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This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2017 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories, please click HERE.
 

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Hope Shuler: Western Athletic Conference
Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations
 
by Tim Hanson, Rogers State University Sports Information Director/
CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week Committee member

Hope Shuler is in her 10^th year at the WAC. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the media relations department and is the primary contact for volleyball, men's basketball and softball. Her career started in the former America Women’s Basketball pro league, then to Division III Elmhurst College where she was the SID, and has taken her to the University of Utah, the University of Arizona and then to The Summit League before her current position.
 
Looking back on your career, what sparked your interest in athletics communication? It appears that your father played a big role in laying the foundation for your career path!
 
The entire reason I work in this industry is because I’m a daddy’s girl and he loved the Denver Broncos so I, of course, wanted to follow suit. His rule was that if I wanted to watch games with him I had to know the rules of the game. So at seven, I took a written test on the rules of the game! When I passed the test, I then had to learn about the team if I was going to be a true fan. So for the next 10 years that I lived at home, he tested me on the roster. Thus began my obsession with the Broncos.
 
My Dad was also the editor of a magazine, so I knew I wanted to get a degree in journalism. I actually chose the school I went to, University of Nebraska at Kearney, because it was small and had student-run radio and TV stations as well as a student newspaper. I wanted to get experience doing all three, which I did. I initially had journalism as a major and sports administration as a minor, but when I found out the difference between a sports administration major and minor was only an internship, I decided to double major. The summer before my senior year in college I interned with the Colorado Xplosion, a women’s professional basketball team in the American Basketball League. It was a grassroots organization and I got amazing experience there in a bunch of different areas. They held a position for me from January until May when I graduated as the director of community relations so it was my first full-time job. I also served as the assistant media relations director.
 
When the league went bankrupt eight months later, I took a job at the University of Denver in admissions. I hated the job but it came with a tuition waiver, so I started grad school. I also worked part-time waiting tables just to make ends meet. I did this for eight months but was burning the candle at both ends and decided that if someone would hire me without my master’s degree, I would take the job. Elmhurst College did, and that’s how my career in collegiate athletics began.
 

Who were some of your early influences in the profession? How have they helped shape your career?
 
I started at Elmhurst two weeks before fall sports began and had zero experience with Stat Crew. Here I was, at the ripe old age of 23, running the show in sports info! I was also the first female in SID in the league at the time, which came with its own set of challenges. My first week on the job I got a call from Dave Wrath, the legend at Augustana College, who was also the conference SID at the time. He welcomed me and told me that he would always make himself available if I had questions or needed an ear. I don’t think he realized how often I would take him up on the offer!
I knew a lot about sports, especially football, but I don’t think anything really prepares you for your first experiences, especially considering I had never worked in a college sports information office. Thankfully, our first two football games were on the road, so I traveled to both of them and observed the stat crew to get a feel for what I would have to do at my first home game. I’ll never forget the game my first year when Augustana came to play us in football.  The stat computer froze in the middle of the game and it was the first time this had happened to me. Dave told me later that, while he heard words out of my mouth he never expected to hear, he was amazed at how I handled the situation considering I’d only been doing this for a little over a month at the time. In all honesty, the people I worked with in my time at Elmhurst are still some of my favorites in the industry because of the fact that there are zero egos and everyone is so willing to pitch in and help in any way possible.
 
After spending two years at Elmhurst, I felt I was just keeping afloat. So I decided to start applying at Division I schools where I knew I would only have one sport to focus on at a time. I also knew I couldn’t be picky about where the school was or what the sports I would be doing were. I applied all over the place and got a couple phone interviews and was then invited for an in-person interview at the University of Utah. You want to talk about intimidating? Try having to take a timed test during an interview!!
 
It was actually a precursor to what I experienced after I got hired. Which brings me to another huge influence early on in my career - Liz Abel, my supervisor at Utah. Liz, who currently is Utah’s senior associate athletics director for communications, made me a much better SID, plain and simple. While I got my bearings at Elmhurst and got experience in a bunch of different sports, I honed my skills at Utah and it was 100 percent due to Liz’s guidance. She taught me the ins and outs of truly serving the media. She also believed in me and gave me confidence in my abilities.
 
You've had a variety of jobs – working at the NCAA Division III level along your stops at NCAA Division I universities before switching to the conference side. How have all those experiences contributed to your athletic communications career and what did you learn from all your steps along the way?
 
I would never trade my experience of starting at a Division III school because it was a baptism by fire of sorts. I learned so much in those two years about so many different sports and worked my tail off. I covered everything by myself, so I literally had to schedule every minute of every day. It has definitely impacted how I hire people, because I will always hire someone with DIII or DII experience knowing they have a very strong work ethic.
 
Going from that to a Division I school where I traveled extensively with the teams I worked with was a significant change. I absolutely loved those experiences, both at Utah and Arizona, but it taught me that I value work/life balance far too much to stay in that type of position. Being on the road every other week (give or take) from the end of August until May just wasn’t for me. I knew I wanted to have children and I knew I didn’t want to be a mom from afar. So I decided that working at a conference office would be a happy medium. I could still work in college sports media but wouldn’t have to travel as often. After a failed marriage, I became even more convinced that I needed to get this work/life balance thing figured out.
 
And I’ll say that since coming to the conference side of things, there is absolutely no way I could go back to working at a school. While I’m tracking multiple schools, I’m doing it from my home instead of a gym or field. My travel is to championships and certain meetings. However, at the conference level you do much more than media relations, particularly at championships. You serve the membership at every possible opportunity. I also view my job as a chance to influence and mentor SIDs. I’ve also added additional responsibilities as a sport supervisor, which I really enjoy.
 
 
What have been some of your most meaningful accomplishments during your career?
 
People saying I’ve helped them along the way, whether it was student-athletes when I worked at schools, SIDs from around The Summit League or WAC or coworkers throughout my career, will always be my biggest accomplishment. I try to keep things fun and make people laugh and smile as often as possible. Life is too short to take ourselves too seriously. And let’s face it, what we do isn’t rocket science!
 
Successfully navigating the unexpected death of Shawntinice Polk, a beloved basketball student-athlete at Arizona, is the most difficult thing I’ve endured professionally. My own sister died when I was 16, so I knew firsthand what it felt like to lose someone so young - yet I was able to grieve in peace, without any media spotlight. The media circus that ensued when Polkey died was so difficult because not only was I affected by it personally, but it was such a balancing act to get the media what they wanted while also protecting these 18-23 year-olds, many of whom were experiencing grief for the first time in their lives.
 
By proactively safeguarding and educating the student-athletes about media interactions, I was able to develop consistent guidelines, contact protocols and strategic statements and I truly believe I served the grieving student-athletes, the media and everyone else involved very well. Obviously no one wants to experience something like that, but I am proud of the way I handled it.
 

What's been the most enjoyable part of your time in your time at the WAC?
 
The friendships and relationships I’ve built. There have been more than 25 schools in the WAC during my time here, and I think I could name just about every SID and coach I’ve worked with during that time. While you obviously don’t “click” with everyone, I believe I’ve left my mark and hopefully left people smiling.
 
What advice would you give to someone wanting to enter the business?
 
Volunteer any chance you can, even if it’s awkward to reach out to a stranger and offer your services. Once there, help however you can, because you’re only going to advance by paying your dues. And most important, don’t complain!!
 
What is the most gratifying part of your positon?
 
Helping others and seeing them either succeed in their current positions or move on to something that brings them true happiness.
 
What are your outside interest/hobbies, and how do you find time for them?
 
My family is the most important thing in my life and I will ALWAYS put them first. This is something I refuse to budge on. One of my guiding principles when making decisions about whether or not I need to be at a work function versus a family function is whether the people at work will remember in a year that I wasn’t there and whether or not my family will. It often makes your decisions crystal clear.
 
Unlike some people, I work to live, I don’t live to work. My husband Scott and I visit National Parks each year for our anniversary, and we have set a goal of making it to all of them. As a family we also camp quite a bit in the summers. We also spend lots of time with our seven-year-old daughter Everly’s activities which currently include soccer, gymnastics and acting. I’m also involved in the PTA at Everly’s school.