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CoSIDA.com/CoSIDA360 Magazine Archive
Note: This story appeared in the Summer 2020 September edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
SIDs Live, Work in the 'Bubble' at TBT
Tim Glon of Ohio Northern and Monique Bowman of Ohio State served as statisticians for The Basketball Tournament in Columbus.
by Will Roleson – CoSIDA Associate Executive Director
As live sports returned this summer, one of the first to do so was The Basketball Tournament, the annual competition of non-NBA, former major-college athletes in a single-elimination, winner-take-all format.
This year’s event was held in Columbus, Ohio, in early July and included two college athletics communications professionals who experienced life inside the tournament ‘bubble.’
Tim Glon, the long-time Director of Sports Information at Ohio Northern University, and Monique Bowman, Associate Director/Digital Media, at The Ohio State University were confined to the bubble for 16 days from June 29-July 14. During that time, they were only allowed at the hotel, an outdoor courtyard fenced off from the public, parts of an adjacent convention center and the arena.
“There was a lot of hesitation prior to going into the bubble but more so of being out of my routine and being away from home for that long,” said Bowman. “It was tough being restricted for that long. But TBT, the teams, the hotel and others involved did a great job of developing and maintaining the bubble and procedures to keep us safe and healthy.”
Glon was tested seven times over 19 days beginning with a test at home five days before driving to Columbus, again when he arrived at the hotel five days before the games and five more times during the tourney. In addition, everyone involved did a temperature check each morning. According to Glon, there were nine positive cases (seven on day 1, two on day 3) once players and staff arrived at the hotel with all nine being asymptomatic, and no positive cases after day three.
Tim Glon and Monique Bowman inside the bubble.
“The games were very different with no fans — you could hear everything the players, coaches and officials were saying which was entertaining to say the least,” he said. “The players’ benches were on one side of the court by themselves and all of the staff were on the other side to help with social distancing.”
After experiencing games with no fans, Bowman says she has a new perspective on how athletics communications professionals should approach their jobs, especially if college games are ultimately played without fans.
“Storytelling is going to be crucial until fans are able to return to events. Not that storytelling wasn’t important before, but it was supplemental to what fans were able to experience themselves,” Bowman said. “Now we as SIDs, digital marketers, social content creators, etc., have an increased responsibility and opportunity to provide a different experience to our audiences, in place of their being in-venue. Our creative juices will have to overflow as we figure out different or new ways to showcase our student-athletes, coaches and programs.”
Glon credits his experiences as an SID working events in Europe, Kuwait, Mexico and the Bahamas to helping him adapt quickly to the unusual circumstances. And, he has the following advice for fellow SIDs.
“Be flexible and do the best you can with the situation that you are presented with. Limit your own mistakes, although they will happen,”Glon said. “Don’t worry about what is out of your control. Enjoy that you have a career in athletics — it beats the heck out of working for a living!”