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Pictured above: Bates College AD Jason Fein (center) with Chris McKibben (assistant AD for communications and Tia Day (coordinator of athletics marketing and promotions) of his athletics communications team.
Perspective: Our profession beats the alternatives
by Jason Fein – Bates College, Director of Athletics @BatesCollegeAD
“People try to put us d-down, Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation
Just because we get around, Talkin’ Bout My Generation
Things they do look awful c-c-old, Talkin’ Bout My Generation
Hope I die before I get old, Talkin’ Bout My Generation”
-The Who
I woke up one day not too long ago and realized what I never wanted to admit…I’m getting older, and to some of you out there, I’m downright old. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, at least in my mind, that I attended my first CoSIDA convention but I realize, as I write this, that it was certainly before some of the current members reading this could, well, read at all.
As an athletics director who began my career in athletic training, and then went on to spend a huge portion of it in sports information, athletic communications, or whatever we are calling it these days, I'm often asked for opinions regarding the challenges facing our profession, the people in it, and what the future may look like considering the amount of people that are leaving the world of college athletics for other pursuits.
I’m a firm believer in periodically doing a self-check on whether or not you are on the right track in life, whether it be personally or professionally. Life is too short to spend your days doing something that simply doesn’t fulfil you or align with your personal philosophy, or what some would call your “why.” That said, I'm constantly surprised at just how unsatisfied some folks seem in their day to day lives in what, in my opinion, is still a profession that beats so many alternatives.
I realize at this point, just three paragraphs in, I've opened myself up to the eventual reality that there will be sides taken and opinions posted about what was stated just one sentence ago. But that’s ok because it means we have your attention.
I admit that I've not totally kept up on all of the day-to-day challenges facing athletics communications professionals, although as an athletic director with strong ties to the profession, more than a dozen years in a sports information role, and a ton of friends and colleagues who are terrific sports communicators in the world of college athletics, I feel that I might be able to offer a little perspective on the past, present and maybe even the future.
As we all know, the only constant in life is change. And if you were reading carefully just a moment ago, you might have noticed that I made mention of sports information, athletic communications, as well as sports communicators when it comes to the important job that you all do each and every day in support of student-athletes. So…what’s in a name?
Well to some, it’s a lot. And to others, it’s just the way that we put a small label on what we all know is an immense umbrella of qualities, tasks, and responsibilities. When I heard of the very vocal criticism of some in the profession regarding the change of the name of CoSIDA to College Sports Communicators, I felt compelled to learn more. I wasn’t surprised to see one thing that hasn’t changed in the more than 20 years that I’ve been involved in professional development organizations — and that is that there is still a healthy skepticism of the leadership and the motivation behind the decisions that are made in the name of moving organizations forward on behalf of their members.
More years ago than I would like to admit, I felt the same way, as did some of my closest friends in the profession who I know are reading this piece right now and know exactly where it's headed. The leadership of our membership-governed organization could basically do no right. They didn’t understand “my generation.” We came to CoSIDA conventions with all of the right ideas of how everything should run, right down to the social events. And when the “old folks” running the show didn’t see things our way, we went so far as to form an offshoot branch of the organization literally dedicated to letting the “younger” folks in CoSIDA express themselves in the only way we really knew how, and that usually involved gathering after hours while most of the folks in leadership positions were getting their sleep so they could be fresh and rested for the 6 a.m. 5Ks, the 7 a.m. breakfasts and the 8 a.m. panels.
We were convinced that there was not enough transparency from the leadership because, after all, we were entitled to know everything about everything. And once we found things out, we were quick to criticize. We were certain that there were things we weren’t being told, things being kept from the membership, things that they just didn’t want us to know. We didn’t spend much time questioning what possible motivation there might be for the leadership of our organization, run by our peers, to keep secrets from their own folks. It didn’t matter, we knew we were right! Fast forward two decades, and I hear the same exact thing now, only I hear it from the other side. Now I have become part of the old guard, and now that is the group being questioned about the same things.
None of this is new to this or any other professional organization. The good news, from my perspective, is that no matter what name the organization has at the top of its letterhead, the important work that everyone who is a part of it does is still essential to the success of each and every institution that we serve. What our “Young CoSIDA” experience taught me is that while we thought we were rebelling against the old guard, raging against the machine, I actually now know that it was just our way of getting involved and helping shape the future of the organization in our own way. Many folks looked at us as the group that threw parties, and trust me they were great parties! But we also brought new people together in new ways each year, old and young, new to the profession and veterans. We raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities, and in our own way, we contributed as best we could to the good of the organization while we were busy being sure to brand our operation differently — we were YC, not CoSIDA. Well looking back on it, of course we were CoSIDA, and of course we were contributing.
HOW DO I KNOW THIS IS TRUE? HOW DO I KNOW WE WERE CONTRIBUTING? (That is what you’re asking right now anyway, right?)
Well, I’ll tell you.
Your current President of College Sports Communicators along with much of the board over the last several years, as well as more than a half-dozen College Sports Communicator HALL OF FAMERS are proud YC alumni. Cream rises to the top. This organization, no matter what it’s called, has amazingly smart, hard workers, who have so much to contribute. It doesn’t really matter if you agree with the name change or not, the good work will continue.
It’s possible to lead from any seat in the organization. When I meet with staff members or coaches who have complaints, I always wait to see if they come into the conversation with potential ideas and solutions for those problems, or just the problems part. I encourage you all to help be a part of solving the challenges that will continue to present themselves not only to the communications teams, and the sports medicine teams, but the coaches and the athletic directors as well. It’s a tough time for so many right now, and our institutions are grappling with tough decisions. Athletics still has the opportunity to be the bright spot on campuses, and our communications teams are the ones that will continue to tell those great stories. Continue to question authority, professionally, and continue to be a part of the solutions that we all need right now. Continue to help the organization, and for the love of all that is good in the world, some of you please continue to throw good parties, because I’m retired…at least from that piece of the job.
After more than 25 years in college athletics, serving in a number of roles, I still look forward to the challenges that await us each day, even when I am on the receiving end of many of the same criticisms that I used to hurl at the “elders” back in the day. But while “getting old” certainly has its drawbacks, there are benefits of gaining a career’s worth of life experience, and getting to share and use it every day. I like to think that we can all learn from each other, and can benefit from some of the mistakes and lessons we have all made. As yet another old song exclaimed: “The times, they are a changing.” So no, I no longer hope I die before I get old…because old is a state of mind, and I don’t know about you all, but I’m not there quite yet.
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