College Sports Information Directors of America

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David Alexander (The College of Saint Rose), 25-Year Award
by Ann King, The Sage Colleges Director of Athletic Communications/CoSIDA Special Awards committee member
 

David Alexander is in his 25th year at The College of Saint Rose. He currently holds the title of Assistant Athletics Director for Communications and is a member of the department’s senior management team. The college honored him with a 2007 Service Excellence Award.

“David, known as (DA) to many, was the first person to give me a shot in this business,” noted Pat McWalters, assistant AD for communications at Iona College. “He allowed me to assist at basketball games during my undergraduate years at Saint Rose, helped me land a graduate assistant position at LIU Post, and then hired me as his assistant for my first full-time job. DA encouraged me to take on a director position at Adelphi. He has continued to support me at Iona.”

Alexander is so much more than just the assistant AD for communications at Saint Rose. He is a role model for the SIDs in the Northeast-10, Division II and in the Capital District. He also serves as the Saint Rose representative for the Northeast-10 Conference Committee on Sports Administration.

He has acted as the East Region Coordinator for the D2CCA Men’s Basketball All-America Team for the past 16 years and also served as the men's basketball and baseball publicist for the East Coast Conference, formerly the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference, from 1993-00.

Alexander has worked as the media relations coordinator for five NCAA Division II regional basketball championships and for nine regional women’s soccer championships; the 1997 Northeast Regional Baseball Championship; and the 1995 East Regional Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships that were hosted by Saint Rose.

McWalters added, “He is a pioneer in my eyes in this business, always adapting and looking to learn and has served a great role model for myself and many others. Whether it’s just to chat, ask for advice or get an opinion, I know can reach out to DA for anything. This 25-year award is a testament to his dedication to CoSIDA, the NCAA, Saint Rose and all student-athletes that he has covered throughout the years. I’m sure all of them, along with every co-worker and colleague, join me in congratulating DA and wish him continued success!”

“Few work as hard as DA,” noted Saint Rose head men’s basketball coach, Brian Beaury. “He is always working. David is the consummate professional. He pays attention to every detail and takes the word "standards" very seriously. David views the role of the SID as that of a "historian" and is sure to note how statistics or history treats those who've been here before fairly and accurately. David has no favorites in the department either. He gives the same time and attention to every coach and student-athlete.

“In summary, David had made the athletic department at Saint Rose his home and looks after its past and present as if it were his check book,” Beaury noted. “He pays such careful attention to every detail he is certain to ‘get it right’."

Alexander has promoted numerous championship accomplishments for the Golden Knights, while effortlessly providing outstanding coverage for all of his teams, both on and off the playing fields and courts in a market filled with countless sports teams. Through his efforts, the Golden Knights have produced 20 student-athletes that have achieved CoSIDA Academic All-America® accolades, marking another testament to his passion to make a difference for his teams.

“I don’t know where to begin. But, 11 years ago I was lucky enough to be hired by David as his assistant at The College of Saint Rose,” added Josh Jennings, director of business development at Tech Valley Office Interiors and a former assistant at Saint Rose.

“Looking back, never would I have envisioned the journey I have had, and I owe it to David who was right there pushing me every day throughout my tenure,” Jennings added. “I had no intentions of ever working full-time on an athletics media relations staff, but I got this chance. I had no intentions of gaining a lifelong friend in the process, but I have.”

Journalism and communications has been Alexander’s focus throughout his career.

From 1995-2001, Alexander acted as the media relations director for the annual Capital Key Classic men’s and women’s basketball tournament. The tournament was the nation’s largest NCAA Division II in-season basketball festival throughout its existence.

As if he is not busy enough with his role at Saint Rose, he also does volunteer work with the New York State Special Olympics and is engaged with several professional organizations. He is an active member of the United States Basketball Writers Association, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and CoSIDA. He served as President of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors Association (ECAC-SIDA) in 2011-12 after completing a six-year term on the organization’s Executive Board. Alexander recently concluded a three-year stint as a Board of Directors member for the Capital Region Chapter of the PRSA.

Serving on the NCAA Division II Baseball East Region Advisory Committee from 2007-09, Alexander also worked as a media liaison for the NCAA Division II men’s basketball Elite Eight in Springfield, MA from 2006-11. He currently serves on the NCAA Women’s Golf East Region Advisory Committee.

A 1986 graduate of the University of Rhode Island where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Alexander worked as a sportswriter for The Westerly Sun in his native Rhode Island and for The Capital in Annapolis, Md. Prior to arriving in Albany, he completed postgraduate internships in the sports information offices at Rhode Island and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. 







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