• 2016 CoSIDA Special Awards general announcement/release
• Special Awards feature story schedule
by Sheila Stevenson, Rowan University/CoSIDA Special Awards Committee member
At Division III, a sports information director can expect to handle a variety of responsibilities. For Scott Ames, long-time SID at Western Connecticut State University, that role now includes serving as Interim Director of Athletics.
Ames took over in February after the retirement of Ed Farrington who had been the director of athletics for 29 years. Prior to that, Ames served as associate director of athletics for communications and compliance since October of 2007. He started at Western Connecticut as the sports information specialist in August of 1989.
In June, Ames will receive his overdue 25-year award from CoSIDA.
Ames remains virtually in the same capacity since he came to Danbury, Connecticut. He handles the university’s
Ames family (bottom photo): Max, Mallory & Ryan; wife Christine, Scott & Shaylen
compliance issues and student-athlete eligibility, the scheduling of athletic events, and assists with home-game management. Ames continues to develop and oversee the areas relating to media relations associated with athletics, including directing the day-to-day activities of the university’s athletic media operations, the writing of press releases and feature articles, coordinating interviews and announcements on university athletic programs as well as designing and updating the university’s athletic web pages.
“Where else can you get paid well to keep score?,” remarked Ames. “Every three months my job changes, but I wouldn't change a thing. I have loved going into work every day, if you want to call it work. I get to watch gifted athletes play the game they love and then write about their accomplishments ... work?
“I have met a tremendous number of great people in this profession with the same goal,” Ames continued. “We all work in conjunction to get recognition for our student-athletes, coaches and universities.”
Ames will continue to oversee the compilation, maintenance, and reporting of statistics on all intercollegiate athletic teams, in accordance with the NCAA, Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Little East Conference standards. He supervises two university assistants and student workers within the athletic communications office, develops and coordinates all promotional advertising activities associated with athletics, and coordinates the annual athletic awards banquet.
“In Division III (one-man shops), we rely on our fellow SIDs a lot, especially at the conference level, and there is no one more reliable than Scott,” said Plymouth State University’s Kent Cherrington. “He always provides everything you need, top-notch quality in a timely fashion. He has been a pleasure to work with for more than 20 years, and a great family guy on top of that.
"The fact that he’s been asked to serve as interim athletic director at Western Connecticut, following the retirement of the full-time director, speaks volumes of the respect Scott receives and deserves," Cherrington finished. "He has been a tremendous credit to our profession, our conference and to his institution.”
Ames came to WCSU following two years at the University of Bridgeport as the school’s SID from 1987-89. Prior to his appointment at Bridgeport, he briefly served as the first assistant sports information director for the now-retired Rick Leddy at Southern Connecticut State University in the summer of 1987. He was a student-assistant for Leddy for four years while earning a corporate video communications degree in 1986.
"A year out of high school in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Scott came to Southern Connecticut State University on the recommendation of a long-time friend of our athletic director Ray DeFrancesco,” said Leddy, who will be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame this June as another Special Awards recipient along with Ames. “Like most freshman students, Scott wasn't sure what he wanted to pursue academically, but knew he liked sports and writing. Thankfully, Ray immediately pointed him in my direction.”
“Scott was one of only three student assistants I had work with me for all four undergraduate years in my 36 years at Southern,” continued Leddy. “Working with him was not only like having another full-time professional staff member, but also a good friend. Scott was a quick study on everything that needed to be done and was always willing and ready to accept additional responsibility while assisting with every aspect of the sports information office. That also included looking out for my three young children when they came to work with me.
“With an easy-going and pleasant demeanor, Scott fit in right away and earned the trust and respect of our athletic administration, coaches, athletes and local media. Following graduation, Scott accepted a position as the first sports information assistant at Southern. It came as no surprise that his work also had been noticed by other members of our conference. After just a few weeks, he moved on to the University of Bridgeport as director of sports information," Leddy concluded.
After graduation from SCSU, Ames was named the first information director for the Colonial League, a football-only conference that developed into the current multi-sport Patriot League. His duties for the Colonial League took place under the guidance of legendary SID Bob Cornell at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.
He then moved on to Brown University, securing his second internship in the Bears' SID office under Jean Elliott, covering winter and spring programs while serving as media relations contact for the men’s lacrosse program and legendary coach Dom Starza.
Ames resides in Newtown, Connecticut and has been married to Christine Ames since 1990. They have four children – Ryan 24, Mallory 21, Max 16 and Shaylen 13.
“There are many favorite memories in my life, but meeting Rick Leddy on my second day of college at Southern in 1982 turned out to be one that changed my career path and launched me into this fascinating field,” said Ames. “I owe everything to him.”