College Sports Information Directors of America

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  WoSIDA Women to Watch
Jenna Jorgensen, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
Colgate University

by Danielle Potts – 2020-21 CoSIDA Intern Jenna Jorgensen is in her third year as Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Colgate University where she is the primary contact for men’s hockey, volleyball, women’s lacrosse, and field hockey programs. Jorgensen made stops at Bowling Green State University and Ball State University before joining the Colgate athletics staff. She also worked as a media coordination and statistics Intern with the NCAA in Indianapolis, and participated in media relations efforts at the 2016 Women’s Final Four (Indianapolis) and Women’s College World Series (Oklahoma City). Follow her on Twitter at @jenjenjorgensen.

I read in your bio that you began your career in sports working in statistics at a very early age – in high school. How did you get into the profession and what led you to work in athletic communications? 
JJ: Growing up in Minnesota, I have always been around the sport of hockey. I suppose my first gig in the field was taking stats for my little brother’s squirt team! Enjoying that side of the game, I was a student manager for my high school hockey team, which included more stat-tracking responsibilities. On my way to the University of North Dakota, one of my high school coaches put me in touch with one of the North Dakota coaches. It was a dream to work with the program at North Dakota and through my time taking stats on game nights, I was offered an internship with the head SID at the time, Jayson Hajdu.

Jayson and the North Dakota media relations staff really were the ones who opened up my scope of the sports world by teaching me the field. I worked with new sports, had office hours, and completed some of my first media relations projects. Through working with that department for two years, I learned that my hobby could become a career as well as taught me the work ethic, balance, networking, care, and attention to detail needed to succeed in this field.

You have worked with a hockey team in some capacity at every level of your career thus far. Why do you gravitate towards hockey in particular? Does hockey hold a special place in your life?
JJ: Hockey is a constant that I have had at every level of my career, so even though I keep moving further from Minnesota, I still have the game I love and its tight-knit community across the country. Even as a woman working in a male-dominated sport, I have had incredibly supportive coaching staffs at every level over the years, from high school until now. Plus, it’s just a great game! Always exciting at the drop of the puck.

As an SID, what are some of your ideas of best practices in social media?
JJ: I believe the best social media shows the viewer something new — about the program, its personalities, and culture. I love featuring the “behind the scenes” content including down the tunnel, travel conditions, and photoshoot days. While some may seem day-to-day for us as part of the team, it has the ability to show a potential student-athlete (PSA) what that day-to-day with your program is like if they are to join, or give fans that inside look to connect with the team.

What is your approach to managing team social media accounts?
JJ: I am a strong believer in tailoring your content to the platform, both in terms of content and formatting. Always keep your goals and your audience in mind! Give people a reason to follow your accounts on different platforms — things that excel on Instagram might not be what your Twitter audience is looking for. Consistency is also key, whatever that consistency may be. Quality content might not be available everyday, but if it’s twice a week, keep at it at a consistent pace!

What I love about social media is that it has the ability to make team info so widely accessible to people, and give more of a “real feel” of atmosphere with immediacy for a game.
 

What are some of your most memorable career moments to date in your young professional career?
JJ: As a staff member, my first win with the Colgate men’s hockey program really stands out to me. In addition to having a pretty smooth first game at a new job, after the game the coaching staff awarded me the game puck. It is something I cherish. It made me feel so welcomed and valued, and is a momento I’ll always have on my office desk.

Work related, I’d say covering our hockey program’s trip to Ireland this past year. It was an excellent opportunity to cover athletics, enjoy team-building, and having historical education over a week across various platforms. We also played some great hockey! The staff at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland was excellent to work with and it was a lot of fun coordinating coverage with them leading up to an international event.

Also, the 2017 Western Colleagiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Championship stands out. The Bowling Green hockey program was on an unreal run through the playoffs before we traveled to Houghton, Mich. for the championship. Featuring some of the best hockey, our team battled but ultimately lost late in double overtime. Although we lost, the game taught me a lot about how to complete by job to the best of my ability in an incredibly emotional situation.

As someone who has moved around a lot for work and education, how were you able to maintain a balance in your personal life?
JJ: This is probably the most challenging part of our profession: wanting to grow professionally, but also personally in relationships. My current relationship with Justin Wolford went through two years of long distance before we both were able to move to New York, so there have definitely been compromises on both sides of the personal/professional balance throughout the years. The best part of it all though, is that working in sports actually brought Justin into my life - we met while we both worked in the Ball State athletics department!

In terms of family and friends, it’s taken a long time for them to understand our crazy SID schedules! But what’s important is to really take advantage of those summer months of down time to capitalize on that time you can spend recharging with your people.

Do you have any advice or tips for SIDs to help maintain your sanity and work to integrate free time into your schedule?
JJ: On a weekly basis, I’ve really tried to implement one “laptop-free” day a week. I feel that I come in more refreshed and ready to go on Monday when I didn’t open my laptop on Sunday.

Why did you want to get more involved in WoSIDA?
JJ: Although the number of women in the field has grown exponentially, I have not yet had the opportunity to work with other female SIDs in any of my career stops. While I was drawn to Colgate for the number of women in the athletic department as a whole, I have really wanted to connect with other women in my specific field. While interning at the NCAA, I had a glimpse of working with other women in the field, but since then, this is something WoSIDA opened up for me to participate in and has offered an incredible support system of women.

I’ve had some great young women as student-workers who have gone on to full-time in sports, which has been amazing to see. I hope to help build more of that through WoSIDA and the support of women to stay in the field.

Being from the Great Lakes area, what are some of your favorite outdoor activities or sports? What has stuck with you the most from growing up in that area?
JJ: The best thing about growing up in Minnesota was the year-round activities outside! Any summer day, I love to be by the water - on a boat, kayak, or just beachin’ it. In the winter, every park has a flooded rink to skate on, we’d be doing some loops on the snowmobiles, and overall I just generally love taking in the views of winter. While living in Indiana and Ohio, I sure did miss the lake life and winter activities, so I definitely feel a bit more at home now with both of those here in Central New York.