College Sports Information Directors of America

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This feature is part of our series of profiles showcasing members throughout the CoSIDA membership during the celebration of CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week for 2018. See more features at CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID.


Gregor Walz - University of Puget Sound Director of Athletic Communications
by Rob Knox, Towson University Associate Media Relations Director / 2018-19 CoSIDA President

"I think consistency and creativity are the two biggest areas of focus for successfully managing and growing social media pages. The social media 'voice' should be consistent, no matter what the message is. Also, your reasons for posting to social media should be consistent. Consistency establishes expectations from your audience. Expectations lead to trust. If your audience trusts your social media, then your audience is emotionally invested."
- Gregor Walz

Whenever Gregor Walz retires from athletic communications, he could easily get a job at Triple A - as in The American Automobile Association. His recent trips over the last three years are enough to make a travel agent blush.

During that time, Walz has visited Europe, Japan, Hawai'i, Austin, Las Vegas, Nashville, Alaska, Milwaukee and San Francisco. That's two continents, one island and several states for anyone who's counting.

Yet, that journey doesn't include the major coast to coast change of life Walz made in 2014 when he moved from Boston to Tacoma (Wash.) to become Puget Sound's Director of Athletic Communications. Since graduating from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 2009, the well-traveled Walz has lived in Washington, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin over these last nine years.

"I love that my job allows me the opportunity to travel a lot in my personal life," Walz said. "I love the ebb and flow of working in college athletics - no two weeks are the same. Working specifically in athletic communications, for me, is a great creative outlet."

While Walz, who is currently in the middle of reading "The Orphan Master's Son," loves reading, traveling, hiking and taking his dog to the numerous local parks in scenic Tacoma, the 2018 Northwest Conference Sports Information Director of the Year has also made a significant impact at Puget Sound.

A member of both the CoSIDA Academic All-America committee and CoSIDA's New Media committee, Walz revamped the Loggers' social media efforts and oversaw the redesign of www.loggerathletics.com. He also created the Loggers' YouTube channel - Logger Sports Network (LSN) which features video highlights and student-athlete interviews from nearly every sporting event on campus. Recently, he contributed to a CoSIDA New Media committee feature piece "Building a Brand Identity From Scratch."

Under Walz's guidance, the Loggers' Twitter page was the second NCAA Division III Twitter account on the West Coast to reach 3,000 followers. The Loggers' Twitter page also was among the first 10 NCAA D3 Twitter accounts in the country to receive a Twitter verification check mark.

"I think consistency and creativity are the two biggest areas of focus for successfully managing and growing social media pages," Walz said. "The social media 'voice' should be consistent, no matter what the message is. Also, your reasons for posting to social media should be consistent. Consistency establishes expectations from your audience. Expectations lead to trust. If your audience trusts your social media, then your audience is emotionally invested. The creativity angle is seemingly infinite. Challenge yourself, and don't get complacent."

Interacting with his student-athletes is the most meaningful aspect of his role that fills him with pride.

"In many ways, I think SIDs should act as if they are a coach when it comes to working with student-athletes," Walz said. "Whether it's shooting a group video, or taking promotional photos, I've learned that if I'm loud, clear, and direct with my instructions, then the student-athletes receive direction well. One-on-one interaction varies, and relationships take time to evolve. But student-athletes aren't that different from anyone else - they have a story to tell and they usually want to share it.

"You don't have to be an SID when you ask a student-athlete about their injury rehab, or their study abroad experience, or their homework. Absorb their story person-to-person. Share a story of your own. Some student-athletes I get to know well enough where we can take jabs about the other's favorite NFL/MLB/NBA team."

Walz was mentored by Marty Dobrow (Springfield College), Mitch Capelle (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), Mark Majewski (Northeastern) and Asha Michener (Northeastern). They provided the foundation and guidance, which helped Walz's creativity, passion for lifelong learning and sharing student-athlete stories.

"I love that our administration and coaches not only trust me to celebrate and represent our student-athletes well, but they are all helpful when I come up with an idea that requires collaboration," Walz said. It's fun to challenge myself by thinking of new and different ways to represent the Loggers."