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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 2021. See more features at CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID.
Justin Wilson – Atlantic Coast Conference, Director of Communications
by Barb Kowal – CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Affairs
Justin Wilson made the transition from campus athletic communications to conference communications in 2019 when he joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. He had been at ACC member North Carolina State, his alma mater, first as a student assistant and then as postgraduate intern before being named assistant director of athletic communications where he was the main media relations contact for baseball, volleyball and rifle.
Below, he discusses the transition to conference SID life, some of his proudest career achievements and moments – including a first pitch memory - and gives his perspective on helping grow CoSIDA membership in terms of young professionals and ethnic minorities.
Justin Wilson at the ACC Basketball Tipoff basketball media days in Charlotte, NC.
Several years back, you made the transition from a campus athletics communications job at your alma mater, NC State, to a conference PR/communications position. How are the priorities and storytelling different now as a conference communications professional?
JW: Leaving my alma mater, NC State, a place that will always hold a special place in my heart, was a very tough decision but the opportunity to work for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. I grew up in North Carolina as a big fan of the ACC and to have the chance to work for the conference office was an absolute dream.
I love that I get to serve our 15 member schools and so many student-athletes at the conference level. It’s awesome to interact almost daily with each school’s SID on ways to increase the presence of the conference and our member schools on the local, regional and national levels. Instead of focusing on just the accomplishments of one school, I’m able to publicize all of our league schools and compare the accomplishments of our league against some of our other peer conferences.
What do you see as the special challenges right now for conference SIDs?
JW: One of the challenges of being at the conference office is to continue to find ways to be innovative and cutting edge. Sometimes it feels like your creativity may be limited because there are certain things that are necessary with each season, as far as the duties with stats, notes, players of the week, etc. go. Within that, I think there’s always room for creativity and finding new ways of doing them.
In Justin Wilson’s last game as NC State baseball’s media relations contact on April 2, 2019, the program honored him by surprising him to throw out the first pitch. The game was against South Carolina at Triple AAA Charlotte Knights’Trueist Field.
Highlights of your career to date (any special moments or achievements you are particularly proud of?)
JW: One of my most memorable moments of my career came in my final game as the baseball SID at NC State on April 2, 2019. We were playing South Carolina at Truist Field, the home of the (Chicago White Sox) Triple A Charlotte Knights. I still remember it like it was yesterday. As I was grabbing some photos and videos of our student-athletes during batting practice, head coach Elliott Avent said, “Start getting your arm loose.”
It caught me by surprise at first and I figured that he wasn’t talking to me, so I continued to get some more photos before he said it again and I responded with “Who me, Coach?” and he said “Yep, you’re throwing out the first pitch tonight.”
I was almost moved to tears in reflecting on the moment and the fact that Coach, the team and the program thought enough of me to have me throw out the first pitch before a game against South Carolina.
I still have the ball from throwing out the first pitch and I will always cherish it and that moment throughout my career because it was a recognition of how much the program appreciated the work I did during my tenure.
Justin Wilson throwing the first pitch at his last NC State baseball game.
Is there a particular podcast, blog or book you've recently engaged with or read that you would recommend for fellow SIDs?
JW: I’m a HUGE fan of the One Question Podcast with Tai Brown, as well as the ADU Podcast. We have a book that we’re reading at the ACC called ‘The Power of a Positive Team.’ I love some of the nuggets from it and learning new ways to strengthen our culture here.”
This summer, you participated in a CoSIDA U live webinar during the virtual CoSIDA U Camp, a series of webinars for young professionals and students interested in a career in athletic communications. Thank you for that! Two-part question: What's your advice for any student-athlete or student intern interested in pursuing a career in college athletics communications and/or creative work?
JW: My advice for anyone pursuing a career in athletics communications is to seek out opportunities to learn the business and don’t worry about being compensated for everything that you do when you first start in the field. I can remember one of my first projects when I was volunteering as a student at NC State was not the most glamorous project ever, but I learned so much from it and have a greater respect for it at this point in my career. I think sometimes we want to be paid for everything that we do and the time that we spend, but sometimes we’re paid in experience, in networking and gaining exposure to areas that you wouldn’t have been exposed to.
A key initiative for CoSIDA is growing our profession and in particular, expanding opportunities and recruiting more POC and ethnic minorities. Talk a little about that importance of diversifying college athletic administrative jobs.
JW: It’s very important for the administration and staff in collegiate athletics to look like our student-athletes, who are extremely diverse. Working in college athletics is amazing and I think so many people, particularly people of color, just don’t know how to get into the field. Having more people that look like in college athletics would be amazing, particularly in the field of communications, as there is very little diversity. Sometimes, I’m on video calls where I’m the only person of color on that call. I can’t wait for the day when I’m on those calls and see a diverse population. We need to keep working hard on this.
Justin Wilson representing the Atlantic Coast Conference on a visit to the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis.
Outside of work, what will we find Justin Wilson doing?
JW: Outside of work, you’ll catch me spending time with my beautiful wife Angelica and our two children, Jayden and Aliyah. I also love to play softball with the five-time champion Greensboro Rowdy Hoppers, a modified fastpitch recreation team that consists mostly of ACC staff. We won the championship last week and it was awesome!
I love playing golf, so you can catch me there, as well as giving back and serving my community with my fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi.
If you were not in the athletic communications field, what would be your dream occupation or, what can you see yourself doing?
JW: I’m a BIG fan of the Atlanta Braves, the 2021 MLB World Series Champions, and if I wasn’t in the athletics communications field, my dream job would be to work as their head of communications.”
Career goals?
JW: I want to be an athletics director. My roommate in college was a student-athlete and I really learned to appreciate the grind that student-athletes go through with balancing their sport, academics and any other activities that they would like to be involved. Having the opportunity to tell our student-athlete stories has really given me a great appreciation of them and understanding that without them, we (athletics communications) do not exist.
If I’m not an athletics director, then I want to continue to work in collegiate athletics where I’m able to interact with numerous student-athletes and hear about their stories. Our student-athletes are so much more than what meets the eye when they’re competing.