College Sports Information Directors of America

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Scott Cummings – McKendree University, Sports Information Director

CoSIDA 25-Year Award

by Chris Mitchell, Washington University in St. Louis Assistant AD for Communications

McKendree University (Ill.) Sports Information Director Scott Cummings has faced many challenges in his 25-plus years in the industry.

In the summer of 2019, Cummings faced his biggest challenge yet.

Cummings was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer at the base of his tongue. He continued to work through the fall, and had surgery to remove the cancer on December 2.

“It was a shock, and we had to prepare a way for the office to be covered as I knew my surgery would be right after Thanksgiving,” Cummings said. “Fortunately, I had four graduate assistants on staff, plus my daughter Hailey and other SIDs in the area, along with a great support staff in place that eased my mind.”
 

Cummings spent the past four months recovering in the hospital and at home, as the surgery was more extensive than he originally planned. He returned to work - at his home office during our current remote working from home situation - on April 14.

“I miss the day-to-day interaction with everyone, but I have gained a new perspective on life that I don't need to sweat the small things,” Cummings said. “Be blessed with every day that is given to you and take things as they come.”

And that is what Cummings plans to do moving forward.

Cummings is receiving his CoSIDA 25-Year Award for his long-time commitment and service to the athletic communications profession. He begins his 22nd year at McKendree this fall, and has no plans of snapping his streak of 295 consecutive football games worked dating back 1992 at his alma mater Union College (Ky.).

What has kept you in the business 25+ years?
My genuine love for sports for one, along with the purpose of telling the story of our student-athletes. There is never one day that is the same as the next, and that always keeps me on my toes.

What have your enjoyed most about being an SID?
The relationships built with our internal staff, coaches, student-athletes and - to me most importantly - fellow sports information directors. We're all in this together, and the camaraderie built with other SID's is extremely important to make things "work." The chance to learn new ideas and share things with other SID's is so important because it's the best way to grow in the profession.
 
Many of your former assistants and students at McKendree have stayed in business. Talk about your approach on mentoring young people.
Honestly, most of my approach has been a "hands-off" approach, but it seems to have worked. My philosophy is simple: impart the knowledge you have, tell your students, GA's, etc., to keep an eye out on what others in the profession are accomplishing, especially those I consider great examples and role models in the business. I want them to what they can learn from them, and most important, it's trial by fire. The only way you are going to learn in the profession is to do and learn from your mistakes. I've been fortunate enough to have had some great students and former workers who have followed that philosophy (including Chris Mitchell, Brian Lovellette, Austin Lagesse) and they have blossomed in the sports information world.

Has family always played a big role in your job?
Family is what it is all about. My wife Paula was an athletic trainer for 25 years and we worked at the same schools, so she knows the hours my job entails and the commitments we sometimes have to make. I'm blessed with two great children, Hailey and Ryan, who grew up around our atmosphere and have a love for sports. That seems to have rubbed off.

When Hailey went to college at Union University (Tenn.), she got a work-study job in their sports information office and worked there for four years. Most recently she has become a "stat mercenary" in our area and works a bunch of events for schools of all levels, including for me at McKendree. She played a huge role in filling in for me when I had my surgery. Ryan used to run our production software and video camera when he was still a high school student, but he got his start was a photographer when he traveled to road football games with me starting around when he was 8-9 years old. 

Your public address and play-by-play work is second to none. Is that something you have always had a knack for, or did this come with practice?
In my previous position as SID at Union College in Barbourville, KY (yes, I was Jay Stancil before he was!) I was thrown into the fire as a football play-by-play person as our road PBP guy quit right before the 1996 season started. I was bad at first, but I would watch a lot of college games on TV and try to add things that I would pick up from those broadcasts and implement them in my style. When I got to McKendree it felt more of a second nature to call a game, whether it was football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey or lacrosse. 

Do you have a favorite moment that sticks out in your career?
My favorite memory as an SID was in 2004 when McKendree men’s basketball coach Harry Statham was chasing career win 880 (to surpass Dean Smith for the all-time wins record). That was almost a full month of nonstop contact with media of all levels, national, regional and local. I had to arrange for an AP photographer to follow us in the days leading up to victory 880, among other things. It was all worth it, because it taught me even more how to work ahead and be prepared for any situation.
 
I felt like we were a well-oiled machine when the night finally came against Maryville. All press conferences, interviews and photo requests were handled as smoothly as they could go. When I finally sat down that night to write my actual game recap, I started crying because the magnitude of what we had just gone through finally hit me. I relied on a lot of folks to help out during that time, and everyone pitched in to make it a moment I will never forget.