College Sports Information Directors of America

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• CoSIDA Hall of Fame

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Mark Fleming – Moravian, Director of Athletic Communications

CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Presented to CoSIDA members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of sports information in intercollegiate athletics. Minimum 15 years in the profession. Voted on by current CoSIDA Hall of Fame Members and the Special Awards Committee.

There are three categories for Hall of Fame nominations: University Division (NCAA DI), College Division (NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA, Two-year colleges and Canadian/U Sports) and Veterans (retirees/deceased/ former members who have left the sports information profession). All CURRENT professionals shall be nominated in the University and College Divisions, while all other nominees (retirees, deceased and those who have left the profession) shall be part of the Veterans nomination process.

Note: CoSIDA Hall of Fame members of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 were celebrated in pre-recorded awards shows during the #CoSIDA21 Virtual Convention. Click here to watch the show. Below is the full interview with Mark Fleming with expanded answers and thank yous. 
 

All In The Family:  Mark Fleming’s Sports Information Journey Takes Him To CoSIDA’s Hall of Fame
by Jim Seavey – Director of Athletic Communications, UMass Dartmouth (Retired)
 
The sports information bug bit Mark Fleming long before he got into college athletics.
 
In fact, even long before he got to college.
 
A distinguished career born from a simple introduction by his father has blossomed into a quarter century of excellence for Fleming, who will take his rightful place among the greats in the profession with induction into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
 
After playing on his high school’s JV baseball team as a freshman, Fleming decided to do the scorebook for the varsity squad as a sophomore.  During his senior year, Mark’s father, who served as a reference librarian at Edinboro (Pa.) University, introduced him to longtime Fighting Scots’ SID Todd Jay. 
 
“After the meeting, I ended up setting up an internship with Todd that had me leave high school an hour early each day and go to Edinboro,” Fleming said. “I really enjoyed it, and I ended up switching my major from education to communications before I even enrolled there.”
 
And the rest, as they say, is history.
 
 
Fleming worked under Jay’s tutelage before earning his degree from Edinboro in 1994, and he went on to learn from a pair of legends in the profession during his next two stops—the late Pete Nevins at East Stroudsburg as a graduate assistant and Dick Lipe at Bentley, where he served as assistant SID for a year after first completing an internship.
 
Those experiences prepared Fleming for the challenges of running his own 20-sport office at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., which he has called home for the past 24 years. 
 
“Moravian has been like a family,” Fleming said. “I've never really wanted to leave, although after a few years, I interviewed for and was offered the SID job at East Stroudsburg to follow Pete Nevins when he retired, but I ultimately stayed in Bethlehem. I'm glad I did.
 
“Moravian has always tried to provide everything that I've needed to fully do my job,” continued Fleming. “Sometimes, it has taken longer than I wanted, but I've always received the support of the administration. I spent the first 18 years at Moravian in Public Relations/Marketing & Communications, and my office was in the administration building on the other side of campus, not in athletics. That allowed me to get to know more about administration.”
 
A major part of Fleming’s non-Moravian duties has been his involvement with CoSIDA’s Academic All-America program. He is completing his fourth year as chair of the AAA Hall of Fame committee. After being first introduced to the intricacies of the program as an undergraduate by Jay, Lipe (then the committee chair) asked Fleming if he would like to serve as a district coordinator when the core program expanded in 1996.
 
“I jumped at the chance not knowing that the first ballot I did (college division women's soccer) would have over 100 nominees,” Fleming recalls with a laugh. “I truly have enjoyed being part of the committee. Since transitioning over to the Hall of Fame in 2008, I've been fascinated by some of the outstanding stories that we get to hear during the induction ceremonies.
 
“The biggest and most fulfilling experiences are the relationships that I've built with my fellow committee members, the Hall of Fame members and the Dick Enberg family,” Fleming continued. “I'll never forget the final conversation I had with Dick at the Marriott World Center after becoming chair of the committee in 2017. He was always so gracious and so passionate about the program.”
 
As Fleming referenced, his fellow Academic All-America committee members have also become a family, and they are equally as appreciative of everything he has done to advance the program’s mission.
 
“Mark has done tireless work on the Academic All-America Committee and has been so giving of both his time and energy,” said longtime Augustana (Ill.) SID and fellow Hall of Famer Dave Wrath.  “He has been a willing volunteer who has sought to be involved in all aspects of the program in any way possible.”
 
Fleming has been a tireless contributor to the sports information profession. He was honored with CoSIDA’s 2013 Lester Jordan Award for exemplary service to the Academic All-America program. Fleming served a three-year stint on CoSIDA’s board (2011 to 2014), served as chair of CoSIDA’s former College Division Management Council (2014-17) and has been D3SIDA’s Communications Director since its inception in 2009. Fleming has also been honored with a pair of citations from CoSIDA’ Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest in 2014 and 2015.
 
At the conference level, Fleming served as the initial chair of the Landmark Conference’s Sports Information Directors Committee (2007-09) and returned to that role for another three-year term in 2018.
 
While Moravian has been like a family to Fleming since his arrival in Bethlehem, taking care of his own family remains the most important priority in Mark’s life. He and his wife Sandy are parents to two sons, Justin and Ryan. Maintaining a work-life balance is a struggle for anyone in the profession, but the Flemings have made it work extremely well.
 
“This has always been one of the hardest parts of the job, but it comes back to Moravian and how they've worked with me,” Fleming said. “When Justin and Ryan were infants and toddlers, I was able to work from home for parts of the day, and as they got older, they would come to events.  I've even used them as part of my stat crew and video streaming crew at times. Ryan is a hockey player and Justin plays soccer, so I go to as many games as I can and usually take pictures.
 
“I was working as a student at Edinboro when Sandy and I started dating, so she got an early glimpse into what I wanted to do for a living,” Fleming continued. “She's been very supportive, and that’s a blessing when I do have to work.”
 
Dedicated professional. Tireless volunteer. Husband. Father. Those are just a few of the titles that Mark Fleming has earned in his life.
 
He can now add another distinguished moniker to that list: 
 
Hall of Famer.