College Sports Information Directors of America

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Jim Heath – Hampton University, Director of Sports Information

CoSIDA 25-Year Award

by Sam Atkinson – Gallaudet University, Associate Athletic Director for Communications/CoSIDA President

For over 25 years, Jim Heath has been a permanent fixture in the 757. The Eastern Shore of Virginia has gone through marketing campaigns and monikers like Tidewater, Hampton Roads, Coastal Virginia and now the hipper 757, which is the area code for the region that includes the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth and Suffolk, among others. While the region continues to seek how it wants to be defined there is no wavering when it comes to defining who Jim Heath is. He is a humble and reliable athletics communicator. 
 
Sitting down and talking to Jim Heath is like talking to a good friend. Just be prepared to carve out some time to appreciate all that Jim has to offer. It’s like pulling up a beach chair, sinking your bare feet in the sand while watching the tides come in and out while sipping on a cool glass of sweet tea. Jim’s easy going approach to life and folksy humor and sayings are a breath of fresh salt water air.
 
Currently in his sixth year as Hampton University’s Director of Sports Information, Heath has worn so many hats in the 757 that it is hard to keep track. His accomplished resume could be mistaken for a visitor’s guide to seeing the different college athletic programs in the 757. (The three digits are even in Heath's personal Twitter handle - @heathbar757).
 
 
“Jim is a staple in the area. He means a lot to the 757,” said Maurice Williams, Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). “Whatever you need help with you can call Jim and he is there. In the 757 there are a lot of schools. Jim is a guy I have called on in the past. He has covered a wide variety of sports. He has been around and seen a lot.”
 
A 1991 graduate of Christopher Newport University, Heath learned about the sports information profession as a student under CoSIDA Hall of Famer Wayne Block (Class of 2014). He then was a two-year graduate assistant under another CoSIDA Hall of Famer, Carol Hudson (Class of 2010), at Old Dominion University before heading back to his alma mater CNU as assistant sports information director.
 
“The term ‘hard-working’ is bandied about quite a bit, but I can honestly say Jim is the epitome of that phrase,” said Block. “There are so many individuals, schools and conferences he has assisted over the years. The 757 is indeed lucky to have Jim’s services.”
 
After a four-year run at The Daily Press in Newport News, Heath landed at The Apprentice School, a vocational school founded and operated by Newport News Shipbuilding. The Builders' athletics program is unique as its “student-working-athletes” not just receive an education but become craftsmen with on-the-job training building ships.
 
Apprentice is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and offers a limited amount of sports. Heath was able to take on more responsibilities while at Apprentice, serving as the sports information contact for the Atlantic Central Football Conference (ACFC) and the USCAA.
 
"Jim Heath has been instrumental in the growth and advancement of the USCAA since 2005,” noted USCAA Executive Director & CEO Matthew Simms. “Jim has dedicated his spare time with advanced media and statistics for the USCAA, further enhancing our brand and the growth of the small college athletic programs that we serve. Our association is forever grateful for his trusted and loyal service.”
 
Heath witnessed Apprentice teams winning national championships and earn academic and athletic awards, and other main highlights for him include working alongside his father (Roy) who assisted at the scorer’s table and in the press box and also having his mother, Charlotte, in the stands. Sports and family are everything for the Heaths.
 
Unfortunately, the Heath family was rocked to its core in a three-year span. Charlotte passed due to Parkinson’s in January 2014, Jim was unceremoniously let go at Apprentice in September 2015 and Roy passed away of pneumonia in January 2017.
 
“There’s not enough tape [to discuss everything],” said Jim as he choked up in a zoom interview to discuss his parents and what they meant to him.
 
This three-year stretch was the most difficult in Jim’s life. During this time, he leaned on family, friends, co-workers and his extended family in the sports information field for support.
 
Jim recalls a special moment in March 2017 when he got to climb the ladder and cut down a piece of the net after the Hampton women’s basketball team won the MEAC championship and earned a bid into the NCAA tournament.
 
“I had dad’s picture sitting at the scorer’s table with me. I remember this vividly. When the game was over, I lost it at the table,” said Jim. “The team got me up on the ladder to cut the net and I screamed ‘Mom and Dad, I got one’ as I held up the piece of the net in the air.”
 
Hampton women’s basketball head coach David Six recalled that moment.
 
“Jim is a part of our family. A lot of us have lost people close to us. We wanted to be supportive of him. He was part of the team. It was only right he stepped up the ladder. It was a fantastic moment for us to see him up there knowing everything he had gone through,” Six said.
 
In addition to his work with the USCAA, Heath served as the President of the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) organization from 2015-19.
 
“The passion Jim has for SID work is impressive. I knew I would miss Jim when he left our program but my players didn’t realize just how valuable he was until he was no longer with us,” said Apprentice baseball head coach Bryan Cave, now in his 46th season.
 
Heath has inputted and written numbers his entire career but one number stands out among them all. The 757. It is more than a number or an area for Jim Heath, it is home.
 
“Plain and simple this is home. I have been extremely blessed over my years to have chances to work at basically every school in the 757 in one way or one capacity,” said Heath. “It was and will always be home for me.”