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This feature is part of our series of profiles showcasing members throughout the CoSIDA membership during the celebration of CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week for 2020-21. See more features at CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID.


Ashleigh Jones – DePauw, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
by Michael G. Hawkins – Francis Marion University, Associate Athletic Director for Communication Services
 

“… the numbers are staggeringly low when it comes to women of color in the industry. How can we see that change? By exposing more people to this industry and by creating shadowing opportunities beyond a scholarship or a grant … if people one, don’t know what we do, and two, don’t see people that look like them in this job, they are less likely to pursue it.
 
In classes at the undergraduate and graduate level, provide opportunities for people within CoSIDA to talk about their jobs. Make sure that those speaking in the classes don’t have the same job experiences, aren’t the same race or gender, and are of different age groups. Athletics Communications is so important, but with so much constantly changing in the world of sports and technology, we need different perspectives to reach an evolving audience.” 
- Ashleigh Jones, DePauw Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Ashleigh Jones is in her second full year as the assistant director of athletics communications at NCAA Division III DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. During the 2017-18 academic year, she served as a sports information graduate assistant at North Central College (Ill.), where she earned a Masters of Leadership degree in sports leadership. She is a member of Tau Beta Sigma Service sorority, and was named an NCAA Emerging Leader Honoree in 2018. Indigenous, and people of color,”
 
Jones gladly allowed CoSIDA to question her on a variety of topics, including social and racial issues, DePauw initiatives she has undertaken, how to find and develop a diverse student staff, and more.
 

Why did you enter the athletic communications field?
AJ: I actually fell into athletics communications. My second year of graduate school at North Central College, a graduate position became available in a staggered graduate system where there was at least one veteran graduate assistant each year. Working with the NCC team was fantastic. Following graduation, I stayed in touch with (SID) Clark Teuscher and after searching for a job specifically in student-athlete development, Clark encouraged me to apply for the DePauw assistant director position. After speaking with Associate VP/Athletic Director Stevie Baker-Watson, and doing more research on the University, I felt that the components of student-athlete development could still be incorporated into my job. I am still pretty new to the industry, but with tech and social media starting to take a more prominent role in engaging fans, I’ve found how to combine new ideas with the more traditional aspects of the job.
 
What are some of the special projects you have undertaken at DePauw, and how you feel they have improved the relationship between the athletic department and the Greencastle community?
AJ: There are several to highlight. First, there’s our NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign. My first year at DePauw was the second year for this NCAA campaign and was the first time the Tigers were participating. It happened to fall around fall break, so with a limited amount of students, and an even smaller knowledge of the makeup of our student-athlete body, I was charged to put together the social media campaign. It was stressful, but incredibly worth the effort because it led to deeper conversations with some of the students I connected with and made it 10 times easier the following year.
 
Then, I was along for the ride with the Be Nice Be Kind initiative that my coworker at the time, Therno Diallo, had started. Volunteering my time with him at the local elementary schools was a lot of fun and the importance of having the students see someone who looks different from them was incredibly important. This summer we made sure to launch a drop down for Be Nice Be Kind so that activities and resources could be shared afterwards.
 
In lieu of the pandemic and not being able to share the Tyler the Tiger Mascot head, I started to highlight former DePauw Hall of Fame Alumni in “where are they now” content. We were able to pull in the alumni base and also create this line of communication between current and former student-athletes.
 
The “Thursday Thoughts” social media concept came about during the summer of 2020. With all of the racial unrest, and following the murder of George Floyd, I realized our account hadn’t established a space where student-athletes’ concerns could be voiced. And in a time where words were checked daily, I saw it as an opportunity to share their thoughts, and avoid having an audience ask where these concerns were coming from, it was straightforward, and began to create dialogues.
 
And, last year, I had the opportunity to organize and host the first (DePauw) National Girls and Women in Sports Day NGWSD event in about seven years. We had 60 attendees join us in celebrating the importance of sports in girls’ and women’s lives. In the 90-minute luncheon, we had games, raffled items, a student-athlete panel section and a call to action banner that we staged in our athletic center.
 
For NGWSD this February (3rd), we have gone virtual with celebrating the event. And with the help of some student-athletes, we are putting together a 60-minute prerecorded video where we highlight some former coaches, we connect with current student-athletes, and we get advice from celebrity professionals on why sports matter.
 
 
With the pandemic, social unrest, and absence of athletic events in 2020, how are you surviving the year?
AJ: 2020 was a year of a lot of introspection for me. The pandemic allowed me to slow down to reassess some anxiety triggers in my life, and with the “extra time” and managing social media, the social unrest led to an identity crisis. On top of anxiety and an identity crisis, my struggle with being productive and “showing” that I was doing something led to self-doubt.
 
Fortunately, my ability to work remotely and spend time with my family throughout the second half of 2020 helped. I approached my anxiety by allowing myself to feel emotions right away verses letting them be bottled up. My identity crisis was centered around being a black woman who has experienced privilege in not only getting an undergraduate degree but also a masters. I’ve lived comfortably, but in learning language such as code switching and gas lighting, I started to have words that defined some of the specific experiences I brushed off when I was younger. I realized in the midst of this massive movement against systemic racism, my voice mattered, and that I had different avenues and platforms to voice my opinions.
 
Fortunately for me the extra downtime in the summer allowed me to prep for the fall, despite not having sports competition. From department-wide challenges, to initiating new social media content, I was able to help give student-athletes a voice on our main account, and start creating avenues for dialogue that were then taken a step further with the intentional programming of (former events/marketing coordinator) Therno Diallo.
 
2020 was by no means easy, but I think because of the year that we had I’ve become a better communicator, a more intentional friend, and a more analytical thinker.
 
In addressing the social and racial events of 2020 and their impact, did you make any life-altering decisions?
AJ: I have a lot of feelings about the racial unrest and the events that took place in 2020. Most of the feelings were hurt, frustration, and anger. But in the midst of those feelings, the “changes” made to help me cope through 2020 did bring me joy. I made sure to be more vocal about my feelings. I shared with friends, coworkers and students my experiences, but also learned that I could not and would not be their sole educator on the matters of race, diversity, and inclusion.
 
To bring joy back in my life, I sought out social media accounts that resonated with me. I read books, listened to podcasts, and watched media that was created by people of color. The biggest change I made was letting go of those who didn’t see the hurt that was engulfing not only myself but all BIPOCs [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] during the heightened struggles of 2020.

How can members of CoSIDA work to make our profession a more welcoming and diverse environment?
AJ: I believe people need to work on diversifying their circles. We know the numbers because we are statisticians at heart. And the numbers are staggeringly low when it comes to women of color in the industry. How can we see that change? By exposing more people to this industry and by creating shadowing opportunities beyond a scholarship or a grant. I understand that this job is a “behind the scenes” type job, but if people one, don’t know what we do, and two, don’t see people that look like them in this job, they are less likely to pursue it.
 
In classes at the undergraduate and graduate level, provide opportunities for people within CoSIDA to talk about their jobs. Make sure that those speaking in the classes don’t have the same job experiences, aren’t the same race or gender, and are of different age groups. Athletics Communications is so important, but with so much constantly changing in the world of sports and technology, we need different perspectives to reach an evolving audience.
 

Do you have a favorite quote that motivates you, or that you try and live by?
AJ: My favorite poet Maya Angelou once said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
 
I’ve loved this quote for years, and I even put it on my personal business cards. This quote was relevant five years ago, and continues to speak truth in how I go about my day to day.
 
If you could provide a key piece of advice to young SIDs entering the field, what would it be?
AJ: Take your time. Your ideas are great, but pace yourself. I came in with three big initiatives, and although I was able to reach just about all of the initiatives in the first year, I found myself wiped out. This is an industry that needs young voices and creative ideas to bring the traditional storytelling to life for the next generation. So take your time with your projects and have fun!
 
How has your administration helped in your development as an SID?  What support (guidance) and direction have they provided in the arena of athletic communications?
AJ: I have the pleasure of working alongside (Assistant AD) Bill Wagner, who has been in the game for over 30 years and knows DePauw University like the back of his hand. Since day one, he and my Athletic Director, Stevie Baker-Watson, have allowed me to have autonomy in some spaces such as social media and growing the athletic communications student-worker team, while also showing me the typical day-to-day inner workings of the job.
 
What I’ve enjoyed the most throughout my first year at DePauw is a willingness to try new things and involving more students into the creative process.
 
Do you have a great idea for staff development of student assistants?
AJ: Since DePauw doesn’t have a graduate program, we rely heavily on out-of-season student-athletes. During my first semester at DePauw, I made a point to get to know as many students overall as possible so that our department had more bases covered once seasons overlapped. Along with word of mouth recruitment, I connected with our Honors program called “Media Fellows” to see if there were ways to work together.
 
By our winter term, we had an intern for the spring semester, and we had added four more work-study students to our team. In the interview process, I asked them to write a recap for me, and then we would go through it together to see how it could be improved. Pre-pandemic I had them do office hours, learning how to clean up the backend, and labeling photos for future use. Then on game days I typically had two or three students running our social media so that I could focus on calling the games.
 
My hope is we have more people shadow games, so that they can see a game-day atmosphere and eventually learn how to properly call games. With NCAA live stats, calling and inputting are more user-friendly.
 
StatCrew or Genius NCAA Live Stats?
AJ: Genius NCAA Live stats
 
AP-Style Story or Bullet Points?
AJ: We’ve considered bullet points, but a fun AP-Style recap is still our go-to.
 
It’s National Jersey Day. Whose jersey do you wear and why?
AJ: I would wear DePauw field hockey player Christina Bourantas’ number 24. She exemplifies the DIII student-athlete experience. From volunteering her time as a Co-President of SAAC, to chairing multiple committees across campus to make sure that the student-athlete experience for her peers is worthwhile is something that needs to be highlighted. She is truly involved in so many aspects of the university, however her humility in what she does within the organizations she is a part of and the intelligence that she presents in her classes is exactly why I would wear her jersey.