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Note: This story appeared in the Spring 2020 May edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
Editors note: This is Herb Vincent’s final CoSIDA 360 Magazine presidential column. We thank him for his remarkable and unprecedented leadership during the most extraordinary times. We regret that he will not get to preside over the #CoSIDA2020 Convention in Las Vegas, or that he won’t be able to pass the gavel in person to incoming president Sam Atkinson. Thank you, Herb, for everything you’ve done for CoSIDA and for the athletics communications profession.
From the President's Desk
Extraordinary Times
by Herb Vincent – CoSIDA President 2019-20 / Southeastern Conference Associate Commissioner/Communications
We are certainly living in extraordinary times. It wasn’t long ago that many of us were prepping for our conference basketball tournaments. We were looking forward to a week of compelling games and March Madness to follow. Within a matter of days, the entire sports world came to a halt. Most of America came to a stop. Everyone reading this column can likely remember where they were when the NBA announced it was suspending its season.
In the business we’re in —- the crisis communication business — we’re always preparing for worst-case scenarios. Yet, I don’t think anyone ever imagined a scenario like this.
Shortly after the sports world stopped, I participated in a
CoSIDA Town Hall to discuss the situation and its impact on our membership. As I prepared for the online event, I really wanted to say something profound. The definition of profound is “a person or statement having or showing great knowledge or insight.” Unfortunately, I knew I didn’t have any keener insight into what was happening around us than anyone else on that call. We were all in it together.
My greatest concern for our profession has been that our members are used to a fast-paced life, working hard, getting up early and staying up late to finish the work at hand. March represents a particularly trying time of the year for our profession. SIDs are dealing with the cross-over of seasons, the busiest time of the year, probably getting little sleep, not eating well and working way too many hours. Then it all came to a dead stop. That’s not healthy.
Our work quickly pivoted to new things and new methods of communicating. But there are no sports. No events. I’m working from home, like I’m sure most of you are, and it’s been a challenging adjustment.
I have three observations, two of which are things sports information directors do very well and one we don’t do well at all.
No. 1 – during this time we need to continue to communicate better than ever before. Communicate, communicate, communicate. And that’s what we do every day, right? Let’s put our talents to work to help our organization. In the absence of sports, we need to find other ways to serve our athletics programs and our communications skills will be put to the test.
No. 2 – The world is changing around us, by the minute, so we need to adapt and be resilient. And I believe that people in our business are the most resilient people in college sports. We have to adapt and change every day to coaches’ schedules and demands, to the media’s questions and to their deadlines. But we make it work and we’ll make this work too.
And No. 3 – Greg Sankey, our commissioner at the SEC, likes to say, “It’s ok to say I don’t know.” There is a lot we don’t know right now and some things we just have to wait to find out the answer. Sports information people are expected to know answers, or get answers right away. It’s just what we do. We’re not good at saying “I don’t know.” But I can’t tell you if we are going to have football media days this summer. I can’t tell you if fall football practice is going to start on time. We live in a world of “I don’t know” and we just have to be patient.
Before I close, I ask you to do three things:
First, professionally, keep your student-athletes as a point of focus. Just because they are not playing right now does not mean you can’t keep telling their stories. They need you to be their advocates now more than ever.
Second, personally, take care of yourself and your families. Listen to the health professionals. We don’t know what we don’t know about this virus, so heed the advice of professionals so we can all get back to work sooner rather than later.
And, finally, don’t live in isolation if you are working from home. Stay connected with friends and family through technology.
You are not alone.
Herb Vincent
Southeastern Conference
CoSIDA President 2019-20
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