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Note: This story appeared in the Winter 2021 February edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
The Communications Gatekeepers of "Sports Heaven"
Built by a pioneering SID, the ESPN Communications Department is the beneficiary of many others who are products of the sports information profession.
by Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director
When ESPN was launched on September 7, 1979, its primary purpose was televising events along with covering sports news. But, shortly afterwards, it became obvious that the network and its announcers were going to occasionally be the news. As a result, ESPN President Chet Simmons determined a need for a communications department. That’s where we pick up the storyline.
In late September of 1979, Rosa Gatti, the first female sports information director at an NCAA Division I football school, was busy prepping for Brown University’s football season opener at Yale.
Meanwhile, about two hours down the road a fledging 24-hour cable sports network called the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, housed in a few trailers on a parcel of land that was once a dump site in Bristol, Conn., was just a couple of weeks into its on-the-air launch.
The network debuted at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 7, 1979 and aired the initial SportsCenter telecast. The first words spoken by co-anchor Lee Leonard set the stage for viewers expectations: “If you’re a fan, what you’ll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you’ve gone to
sports heaven.”
From left, Tammy Boclair (2003-04 CoSIDA President and Hall of Famer), Rosa Gatti, April Emory (CoSIDA’s first Black woman to serve on the Board of Directors) and the late Mary Jo Haverbeck (CoSIDA Hall of Famer) pose during the ESPN Party at the 2007 CoSIDA Workshop in San Diego.
Increasingly, Gatti took notice of the novel network concept. In fact, she assisted ESPN producers that fall when the network came to the Brown campus to televise several soccer games. ESPN featured numerous college events in the New England area on its programming lineup during its infancy.
Despite not having a dedicated communications department in those early months, ESPN President Chet Simmons subscribed to the theory that to grow the company’s profile nationally he needed a skilled communications staff to attract media attention.
Nine months after it went on the air, ESPN hired Gatti as its first director of communications. It proved to be a decision that would have a lasting impact not only on Gatti, but also influence CoSIDA and the sports information profession.
She had been recommended for the job by, among others, ESPN visionary and founder Bill Rasmussen, who had a background as a communications director in professional hockey.
Gatti had previously served as the director of sports information at her alma mater, Villanova, and was in her third year at Brown. She accepted the ESPN position with a degree of apprehension.
She quickly surmised that serving as the primary communication gatekeeper for “sports heaven” was going to be a daunting task.
“I thought that I was going to get fired,” said Gatti. “It was a new world for me, and I felt that I might be in over my head. I quickly discovered that the media really didn’t want to write about us. Plus, we were not sure we would make it. In our first four years we lost $100,000,000.”
Make it, of course, they did. In the process, Gatti became a cable television and sports communication pioneer. She spent 33 years at ESPN and played an instrumental role in turning the network into one of the world’s most powerful media brands before her retirement in 2013.
Mike Soltys (left) and Josh Krulewitz (center) with Bill Rasmussen. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Gatti accepted the challenge of traveling across the country to ESPN events on college campuses and spending time with local media to explain what ESPN was all about. Her efforts started to pay dividends and within a year of being hired as a director, Gatti was promoted to vice president of communications.
“One of the key programming decisions in those early years was to make college sports a centerpiece of our programming,” Gatti explained. “An important element in that growth was signing an agreement with the NCAA to televise the NCAA basketball tournament games.”
Gatti, who has been honored by CoSIDA with the Jake Wade Award and Keith Jackson Award, has never swayed from her devotion to a profession that had an immense impact on her career. At her urging and because of her continued encouragement with the ESPN hierarchy, the network has been a generous corporate partner in support of the CoSIDA Convention every year since Gatti was hired.
A highlight for anyone who has attended a CoSIDA Convention is the annual ESPN reception.
“One of my former student assistants at Brown, Diane Lamb, handled many of the details in making those social events happen,” noted Gatti. “She became a vice president of communications at ESPN.”
During those years, Gatti missed “only one or two CoSIDA Conventions.”
“I was occasionally questioned about spending this money on CoSIDA,” Gatti recalled. “We had challenging budget times. I stressed the value of the SID in what we were doing and that it was extremely important to build a relationship with them.
“I always made the case that SIDs are the ones who bring us the stories.”
The ESPN communications office in Bristol had a humble beginning as Gatti was budgeted for just two assistants and an intern.
The first staffing decisions included two future leaders of the network who had sports information pedigrees. One staff position went to Chris LaPlaca, her assistant at Brown. LaPlaca’s career at ESPN moved forward in rapid fashion, and he now serves as the company’s senior vice president for corporate communications.
Josh Krulewitz (left), Rosa Gatti and Mike Soltys during the Cheryl Therriault retirement party. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Mike Soltys, whose father Joe was the SID at Connecticut from 1959 to 1984, was embarking on the start of his career when he was lured to the network as the first intern hired at ESPN. He was elevated to vice president of corporate communications in 2003.
Also on that initial communication staff was Dave Ogrean, who later served as the USA Hockey executive director after a stint as its director of public relations.
During her career at ESPN, Gatti’s responsibilities were expanded. She built the corporate philanthropy department, reorganized human resources, founded the company’s diversity committee and served as investor relations liaison for the company to the Walt Disney Company.
Today, ESPN’s communications department numbers approximately 50 employees divided into specific sport assignments at the college and pro levels. With its extensive broadcast portfolio of multimedia sports assets, including both TV and digital platforms, the job of handling communications for ESPN has become more demanding and complex.
The college communications team at ESPN — and their assignments — includes:
• Bill Hofheimer: A former assistant SID at Florida who oversees the college sports team and all aspects of college sports publicity for ESPN. He previously directed communications for ESPN’s Monday Night Football and NFL studio shows.
• Amanda Brooks: A former assistant SID at Vanderbilt and Florida who handles college football, gymnastics and track & field.
• Amy Ufnowski: A former assistant SID at Marquette and the Atlantic Coast Conference who works with the ACC and Longhorn Networks, baseball and assists in men’s basketball.
• Anna Negrón: A highly acclaimed national anthem singer, she is a former PR specialist for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and now works with College GameDay (both football and basketball), men’s basketball, ESPN Events, lacrosse and wrestling.
• Kim Elchlepp: Her background includes work in the PR department at CNN. She works with women’s college basketball, softball, college football awards, volleyball and soccer.
“The mission of our college sports PR team at ESPN is multi-faceted, just as it is for the media relations departments at schools and conferences,” Hofheimer explained. “Storytelling is at the core of what we do. We try to engage and inform fans — and drive awareness of ESPN content — through our ongoing communications efforts.”
“SIDs are so important to our college sports PR team and we are in regular communication with them, as well as our conference media relations partners.” Hofheimer said. “SIDs help us communicate information about ESPN and our broadcasts to local and regional media, and fans, in their respective markets.”
Ufnowski, with her lengthy background in sports information on campus and in a conference office, says the experience was instrumental in building a large network of colleagues.
“Throughout my career relationships have been paramount and my experiences as an SID proved to be invaluable in fostering those with coaches, student-athletes, administrators, media and peers across the industry,” Ufnowski said.
Brooks also cites her SID experiences as being a factor in the growth of her career. “I’ve worked in PR for 12 years now and the six years I spent as a college SID shaped so much of what I do today,” she explained.
Negrón considers the roles of each member of the ESPN PR team as similar in scope to the job of an SID.
“In normal times, I travel to GameDay locations, coordinate interview requests and be the resource for information,” Negrón explained. “We don’t handle stats or game notes, but we basically have the same responsibilities an SID does.”
“The SIDs are critical in helping me do my job,” added Negron. “I normally start each week during football season with a call to the SID at the site of College GameDay.”
Hofheimer also points to the “invaluable” help of SIDs during this year’s pandemic challenges.
“When College GameDay visits a particular campus, the school SID not only assists our production team with site planning, but they also help us communicate the location, timing and other relevant information to the public,” he said. “Even this year when we weren’t allowed to have fans on-site due to health protocols, the school SIDs were invaluable in communicating to fans how they could still be part of the show through our “virtual pit’. I would also add that our ESPN team prides itself on being just as helpful to the schools.”
“When SIDs need information about schedules, our coverage plans, or how to get in touch with a producer or commentator, our goal is to be a resource for them,” he added. “The information flow is definitely a two-way street.”
The ESPN workforce includes other top-level administrators influenced by their years working in a sports information office. Among them is ESPN’s VP of communications, Josh Krulewitz. He came to ESPN in 1990 as an intern after working as a student assistant in the Connecticut SID office where he was tutored by, among others, Barb Kowal who now serves as CoSIDA’s director of professional development and external affairs
“As ESPN has grown, we recognize the demands on SIDs have grown along with us,” said Krulewitz. “More importantly, so too has our admiration and respect for the vital role they play.”
“I’m convinced the world of sports information is a remarkable training ground for many professionals,” he added. “In my case, the common thread between my biggest professional influences is they all have SID backgrounds. And, like many others, they would all clip newspapers, hang numbers on freezing cold scoreboards or do whatever else it takes to get the job done.”
Both Soltys and Krulewitz have been honored by the United States Basketball Writers’ Association with the Katha Quinn Award, named after the late St. John’s SID for outstanding media service.
It’s revealing to retrace the sports information lineage through those top branches of the communications tree at ESPN over the past 40 years. Gatti was the first communications director and was instrumental in helping train Soltys during his internship year. Soltys later hired Krulewitz, also a former UConn student assistant, as an intern and now he heads the department.
They all share an affection and respect for the value of sports information on their successful careers. In addition, they also owe a debt of gratitude to Gatti for opening the door and connecting ESPN and CoSIDA.
Throughout her time at ESPN and since her retirement, Gatti has always delivered a definitive and authentic endorsement that speaks to her respect for the profession that launched her luminous career.
“I’ve always extolled the importance of the role of sports information,” Gatti added. “And not just in the athletic department but it’s one of the most critical roles in the university.”
The ESPN College Sports Public Relations Team can be accessed at CollegeSportsPR@espn.com.
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