College Sports Information Directors of America

A journey into the profession became a dream come true all because someone gave Stayson Isobe a chance.
 
The holder of a secondary education math bachelor’s degree who had a passion for sports writing once applied for a graduate assistantship on a whim and since, then has climbed the ranks in the profession, which led him to Northern Arizona University.
 
Isobe was elevated to his current role in May of 2019 and has been at NAU since August of 2013. During his time he has covered countless championships for swimming & diving, women’s volleyball and women’s tennis. His efforts have led to promotion of several CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, along with All-American for their respective sport. 
 
Below, Isobe talks about being in the profession and see how making a connection with Manny Ohonme, founder, President and CEO of Samaritan’s Feet at the 2015 CoSIDA Convention, led to one of the highlights of his professional career.

 

 
What is a professional development tip you would share with someone getting into the business?
Relationships are everything in our profession. Whether it’s relationships within our own communications offices, with the coaches and student-athletes, other staff members in different departments or the media, we cannot accomplish anything on a daily basis without people. So, I would say, work hard to establish and cultivate relationships.
 
This profession can wear people down, but the people around you will carry you through the tough times and late nights.
 
What’s the biggest career lesson that you’ve learned?
I’ve learned to seek happiness. I’ve had opportunities to leave NAU, but I haven’t found another opportunity that I felt made me as happy as I am at NAU for one reason or another. College athletics is a world with constant movement. I’ve made tremendous friends and worked with many talented professionals who found amazing “next steps” for themselves. I wouldn’t trade the joy that I have coming to work every day here unless another opportunity elsewhere provides me a level of happiness, and gratification, that exceeds what I currently have at NAU. This profession demands a lot of us, so why not spend the long hours at somewhere that you enjoy? 

 

Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of?
In the summer of 2018, our head volleyball coach Ken Murphy surprised me by nominating me for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Grant Burger Media Award, which recognizes media members who are involved in promoting and advancing the sport. First and foremost, it was extremely humbling that he thought highly enough of me to submit a nomination. It was even more humbling to be selected as a finalist by the AVCA.
 
What surprised me was that although Coach Murphy nominated me in the sports information category, I was the national winner in the social media category, which placed me as one of five finalists for the overall award. While the recognition validated all of the hard work and dedication that I put in every day, I was even more proud of the fact it was an award that was equally, if not more so, reflective of the entire NAU Volleyball program than it was myself. 
 
What have been the most memorable and/or rewarding moments of your career?
At the 2015 CoSIDA Convention in Orlando, I met Manny Ohonme, the founder, President and CEO of Samaritan’s Feet, following his keynote speech. I was so inspired by his life’s journey and his life’s purpose. As it turned out, I was able to organize a service project with Samaritan’s Feet during our women’s basketball team’s foreign trip to the Dominican Republic later that summer.
 
The trip to the Dominican Republic was eye-opening in itself, but the opportunity to partner with Samaritan’s Feet was an experience I’ll never forget. To hear Manny Ohonme’s mission to provide kids around the world with a new pair of shoes is one thing, to participate is another. Washing the feet of kids in the Dominican Republic and lacing them up with their own pair of shoes was humbling and enough to put my own life into perspective. To see our student-athletes interact with those kids in ways they probably never imagined either made it all the more memorable. 

 

 
Do you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life?
There are so many mentors who I could acknowledge, but during my eight-plus years and counting in the profession, I have worked under three direct supervisors and I am incredibly grateful for each of them. They all have pushed me in different ways, taught me different skill sets and brought out different sides of me, all of which has fused together to lead me to where I am today. 
 
Steve Shaff took a chance on me back in 2011 when I was a math education major who happened to have a passion for sports writing. I went from being a student journalist to a graduate assistant in a Division I media relations department without any prior experience. His leadership and guidance was a big reason why I decided to remain in the profession.
 
When I was promoted into a full-time role, Denise Thompson brought me into the social and digital world of our profession. Through the ins and outs of Photoshop and editing videos, I can’t imagine surviving in our profession in 2019 without her expertise. More so, she encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, exposed me to opportunities within CoSIDA and showed me that this profession can be fun despite the long hours and high demands.
 
Finally, Randy Press, my current supervisor, took me under his wing and turned me into a much-more polished professional. Given his extensive experience, I’ve learned to look at the teams through different lenses in order to pitch stories and build stronger relationships with our local media. He has given me the confidence that I sometimes lacked in the past, and in turn confirmed that I am doing what I am meant to be doing. 

 

 
What's one communications/social/PR tool that you could not live without and why?
 I could not live without TweetDeck. Whether I’m using it to schedule out tweets or monitoring timelines, I rely on it to keep me organized on a daily basis. As we all know, managing multiple accounts simultaneously can be a task at times, and TweetDeck is often my solution to the hectic lifestyle that we find ourselves in. 
 
What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?
As it pertains to the profession, I’ve had quite the journey. I initially came to NAU as an exercise science major who aspired to eventually become a physical therapist. I eventually graduated with a degree in secondary education mathematics and planned on teaching high school math until I was convinced to apply for the graduate assistant position that I surprisingly enjoyed. As they say, the rest is history. I know we all have unique paths, but I didn’t even know what a Sports Information Director was. Needless to say, my life is nothing close to what I saw for myself, but now I can’t imagine doing anything else.
 
Away from the job itself, unless you’ve visited me in my office, you’ll be surprised to know that I have a pretty impressive bobblehead collection, if I can humbly brag for a moment. I’ve got over 25 bobbleheads and the collection is always growing. 
 
You once covered the NAU swimming & diving team’s numerous titles, what was that like?
The 2014 Western Athletic Conference Championship NAU swimming & diving team – the first of now six consecutive title-winning teams – was also the first championship team I worked with. I remember the jubilation, and almost sigh of relief among the coaches and student-athletes, after coming up just short for a number of years prior to that. Being around that excitement was the best feeling. Although I don’t work directly with the team anymore, I’ve learned one thing first-hand. Championships don’t come easy and they are not taken for granted.
 
Throughout their streak of championships, the entire swimming & diving program from the coaches top-down to every student-athlete have one goal in mind and they work in cohesion to achieve that, especially through the inevitable adversities that every team faces. I am fortunate to work with championship-minded people, share their stories and successes and that’s the same whether it’s the swimming & diving team, volleyball team or women’s tennis team – all of which have won conference championships during my time as their SID – as well as our women’s basketball team who is prime to compete for a Big Sky title.