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Note: This story appeared in the Fall 2020 November edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
The Decision that Gave CoSIDA "A Seat at the Table"
CoSIDA renews agreement with NACDA through 2026.
by Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director @dvanceCoSIDA
With little fanfare or membership reaction, CoSIDA recently announced the renewal of its agreement with NACDA that extends the relationship through 2026.
The situation was markedly different more than a dozen years ago when leaders were first introduced to the concept of a working agreement that would position CoSIDA within the structure of the country’s largest association of collegiate athletics administrators.
Four members of the 2008-09 CoSIDA Board of Directors, Nick Joos (Baylor, president), Justin Doherty (Wisconsin, 1st vice president), Larry Dougherty (Temple, 2nd vice president) and Charles Bloom (SEC, past president) along with then CoSIDA Executive Director John Humenik were the primary catalysts in advocating for the NACDA relationship.
“The group of us believed that it was time for CoSIDA to further move in the direction of strategic communications and public relations and felt that a relationship with NACDA would help us get ‘a seat at the table,’” explained Bloom, now executive associate athletics director at South Carolina. “John did a fantastic job in getting the relationship going.”
Dougherty remembers the thought process that helped unite the group in pushing hard for a concept that was being met with heavy resistance by several other board members.
“The officers, led by John Humenik, had the vision that CoSIDA needed to be aligned with all of college athletics and having our convention at the site of NACDA would provide our members an opportunity to network with other organizations, especially the ADs,” Dougherty explained. “I think this has really helped the image of CoSIDA in the long run.”
The concept was first introduced to the CoSIDA Board of Directors at the 2006 Convention in Nashville when NACDA Chief Executive Officer Bob Vecchione made a presentation to the group. Initially, the proposal was for NACDA to absorb management of CoSIDA and control operations and finances as it does with all its other affiliate groups.
The notion of surrendering total control and giving up the organization’s autonomy was overwhelmingly rejected by the board and the idea was shelved for several years.
As the 2008-09 CoSIDA Board of Directors convened and Joos took over as the organization’s president, he huddled with Humenik about revisiting the concept with NACDA.
“We believed that for the long-term betterment of our profession, we had to get this done in some fashion,” said Joos, now deputy athletics director/communications at Missouri. “John had an excellent relationship with Joan Cronan (former Tennessee women’s athletics director), who was then president of NACDA. At the time, the CoSIDA Convention was floundering to some degree, I used to tell folks it would be better if folks stayed home, because we were losing money on it right and left.”
“Our vision back then was to make CoSIDA a 365-day a year organization rather than just a convention, if you will, which really helped set in motion all of the interactions with the membership that continue beyond just the convention,” he added. “I believe all of us would agree that was transpired over the years has exceeded our expectations while making a positive impact on our profession.”
Working closely with Cronan, Humenik was able to negotiate a less restrictive approach to the proposal that allowed CoSIDA to have the involvement with NACDA without yielding its independence and management of its convention. Another past president, Doug Dull (Maryland), added his endorsement to the concept that continued to generate lively debate in board meetings.
“John and I worked on it relentlessly to get it passed, as there was some very strong opposition,” Joos noted. “It was and remains a unique hybrid relationship. We purposely wanted our involvement in NACDA to be different and reflect our independence. That’s one of the reasons why CoSIDA isn’t always acknowledged with the same consistent branding as NACDA’s other affiliates. We wanted that clear distinction of independence in the relationship.”
Doherty vividly remembers the divide in board opinions.
“There were definitely pockets of resistance to the NACDA move within CoSIDA,” Doherty explained. “I remember being at the nominating committee meeting the night Nick and I were both added to the officer rotation and listening to a lot of the past presidents express their disagreement with the idea.”
The moment of decision came to a head on Dec. 11, 2008 during a 90-minute board meeting that focused entirely on the NACDA question. “Some felt that it should have been a membership decision and wanted to have them vote on it,” Joos explained.
The board meeting minutes indicate that a motion was made to table the decision to the 2009 CoSIDA Convention in San Antonio. But the motion failed as Humenik reminded everyone that NACDA had established a deadline for a decision and waiting until the convention would be too late.
In reflecting back on that December meeting, those officers in favor of the proposal credit Anne Abicht, a college division representative from St. Cloud State, as being a major factor in the motion passing.
“One person who truly deserves credit is Anne Abicht. Without her vote this would not have happened,” Dougherty said. “Changing the mindset of the college division SIDs was the hardest thing to do, as they felt that aligning with NACDA would prevent them from attending CoSIDA. I believe Anne was the only college division board member to support the initiative.”
The motion, which was made during the meeting by Doherty and seconded by at-large representative Will Roleson, passed by a slim 11-8 vote and it was officially announced to the membership on Feb. 10, 2009.
In Abicht’s recollection, her decision to support the NACDA relationship was about seeing a potential opportunity to benefit the profession.
“There was a great deal of discussion at the time and I tried to reach out and talk to my colleagues to seek other opinions,” Abicht said. “It was a real iffy thing at the time and people were concerned that we were giving up something in doing it.”
“I was in a little different situation that the other CD reps on the board. We had Division I men’s and women’s hockey. Plus, I served as the university licensing director and had attended the NCLA portion of NACDA. I just saw it has a great opportunity to help athletic directors and other administrators have a better understanding of our profession.”
It was clearly a controversial decision for the organization as it brought an abrupt change to the tradition of CoSIDA staging its own independent convention and being in control of the location. Without question, the decision has been one of the most debated in the organization’s long history.
Although the agreement was announced in 2009, CoSIDA was not involved as a participant in NACDA Convention Week until 2013 due to existing hotel agreements held by both parties at that time.
CoSIDA members have responded in positive fashion to the convention approach change. During the seven years of in-person conventions, CoSIDA has averaged just over 933 attendees compared to an average of 688 attendees the previous four years before the NACDA relationship began.
The agreement was renewed in 2014 through 2022 after a survey indicated the majority of the members were in favor of continuing the relationship.
“It was an intense time, but a fun time, and I think for all of us, we were grateful to be part of the process,” Joos added. “I’m grateful that today’s leaders continue to support the vision we cast 12 years ago.”
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