College Sports Information Directors of America

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Eric Etchison – Maryville College (Tenn.), Assistant Athletics Director for Communications

CoSIDA 25-Year Award

by Andrew Mindeman, Covenant College Director of Athletics Communications

To say that Eric Etchison has seen a lot during his time at Maryville College would be a massive understatement.
 
During his 25-plus years as the Maryville College SID, Etchison has been a part of some of the most accomplished teams in the college’s history and has served an important role to honor and preserve those teams and moments forever.
 
However, his path to becoming the go-to person for Maryville College athletics information and historical knowledge is one that begins with baseball.
 
Eric Etchison is a baseball man.
 
Growing up in Ohio, Etchison dreamed of becoming the next Johnny Bench as baseball dominated the thoughts of the young Eric. From throwing the ball against the brick wall on the side of his house with neighborhood friends -- which would include future MLB umpire Wally Bell -- to becoming a standout on the diamond at Austintown-Fitch High School where he helped lead the team to a state runner-up finish, Eric was a talented prospect.
 
That drive ultimately led Etchison to Maryville College where he played baseball from 1984-88. A four-year starter at catcher for the Scots, he was a two-time All-ODAC selection and he accumulated a .390 career batting average.
 
 
However, after suffering a broken ankle in his senior season at Maryville, Etchison turned his attention from playing the sport he loved to coaching it.
 
Much like his playing days, Etchison quickly showed his talent in the coaching circles. Serving as an assistant coach at Maryville College for two seasons, Etchison became the program’s head man in 1993.
 
A mere 280 career coaching wins later and Etchison is among the Maryville College all-time greats. In October of 2010, he was inducted into the Maryville College Wall of Fame for his contributions as student-athlete, baseball coach, and athletic administrator.
 
Even with a plethora of accomplishments as a player and coach, serving in the role as athletic administrator may be the biggest role Etchison has filled at Maryville College.
 
Etchison entered the SID world in 1994, but even he admits to not doing much in those pre-internet days. Etchison recalls getting Maryville College baseball an online presence in 1995 as the dot-com era began to flourish.
 
As technology continued to evolve and become more complex towards the turn of the century, Etchison began to feel the strain of being a head coach, SID, and a family man.
 
Eric Etchison is a family man.
 
During his time as a student at Maryville College, Etchison met his future wife, Bonnie. The couple was married in 1991 and welcomed their daughter, DeAnna, a few years later. Though family support was always there for Etchison and his career, he began to realize the weight of carrying on so many tasks and balancing family life as he started missing his daughter’s extracurricular activities and other family moments.
 
In 2006, Etchison decided to call it a career in the coaching realm and turn his full attention to being Maryville College’s full-time SID.
 
What helped Etchison realize the importance of serving in an administrator position was his work as the National Baseball Chair in 2005-06 for NCAA Division III. During that time, he saw the value of affecting those beyond his present scope. When talking with his athletics director about some work relief solutions, he chose to continue as an SID so he could engage with more student-athletes and help them through their journey.
 
The transition from full-time coach with SID duties to strictly a full-time SID was a smooth one for Etchison. He credits his liberal arts education at Maryville for preparing him to be ready for whatever life threw his way, and the lessons he learned as a coach that translated into his new career.
 
“I attack every day with a plan,” said Etchison. “The greatest lesson I learned was to be flexible and patient. The daily life of an SID is like someone tasked to put a puzzle together, but each day someone hides a few pieces just to make it interesting.”
 
With Etchison enjoying a front row seat, Maryville is a force both regionally and nationally in multiple sports. In his career as an SID, Etchison has been a part of 58 Great South Athletic Conference championships, 25 USA South Athletic Conference regular season titles, 12 USA South Athletic Conference Tournament crowns, and 68 of Maryville College’s 79 NCAA postseason appearances. Additionally, he has helped promote seven CoSIDA Academic All-America honorees.
 
Not only has he served Maryville, but also the NCAA throughout his career. Etchison has assisted in the administration of more than 30 NCAA tournament events. As an NCAA liaison, he helped direct four national NCAA baseball championships and 29 regionals spanning four different sports.
 
His favorite memories at Maryville College don’t include all those memorable games and championship teams. Instead, Etchison loves the little moments with players and coaches.
 
“I love watching student-athletes coming out of their shells during interviews. I love telling the stories of our great institution through sport. I love watching our kids transform on the playing venues, in the classroom, and in the community daily,” he noted.
 
Though his role has expanded at Maryville College, he was promoted to Assistant AD for Communications in 2011, Etchison weaves his family life into his job and is a part of what the Maryville College community is about.
 
“They have been extremely supportive,” remarked Etchison about his wife and daughter. “They love spending time at the college at events. My daughter’s career as a stage actress has become our escape that is everything athletics. It provides a nice balance.”
 
He is often seen with his wife Bonnie in the baseball press box, and the couple annually celebrates their anniversary, which falls in the middle of winter/spring crossover season, working baseball games together at Maryville. The trips to the nearby Cumberland County Playhouse, where his daughter pursues an on-stage acting career, provide further relief from the sports world and precious family time.
 
What started -- and blossomed -- as a baseball kid pursuing a baseball dream turned into something even better.
 
Maryville College has a treasure in Eric Etchison.