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
Megan Hardin
Sports Information Director, Southwestern University
CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee member

by Chevonne Mansfield, American Athletic Conference Director of Communications/CoSIDA Week Committee member
 

---

Note: Hardin is one of four presenters this Thursday, Nov. 10 during the monthly continuing education webinar, presented by Capital One. In the webinar, Hardin will discuss the Goodwill and Wellness Committee’s membership volunteer recognition program – the Volunteer 15 program. See more on the Nov. 10th webinar and register (free) at this link.

---

Megan Hardin took the non-traditional path to athletics communications but the mother of two has made the

most of her years in the industry.

Hardin was an assistant basketball coach at Howard Payne University for five years, 2001-06, before joining the career services department at Southwestern University. Megan graduated from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa (class of 2001) where she found success as a basketball student-athlete. Her basketball squad earned three IIAC conference championships and made two trips to the NCAA national tournament.

Working in college athletics was not originally on her radar, but Hardin’s interest in the field was piqued while she completed her master’s degree through the distance education program at Indiana State. Hardin worked on her practicum, volunteered in the Southwestern Pirates athletics communications office - and the rest is history.

She joined the Southwestern athletics department full-time in 2009 and marked her seven-year anniversary in June.

Hardin attributes her CoSIDA involvement to Dave Reed, Associate Director of Athletics Communications at Colorado College. Reed introduced Hardin to industry peers years ago when she first joined the field and mentioned a new committee to her, the CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee, which was seeking volunteers.

Not only is Hardin one of the most active members of the Goodwill and Wellness committe, she also serves CoSIDA and the membership as a member of the Division III convention planning committee.

Her involvement with the Goodwill & Wellness Committee has increased over the years and she was recently elected vice chair for the 2016-17 campaign. Thanks to Hardin's leadership, the Goodwill & Wellness Committee recently secured a $3,000 sponsorship package to assist with the annual 5k which takes place during the annual June convention.

In her role on the Pirates' athletic staff, Hardin serves 20 teams at Southwestern with just one full-time assistant and student help on game days. With a husband, a six-year-old and a three-year-old at home, one may wonder how she manages to get everything done. 

“We are family friendly here at Southwestern, and you can’t replace that flexibility,” Hardin said when asked about work-life integration. “Dr. (Glada) Munt, Athletics Director at Southwestern, allowed me to bring my daughter to the office when our preschool closed down.”

Hardin hit the ground running while at Southwestern. During her time there, she has guided the athletic department through a new website platform and multiple website redesigns and lent her expertise as the school came up with new branding and logos for the Pirates. During her tenure, four new sports have been added, including the reinstatement of football in 2012 after a 63-year hiatus.

With support like that, it is easy to see why Hardin has excelled inside and outside of the office and why Southwestern has been Hardin’s home for seven years and counting.

The multi-faceted Hardin is one of the many professionals we are highlighting during the inaugural CoSIDA Recognition Week. For more information on the initiative, please visit our feature story page HERE.