Related Content
CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID
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.
Ernie Larossa – Johns Hopkins, Associate AD/Athletic Communications
by Rob Knox – UNC Greensboro, Associate Director for Strategic Communications / CoSIDA Past President
Now in his 30th year in the profession and 24th at the acclaimed research institution Johns Hopkins University,
Ernie Larossa has seen everything during his career that started at the University of Delaware with stops at Drew, the defunct Yankee Conference (which is now the Colonial Athletic Association, CAA.) and Shepherd College.
“I always hoped to find a great school that I could call home. I landed at Johns Hopkins in 1997 and now plan on staying until they kick me out,” Larossa said. “Most people don’t know this, but the SID job at Johns Hopkins had opened in the summer of 1995. I didn’t even get an interview. But there was something about this place that I knew was special and, while disappointed at the time, I didn’t burn any bridges.
“Two years later, the job opened again and this time I got an interview. I rolled the dice and made sure every person on the search committee knew what had happened in 1995. Lucky for me, they didn’t think I was crazy and rolled the dice back and gave me a chance.
Welcoming media & guests to the press conference in 2013 announcing that Johns Hopkins would be joining the Big Ten Conference in men’s lacrosse.
“It’s been a great place for me and my family. My wife, Kim and our three kids, Katelyn, Hailey, and Ryan, have all been very supportive of my career and all three of the kids have worked alongside me at games countless times – that’s been pretty cool.”
During Larossa's tenure, the athletics communications office has grown from one full-time staffer and one intern to three full-time staffers and one intern. Johns Hopkins has hosted numerous NCAA, Big Ten, and Centennial Conference Championships during his tenure.
Immersed in a region which is a hotbed of lacrosse, Larossa was also a member of the Executive Committee of Lax4Baltimore, the local organizing committee for the 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2014 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore.
Larossa has succeeded because he has always kept his role in context. Hard work is a non-negotiable value for those that have worked in the JHU athletics communications office.
“The people who have worked in our office through the years have heard this over and over. I have said since arriving at JHU that we need to understand that what we are doing is not the most important thing going on at Johns Hopkins, but we are going to work like it is”, Larossa noted. “I have always understood that under the umbrella that encompasses all things Johns Hopkins, athletics is hardly the most important thing going on. That said, I take my job and responsibilities very seriously and have tried to establish a standard of what we do to represent the University that is at the same level as individuals who are, literally, working to cure cancer.”
A 1991 graduate of Elizabethtown College with a bachelor of arts degree in public relations and mass communications, Larossa always looks back to his roots there.
Larossa serving as emcee at John Hopkins’ Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
“While there, I had the opportunity to do a lot of on-camera work and call games for our campus radio station and enjoyed both,” Larossa said. “I was paying my way through school and had worked in the dining hall from the day I stepped on campus. But, the second semester of my junior year I started working for the SID (Brad Brubaker) as well. Brad had been a senior when I was a freshman so I knew him pretty well and he introduced me to the profession. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had found what I wanted to do.”
Larossa was fortunate to learn under CoSIDA Hall of Famer Bob Kenworthy at Gettysburg and CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Scott Selheimer (Delaware). Ben Sherman, also at Delaware, and Ann King (Russell Sage) also had a major impact on Larossa’s career.
“There are just so many parts of this profession that I love,” Larossa said. “Boiling it down, I got into this field because I love sports. I love the relationships with the student-athletes and coaches and being a small part of our “team” at Johns Hopkins. In the context of being part of a team, I know my role and I love it.
Larossa interviewing late Johns Hopkins football coach Jim Margraff after the Blue Jays beat McDaniel, 42-17, in 2018 to clinch a berth in the NCAA Playoffs.
Larossa’s family has also played a significant role during his time in the profession. Larossa and his wife, Kim, reside in Perry Hall, MD, and have two daughters, Katelyn and Hailey, and one son, Ryan.
“When I gave my kids advice about their career thoughts when they were younger, I told them not to worry as much about money as picking something you love because after you graduate from college you are likely going to spend the next 40 years in that profession,” he noted.
I don’t think our jobs or professions should define us. Find something you love and it can become part of who you are. I’ve been truly blessed to be a part of this profession.”
Serving as emcee of JHU’s annual Senior Athlete Banquet.