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Chris Masters (Big Ten Conference), CoSIDA Achievement Award — University Division
by Doug Vance, CoSIDA Executive Director
Chris Masters with wife Laura.
Take it from someone who has spent all 19 years of his career with “assistant” or “associate” in his job title, there is little difference when it comes to measuring the value of anyone employed to handle the workload in a sports information office.
“The assistant is a vital part of the puzzle and in my mind we are all equally important in making things work on a daily basis,” says
Chris Masters. “Our role is the same when it comes to working on behalf of student-athletes, coaches and our schools. We are all a part of the same staff, the same team.”
Masters has paid his dues in the profession, carving out a highly-successful career at Western Kentucky, Notre Dame and the Big Ten Conference. He will be honored during the 2017 convention with the presentation of the CoSIDA Achievement Award (University Division). The award is given to a member who has served the profession for 10 or more years while working as an assistant and has “brought dignity and prestige to the profession.”
“The memories I’ve experienced being a part of this profession are overflowing,” says Masters, who joined the Big Ten Conference staff as associate director of communications last fall after 15 years as a member of the athletic media relations staff at Notre Dame.
Clearly, Masters achievements and his contributions to the profession certify him as a deserving recipient of this meaningful award.
“Chris did an outstanding job in his role at Notre Dame and we are now thrilled to have him as part of our team with the Big Ten,” noted Jason Yellin, Big Ten Assistant Commissioner/Communications. “We have a special connection as we started at the Big Ten on the same day last July and I have enjoyed getting to know him better after being aware of his work at Notre Dame. Chris is very thorough, diligent and organized in his coverage from a communications standpoint. He is passionate about his work and its shows through daily.”
As the primary contact at Notre Dame for women’s soccer and women’s basketball he successfully promoted 20 student-athletes for a total of 30 All-America honors and earned 23 national or regional citations of excellence for his publications from CoSIDA.
He had the good fortune to be the primary media relations contact for five Notre Dame women’s basketball teams that advanced to the Final Four, including four that played in national championship games. In addition, he was the Fighting Irish SID for the women’s soccer team when it captured the 2010 national championship.
“We were so fortunate to have Chris as part of our communications team at Notre Dame. He is incredibly passionate about college athletics and that translates into whatever he does each and every day,” noted Bernie Cafarelli, a former long-time colleague of Masters at Notre Dame who now serves as the American Athletic Conference’s associate commissioner for communications/external relations.
“He was greatly respected by the administrators, coaches and student-athletes that he closely worked at Notre Dame. What I have admired most is the detail and pride he takes in his work. Chris has been an engaged contributor to CoSIDA as a member of the Academic All-America® Committee and as a former Board member. Notre Dame’s loss has been the Big Ten’s gain.”
His career is also packed with experiences as a media coordinator and with media committee volunteer work for conference and NCAA championship events.
Masters has contributed significant leadership for CoSIDA. He’s spent 18 years as a district coordinator on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee and served a three-year term as an at-large representative on the CoSIDA Board of Directors.
His involvement with the Academic All-America® committee should be no surprise. He was introduced to sports information while serving as a student assistant at Ohio Wesleyan University where he was tutored by Mark Beckenbach, CoSIDA’s Academic All-America® Committee chair.
"Chris has been a member of the Academic All-America® committee for most of his professional career, serving as a district coordinator and more recently as a member of the publicity team,” says Beckenbach. “He's done an outstanding job with whatever we've asked him to take on, and he is well-deserving of the CoSIDA Achievement Award."
Masters credits Beckenbach and Paul Just at Western Kentucky as the primary inspirations for helping launch his sports information career.
“I’ve had many important influences during my career, but I’d have to point toward Mark and Paul Just as the ones who triggered my love of the profession and who instilled the fundamentals of the profession that got me started,” says Masters.
After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan, Masters worked two years as a student assistant and graduate assistant at Kansas State. He parlayed that experience into his first full-time job in 1988 when Just hired him to serve as the Hilltopper contact for women’s basketball and volleyball while also serving as the office publications coordinator.
“Paul took chance on me and gave me that first opportunity,” says Masters. “He’s an amazing guy and I learned so much from him. Paul taught me the importance of taking pride in everything you do and about the value of building trust and relationships.”
Just, who has a long list of former assistants or students he’s mentored into the profession, counts Masters as one his best.
"Chris was our top pick when filling our assistant's position,” recalls Just. “He was very impressive in his interview and came to us with an outstanding skill set. He had a remarkable understanding of what we do, why we do it and how to get it done that was evident from day one.”
Masters says he easily found a comfort level in making the transition from campus to conference office in his move from Notre Dame to the Big Ten Conference.
“I do miss working with the student-athletes and building those relationships,” observes Masters. “But, I enjoy the hours a little more in the conference office and like the fact I represent 14 schools and, based on my sport assignments (women’s basketball, soccer and softball), 42 teams.”
Suffice it to say, Masters continues to fill his resume with impressive achievements and it’s altogether fitting he’s singled out at this year’s convention with the 2017 CoSIDA Achievement Award.
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