College Sports Information Directors of America

Becoming a new mother during the pandemic. Being the associate director of a NCAA Division I athletic communications department where four of the six department staffers are female — which is both a rarity AND a record-number of female SIDs in a single DI athletic department. That’s Chelsea Pitvorec who is in her fifth year at the University of New Mexico.
 
Pitvorec joined UNM in 2016 and serves as the primary contact for men’s basketball, men’s golf and women’s golf. During her tenure at UNM, she has also served as the contact for men’s soccer, women’s basketball and softball.
 
Prior to UNM, Pitvorec worked in New England. She spent two years at Assumption College (Worcester, Mass.) where she handled publicity for 11 of the 24 athletic teams. She also served as a secondary contact for the other 13 sports, including football. Prior to Assumption, she was a graduate assistant at Division I Central Connecticut State University and earned a master’s in communication.
 
A panelist at prior ECAC-SIDA (now EAST-COMM) summer workshops, Pitvorec discussed Photoshop and statistics.
 
Pitvorec also spent time at Ohio University and worked in the private sector for the Escambia County Public Relations Office and with Comedy Central/Spike TV.
 
Pitvorec has numerous volunteer and civic involvement experiences, including working with President Obama’s media staff during his 2014 appearance at CCSU and assisting in press box operations at Gillette Stadium during the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
 

What is your most memorable moment in your career as an SID?
CP: I have had so many amazing, memorable moments in my career. I have seen hard working teams both reach great success and win championships, and I have seen others try hard but not quite make it. I have cheered with them (inside of course) and I have wanted to cry with them, and all of those moments with such awesome student-athletes are memorable.
 
During the 2018-19 men’s basketball season, we hosted No. 5/6 Nevada at our homecourt (The Pit) and the Lobos pulled off the upset, 85-58. It was an incredible game and after it was over, the fans in an arena that holds 15,411 people, stormed the court! The celebration was unlike anything I had ever been a part of in person. It was also extremely difficult to grab players for TV interviews because I had to try to navigate through the crowded court to locate players and then get them to the other side of the arena where the TV broadcasters were waiting. It was quite the exciting evening!
 
 
Another really cool opportunity I had was going up in a hot air balloon as part of my job! Since moving to Albuquerque, I had been dreaming of going up in a hot air balloon since they are such a unique part of the culture here in New Mexico. For one of our men’s basketball games, ESPN broadcaster and former NBA great (and CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Famer) Bill Walton, came to Albuquerque to call the game and myself and other members of our staff gave him a tour of the city for footage that would be aired during the broadcast. We were able to take him up in a hot air balloon and our staff joined to take photos/videos, etc. It was extremely cool!
 
Once you’re finished with work for the day, what do you enjoy doing?
CP: Well I am very fortunate to have had a baby boy (Barrett) during the pandemic, so my MOST favorite thing is to play with him and soak up as much time as I can. When he is in bed, I like to unwind with a nice murder-mystery book or some trashy reality TV like Real Housewives or Big Brother.
 
Your athletic communications office, led by Assistant AD Frank Mercogliano, recently hired a full-time staff of all women. Of the six staffers, four are women (three full-timers and one intern). Was there any intentionality to this (or perhaps just a coincidence)? And if so, what was the inspiration behind it?
CP: There actually was not an intention to this that I know of. When we hire within our office, we look for the absolute best person for the position. The last two times we had an open position, we chose the person we felt was the best for the job, and those individuals happened to be women. I am fortunate to work in such an inclusive, diverse environment at UNM. Our department recognizes the potential of each individual and we all work together to get there.
 
 
As someone who has great expertise in graphic design and public relations, what are some of your best practices in promoting programs through social media? How do you approach creating a social media presence? 
CP: My favorite things to do on social media focus around “humanizing” our student-athletes, really helping the fans get to know our players on a deeper level than just their stats and photos. I am fortunate that at New Mexico we have a close-knit team that works hard to execute this vision. I also think it is important to be consistent in your post regularity and in your branding.
 
Above both of those, I think it is important for today’s SID to trust the younger, more “fresh” eyes that come with those newest to the profession. It is those individuals that, in my experience, have the greatest eye for social media and tend to be up to date on what is “trending,” more so than any of us that have been around awhile.
 
I have learned so much from those that have more recently entered the field. Throughout my career, it has been fun to incorporate their new ideas while staying on brand within our established strategy.
 
Your bio mentions the many events you have volunteered at over the years. What motivates you to volunteer? What is the coolest event you have volunteered for? 
CP: Volunteering provides so much opportunity for growth and learning! I love to continue to expand my knowledge and I also enjoy getting new experiences that will enhance my ability to do my job well. Through volunteering with various organizations, I have been able to learn things that I have brought back to my current positions.
 
The three coolest volunteer experiences I have been a part of were working for Copa America at Gillette Stadium in the press box and at the press conference, working with the presidential press pool during President Barack Obama’s visit to one of my former schools and working a WNBA Connecticut Sun game. Each of these experiences taught me so much and I was able to meet some amazing people along the way.
 

You earned your bachelor’s degree from the University of West Florida and your master’s degree from Central Connecticut State University. Your bio says you are currently working on your PhD at the University of New Mexico. What has pushed you to seek higher education throughout your career? 
CP: Most of my formal education is based in communication and public relations, which has served me well in handling public relations for athletic departments. About seven years into my career however, I realized that everything that I had learned to that point about working in athletics had come from asking questions and taking in everything around me to the best of my abilities. The University of New Mexico has a great sport administration program and I saw it as an exciting opportunity to continue to grow with more formal education when it comes to working in all capacities within athletics.
 
As far as my motivation for higher education in general is concerned, my mother has always put an emphasis on higher education. In deciding whether to pursue a master’s in sport administration or go all the way for the PhD, I was motivated to obtain a degree at a level I did not have and I knew my mom would love for me to do that as well. My little brother is also working on his doctorate so I think it would be exciting for my mom to have two kids with PhDs. She dedicated a lot of her time as we grew up to encouraging us to be the best we could be through continued growth and learning. 
 
I have been fortunate to have many strong female role models in my family and in my life that have achieved at a high level. They have inspired me throughout my lifetime and I have learned so much from them, I strive to make them proud. 
 
Do you have any advice or tips for SIDs on how to maintain a good work/life balance? 
CP: I am very fortunate that I have a wife who is an athletic trainer and we have been together for 14 years, so Shannon gets it. She understands the long, sometimes grueling hours of an SID because we have both always worked those long, late hours.
 
What I have always tried to do is carve out time in the day to spend time with loved ones, even if that time is 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (!) when we get home from work. The two hours less of sleep is worth it in the long run.
 
I find that if you schedule some family and/or friend time the way you would schedule a meeting into your day, you are more likely to actually make the time to do those important things.
 
Pre-pandemic, I would schedule lunches with friends, girls’ nights, etc. to make sure I made time for those friends around me that I care about. Not only is it a great way to maintain those friendships through the busy times, but it is also so important for your own mental health to make that time for you to be with people you care about — that aren’t in athletics. That being said, several of my friends and family know that they probably won’t see me from November to March. I am so grateful to have people in my life that are understanding of my busy schedule!
 

What are some of the biggest obstacles or challenges you have had to overcome in your career? How did you get through them and what did you learn along the way?
CP: I have had many obstacles throughout my career but probably the MOST challenging thus far has been having a baby during a pandemic while continuing to work full time. I have been told it is not easy having a family and being an SID and I can definitely see why. First, I am SO fortunate to have supportive supervisors and an extremely supportive athletic director here at UNM. They have allowed me to work where I need to during this uncertain time as much as possible.
 
I am still learning how to balance it all but ultimately, I just try to stay organized. I find that creating a schedule and sticking to it as much as possible alleviates stress and ensures I make the time to get everything done at the level I expect of myself.
 
Probably the most prevalent obstacle I have experienced throughout the decade I have been in this profession has been working around some individuals who do not think a woman can or should do this job. In those situations, I have stayed the course, kept grinding and performed my job to the best of my abilities to prove them wrong. In doing so, I have learned more about myself along the way. More often, however, this profession has afforded me the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing, hard-working and selfless individuals that are always working hard to grind away behind the scenes. 
 
Your bio on Twitter says that you are a lover of food. What is your favorite meal to make?
CP: I like to cook — Salmon is probably my favorite food to make — but mostly I like to EAT food. I am nearly always hungry, I love trying new foods and I bring snacks to games to prevent the “hanger” from coming on. 
 
I enjoy just about any type of food as long as it isn’t too spicy. I think food is just such a great opportunity to bring people together. I like getting family and friends together for food, I also like bringing food for the game crew when everyone is working hard, something I would like to do more often once we return to some kind of normal — everyone deserves a snack break!