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Jeff Hodges (University of North Alabama), Arch Ward Award
by Shelly Poe, Auburn University Assistant Director of Athletics/Communications
Jeff Hodges, pictured with his wife Karen and son Dillon, was inducted
into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1997.
SID at the University of North Alabama for 34 years. Host for 54 NCAA Division II playoff games, including 28 national championship contests. CoSIDA secretary for the past 15 years. Chair of the Harlon Hill Trophy committee for 31 seasons. Nine years on the College Football Hall of Fame Honors Court. College Baseball Hall of Fame selection committee. Host for the 2011 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship and 11 other NCAA regional events in basketball, baseball, volleyball, golf and softball. Press officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee in Lillehammer, Norway; Atlanta; and Salt Lake City, as well as several U.S. Olympic Festivals.
North Alabama’s
Jeff Hodges is a man for all seasons, and an extremely deserving winner of this year’s CoSIDA Arch Ward Award for outstanding service and commitment to the athletics communications profession.
Juggling so many important responsibilities within college athletics, the Decatur, Ala., native, who is a 1982 UNA graduate and former student-athlete who played on UNA’s Gulf South Conference champion tennis team, has promoted six national championship teams, hundreds of all-conference and All-American student-athletes, two Harlon Hill Trophy winners, and 10 UNA student-athletes who earned both All-American and Academic-All-America® recognition.
It’s easy to see what makes Hodges so effective at his craft.
“He pays very close attention to details. He tries to stay on top of everything and is very seasoned,” retired CoSIDA treasurer Dave Wohlhueter says. “His continuity with the board over so many years is valuable and keeps things going. He has the knowledge of what’s going on and how to get things done.”
“What makes Jeff a good SID is what makes him a good person,” retired USOC chief of media services Bob Condron says. “He cares about what he does and the people he comes in contact with each day. Everyone is a special person to Jeff. He always has a smile, can laugh at himself and others and is deeply loyal. He is a consummate teammate.”
And CoSIDA has taken full advantage of his expertise, naming him to its Board of Directors in 1992 and selecting him as secretary of the organization in 2002, a position he still holds today.
“He’s fully committed to his school and doing things the right way,” says CoSIDA executive director Doug Vance, who first served with Hodges on the CoSIDA Board in 1992. “He’s been one of the best in the business for a long time.”
“I first met Jeff back in the mid-80s and right from the beginning, I was impressed with how thorough and prompt he was,” recalls Fred Nuesch, CoSIDA’s secretary from 1978-2002 before Hodges assumed that post. “He was extremely efficient and a hard worker, yet at the same time, he stayed even-keeled. He’s willing to do anything for CoSIDA that needs to be done.”
“Jeff has served as the backbone of CoSIDA, often giving the board and staff clear guidance on difficult questions,” Vance adds. “He’s been the official CoSIDA photographer for years, and when I asked him who would take his photo, he suggested ‘just do a selfie!’ Like a lot of SIDs, Jeff’s more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. I’m excited that we now finally get a few pictures of him in the spotlight — it’s about time!”
His personal list of accomplishments is an honor roll in itself: CoSIDA Hall of Fame, 1997 Warren Berg Award to CoSIDA’s top college division member; CoSIDA 25-year award; 2016 President’s Award; UNA 1994 Faculty/Staff Alumni Service Award; UNA 2001 Alumnus of the Year.
But his most fervent pride is saved for his “home team,” wife Karen, UNA’s Associate Director of Creative Services who has done graphic work for CoSIDA as well, and grown children Dillon, Shanna and Melanie, all alums of UNA and CoSIDA.
“UNA athletics is part of our family. Our kids have grown up going to games and learning a good work ethic from their dad,” Karen says. “They started very young helping with baseball games by helping keep the scoreboard. Our oldest daughter, Shanna, is a student worker in the UNA ticket office, and our youngest daughter, Melanie, is chief photographer for our University’s student-run newspaper; she says years of going to sporting events helped her become a great sports photographer. Jeff views his job as 24/7, but flexible, because he always finds a way to make time for his family.”
People. Family. Relationships. Those are the MVPs of Hodges’ remarkable career, built upon the rock-solid values of character and professionalism.
“In a time when so many are looking out for themselves, Jeff is still looking out for his student-athletes, athletic administration and University,” Karen Hodges says. “If I had to name one thing that makes me puff up with pride, it would be Jeff’s character. He stands for what is right and never wavers!
“UNA is more than a job to Jeff; it is his calling. And if this award brings prestige to UNA as well … how fitting for a public relations legend.”
At the peak of a legendary career, Hodges’ efforts in helping others have made many memories.
“I remember one night a group of SIDs were making our way back to Lillehammer at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, where we were press officers for the USA Olympic Team,” Condron recalls. “We were all in a van we used to come and go to the Main Press Center, down a bumpy road to our housing at Hafjeltoppen, adjacent to the ski competition in this beautiful country.
“We were about halfway to our destination when something swept over the mountain just across the valley. It was like a mile-long piece of silk material, waving over the forest. The stars were brilliant, the sky pristine in the 20-below-zero night. We pulled over … guys from Alabama, Florida, Texas, Colorado and other places. We had never seen anything remotely resembling what was before our eyes: a brilliant display of the Northern Lights, billowing over the horizon with a soft light that transfixed us for about five minutes. It was stunning, unreal as we stared and said not a word. It was our ‘Olympic moment’ and none of us will ever forget.”
Making those moments happen for others has been Hodges’ calling, and now the lights shine on him as the 2017 Arch Ward Award recipient.
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