sparked your interest in working in collegiate athletics? At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to work in athletic communications?  
Steinlage: As a kid I always loved sports, but the dream is to be the player, not the writer, right? When I first enrolled at Central College in the fall of 1999, I was planning to major in athletic training. I quickly learned, however, that I was horrible at science and within a semester I switched my major to communications. I started to work in the SID office as a sophomore under SID legend Larry Happel. Just getting to be part of everything we did in that office was cool. I signed up for a practicum under Larry my senior year and was offered more and more responsibility and I just fell in love with it all.
 
As graduation neared, I had sent out what had to have been over a hundred applications. Fortunately, Angelo State University and another great mentor, ML Stark Hinkle, took a chance on me for an internship in 2003-2004. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about myself and the profession. In 2004, I landed back in Iowa at William Penn University for my first and only full-time gig and the rest is history.
 
You came to athletic communications world from what seems to be one of your strong interests - journalism. You wrote sports for local papers as an undergraduate. You also had a internship in London, England, for the West Ealing Newspaper Group - how did that come about?
Steinlage: Central has a really impressive study abroad program and I spent the fall of 2001 in London. I had the option of taking several classes or doing an internship and chose the internship. I was fortunate to work at the newspaper and did everything from writing short news releases to frequently traveling with a photo-journalist and actually interview people on the streets about current events. My most memorable experience was going to a presser in a night club for jazz/cabaret singer Salena Jones where we ate duck and she actually sang! For a 20-year-old from very small-town Iowa, I thought the whole experience was really cool.
 
For several years, you’ve served as chair of CoSIDA’s extremely popular Fred Stabley Writing Contest which draws over 300 entries per year.  What goes into your role as chair of that committee and contest?
Steinlage: I volunteered for a couple years as a district coordinator under then-chair Dennis Switzer. When he decided to step away, I figured I was young and energetic enough to add something else to my plate. I am old and tired now (two kids will do that to you!), but I have been incredibly fortunate to have some very dedicated individuals to work with to make my position so much easier. The judges and the district coordinators get to read all the stories – and they are the real heroes here! I make sure everyone stays on deadline through the district judging process and then I take over for the national judging.
 
We have implemented some big Stabley Writing Contest changes that have strengthened the contest in both

quantity and quality. First, we had over 500 entries in 2013 under the new format. Quality-wise, we only accept one entry per category per person. I could not be more proud of how the contest has grown.  
 
What advice would you give CoSIDA members who are interested in submitting entries?  
Steinlage: I would tell anyone to not hesitate to submit. This is one of those special contests where it does not matter what size institution you work for - you can compete. We have had not only district winners, but national winners from every division. Nobody has the time in January to look through their writing from the entire past year, so if you think something you just wrote is memorable, make some kind of a note to yourself to remember to submit that story right after the new year. 
 
Many of our young athletic communications professional don't have a background in writing but are now responsible for contributing to websites and blogs as part of “being your own media.” Can you offer them some guidance on how to tackle writing projects and gain confidence?
Steinlage: As a one-man shop (I have had a few graduate assistants over the years), I wish I had more time to dedicate to writing.  Unfortunately for me and so many of my fellow colleagues at small schools, this is almost a hypothetical question.
 
Writing is a lost art unfortunately, but one that CAN be mastered with time, patience, and hard work.  The same as any learned skill. There are tremendous writers everywhere, so look around to find inspiration.  Start small; do not attempt to write the next great novel when 500 words will suffice. Another critical aspect is finding a great story. Even the best story-tellers will struggle if the subject matter is not interesting. 
 
There are great stories on every campus. Track them down, get lots of quotes, do not get bogged down trying to find the perfect word, and try to have fun with it.

You are responsible for all communications and digital/video work for 19 sports, including a weekly video series, and you serve as a play-by-play personality for numerous sports – with just the help of a graduate assistant. How do you manage all these diverse responsibilities?
Steinlage: The beauty of being at a small school is I get to dabble in so many areas, but in the same respect, I do not get too thorough, which I actually appreciate. The variety in my job keeps things fresh and makes it fun to come into the office every day. I am definitely a jack of all trades and by no means a master of any of them. I had the ‘opportunity’ this summer to undertake projects for our gym sound system and new IP camera webstreaming, so I learned some basic skills for wiring up speakers as well as some IT info. It is totally true that you learn something new every day.  
 
You were recognized by your peers as the 2014-2015 Midwest Collegiate Conference SID of the Year. What did that recognition mean to you and to your department?
Steinlage: I had been the conference’s SID for a couple years at that point and I think my peers felt bad for me so they threw me a bone! Seriously, though, it is always a great feeling to be recognized for a job well done. Most, if not all of us, entered this profession to be behind the scenes, but we still appreciate getting noticed. My athletics director Greg Hafner gave me a pat on the back – no big bonus or anything, but seriously, he made a big deal of it, which meant a lot to me.
 
In addition to your regular SID duties, you are the school's NAIA Champions of Character Liaison, serves on your Athletics Hall of Fame Committee and represent  athletics  on the Staff Council. How do you balance all these responsibilities? 
Steinlage: Again, at small schools we have opportunities to serve in as many ways as we want. I love William Penn and sometimes this comes as a shock to people, but I have no intention of leaving. Call me a creature of habit or that I am scared of change; both are probably true but loyalty is important to me and I want to help WPU in any way

possible. None of these committees/roles really take up much time and they are another break from the daily work, so I enjoy being part of them.
 
What are your outside interests/hobbies, and how do you find time for them?
Steinlage: I started dating my wife Jodi two years into my career here at William Penn. She loves sports and is a WPU alum, so she has never minded spending a lot of nights and weekends at Statesmen events. We now have two children, Whitney (6) and Wyatt (4), and they like being in the gym or out at the field. I have become quite a homebody during the school year, but I have three of the coolest roommates anyone could ask for!
 
When holidays or summer hits, though, we are normally off somewhere. My wife has yanked me out of my comfort zone numerous times and I thank her all the time for that. It may sound corny, but my family is truly my hobby and interest.
 
I really would not mind getting into wood-working or something like that, but I know my skill and luck, so I think at this point I am going to choose keeping all of my fingers! 
 
As an athletics communicator, how do you measure success in your job? What is the most gratifying part of your position?
Steinlage: In this profession, we are not able to measure success in wins and losses, so this is a tough question. William Penn is a small, rural school, so getting regional, let alone national, attention is really not a realistic goal. I try to make sure our fans know as much about our programs as possible in as many ways as possible. There have been plenty of ‘wins’ as well. Covering so many out-of-state and international student-athletes as we have, it feels great to know that their family and friends can still keep up with them from so far away. Opening my email to find a positive note from a parent, thanking me for the coverage of their son or daughter, is a major win.  
 
As a final note, I would like to thank CoSIDA for the opportunity to be showcased in this manner. I am extremely humbled and want to thank everyone who I have ever worked with for their help along the way. This entire CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week is for ALL of us. Never forget how important you are to your school and your athletic department.