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Past CoSIDA 25-Year Award Recipients
Scott Musa – Shenandoah University, Assistant AD/Athletic Communications Director
2019 CoSIDA 25-Year Award recipient
by Kirbie Dockery ‘03, Methodist University Interim Director of University Advancement Director of Alumni Affairs and Annual Giving
Scott Musa has been in Shenandoah University athletic communications for so long, it’s hard to imagine him doing anything else. Serving as Assistant Athletics Director of Athletic Communications, he is in his 25th year as the Hornets’ primary media contact and his 27th at Shenandoah. His longevity speaks volumes about his expertise and his personal commitment to the job.
Musa, who will receive a CoSIDA 25-Year Award at the organization’s June convention, played lacrosse at the University of Notre Dame and first came to Shenandoah University to be an assistant men’s lacrosse coach. After two years of coaching, the late Dave Dutton named Musa the department’s first full-time SID. In 1999, Musa was promoted to assistant athletic director.
Musa always seems to find the balance between respecting the tradition and history of the industry while staying on the cutting-edge of new technology. Former SU athletic director John Hill credits Musa for helping Shenandoah to acquire the URL “su.edu” before Syracuse University.
“One only has to look at the new SU Wilkins Athletic Center to see Scott’s influence,” Hill said. “The scoreboards, message panels, and overall presentation is unparalleled in Division III athletics.”
Doug Zipp, former SU athletic director and current AD at Ohio Wesleyan University, worked closely with Musa in Winchester, Va.
“Scott's passion for Shenandoah athletics is unmatched,” Zipp said. “Over the course of five years that Scott and I worked together I was incredibly impressed with his drive to be cutting-edge and student-focused.”
Scott and his wife C.K. zip lining in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.
Not only is Musa student-focused, but he is passionate about mentoring others in the industry. I always wondered how he seemed to balance the job which can burn out the best of us with all of his additional commitments and still spend so much time helping others. I lost count of the number of scoring decisions he let me bounce off of him or stories he proofed for me. When I jumped into sports information without a paddle, he graciously let me fake it for a few months. As chair of the conference SIDs, he called to check in on me periodically until we finally built a rapport where I could drive him crazy with questions.
It's impossible to describe Musa without mentioning his “wit.” He has a smart aleck response for nearly everything and rarely misses an opportunity to prove he’s right. And yet he is still selfless enough to notice when someone is hurting and celebrate everyone else’s successes.
My favorite thing about Musa is his ability to grow and get better over time. We used to wonder whether it was possible to find a healthy relationship while working in the industry. We wanted to believe that a life outside of the job could make work/life balance easier to stay in the industry, but were beginning to doubt you could find that person while living in it. Thankfully, his wife C.K. proved it possible. Musa married C.K. Calhoun (St. Mary’s College of Maryland head women’s basketball coach) in 2017 and has gained an even better perspective in the whole balancing act within athletic communications.
Since marrying, there is a rumor Musa may take a few minutes longer to write a postgame release. His average e-mail and text response time may have even dropped, but surprisingly enough the world hasn’t ended. During the summer of 2018 he was even able to hire a full-time assistant to share the load. Musa selected former student worker and women’s lacrosse alumna Sydney Anderson.
“Working with Scott as a student and then filling in after graduation gave me a well-rounded view of everything Scott does,” Anderson said. “He has been an excellent mentor over the last 10 years.”
Bridget Lyons, Ph.D, took over as the sixth full-time director of intercollegiate athletics for the Hornets in January, 2018. Fifteen months into her tenure, Lyons recognizes Musa’s influence at Shenandoah.
“Scott has a wealth of knowledge about the University, the Athletic Department and DIII,” she said. “He was a tremendous resource during my transition and continues to be a trusted colleague, and a person whose insight I value.”
Musa is heavily involved with outside committee work as well. With CoSIDA, Musa serves on the Google Cloud Academic All-America® committee. He is the past chair of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors committee after serving for four years as the USA South Conference Sports Information Directors committee chairman.
As Assistant AD, Musa has served the NCAA as the chair of both the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Committee and Division III South Atlantic Region Women's Lacrosse Committee. In this role, Musa assisted the NCAA in selecting the national championship field and had direct oversight of the national championship.
In September 2015, he began a four-year term on the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Rules Committee. In 2018, the committee was honored by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) with its President's Cup award for its distinguished contribution to the sport of women's lacrosse.
For his leadership and commitment, Musa has received numerous honors. In November, 2014, Musa was selected as an honorary member of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society.
Musa has been honored by Shenandoah three times for staff excellence. In 1999, he won a James R. and Mary B. Wilkins Appreciation Award, presented annually to outstanding Shenandoah employees for leadership, reputation development, or achievements. In 2002 he was one of three staff members to be recognized with a special award by the chairman of the Board of Trustees while in 2018, Musa was one of the first two recipients of the Wilkins Award 2.0. This award recognizes staff members that have previously earned the Wilkins Award.