College Sports Information Directors of America

From the desk of Jessica Poole — 'Tis the season for reflection

Lately I’ve been thinking about all the things we’ve accomplished as an organization since I took the gavel in July. We've accomplished a lot. And, we have a lot to be thankful for. CSC's success doesn’t happen without the work of the Executive Board of Directors, CSC staff and you, our members.
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Announcing the CSC 30 Under 30 Class of 2022

College Sports Communicators announced its new CSC 30 Under 30 recognition program with the release of the Class of 2022 on Nov. 30. This honor was created by the association’s Young Professionals Committee to recognize outstanding young professionals throughout the membership.

“This class represents 30 of the brightest young talents in College Sports Communicators at all levels,” 2022-23 CSC President Jessica Poole said. “We’re thankful to the Young Professionals Committee for spearheading the effort to get this program off the ground. It’s one example of the type of programming and recognition we want to do more of as we do the work to support our new organizational name and brand. Congratulations to all the deserving winners.”

Of more than 100 nominations submitted, this year’s class includes 17 members from four different levels of NCAA Division I, four Division II members, three Division III members, four NAIA members and two from Canadian institutions. The average age is 26.9 years old.

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More than this: Purdue communicator Rachel Coe intertwines storytelling and poetry throughout her work and life

CSC 30 Under 30 honoree Emily McMillan tells the story of how her best friend Rachel Coe — another 30 Under 30 honoree — has honed her creative storytelling skills in both her work at Purdue and in her life away from athletics.
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Jacob Walton: 5 sports photography tips for CSC Members and his "Why This Career Path" video

Meet Jacob Walton, a graduate assistant in UIndy's athletiic communications department, who shares five sports photography tips for SIDs and a video he produced for one of his graduate courses about how he learned about and developed a love for the profession.
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Navigating a bilingual institution as an SID

In his role as sports information officer at the University of Ottawa in Canada’s capital city, Spencer Murdock oversees communications efforts for the Gee-Gees varsity sports teams. What makes his situation unique is that he navigates an athletics program, a university and a city that requires knowing and using both English and French on a daily basis.
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Young Professionals Spotlight: Three up, three down with Dominique Del Prete of Union (NY)

Now entering her second year as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Union College (NY), Dominique Del Prete has fulfilled several different roles at several different institutions and organizations. Not only has she found her place, but through her travels has found her people.
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Two words that go a long way

Recently, Theresa Kurtz of the Mountain West Conference was reminded how powerful a simple “thank you” can be. Those two little words can spark so much into a person after a long day. Hearing thank you, no matter how big or small the task may be, can motivate an individual or completely change your outlook.
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Stadium Tech Report — Top tech and connectivity trends at stadiums and facilities ready for sharing

Stadium Tech Report is the go-to publication and social platform for stadium technology, covering topics in digital display, stadium Wi-Fi/cellular, stadium entry/security/safety systems for professional and college and university sports venues, and more. Earlier this year, CSC members were invited to participate in STR’s annual Stadium Connectivity Survey, and Paul Kapustka, Editor at Stadium Tech Report, summarizes the survey results and offers some insights for CSC members on the current state of a venue’s connectivity, and where the venues, teams and schools should prioritize investments and strategies. Before a lengthy career in the technology publishing industry, Kapustka was a sportswriter for the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera.
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Sports Social & Digital Media Webinar Series

Join us TODAY, Dec. 1 at 2 PM Eastern for the first webinar in our Sports Social & Digital Media Series.

Karina Anglada, strategic development manager (video) and Akshay Ram, product manager, both of Adobe, will offer strategies and tips for efficiently building social brands.

Click here to access the Attendee Hub to watch live or on-demand (CSC member log-in required).

Join these two leading Adobe managers, both heavily invested with collegiate and/or pro sports backgrounds, as they lead us through tips, tactics, tools and strategies to assist your workflows and make your creative jobs easier and more efficient. The focus of this first webinar in our CSC Social & Digital Media Series will be working with Adobe Express. This session is for all CSC members working in social media, regardless of your experience and level of expertise in working in graphics and videos.

Join in and ask your question about the Adobe software, particularly Adobe Express.

Details for future sessions are being planned and will be added to CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/ProfessionalDevelopment when available.

Academic All-America® program in full swing

Fall Academic All-America programs culminate in the coming weeks with women's soccer (Dec. 6), men's soccer (Dec. 7), football (Dec. 20) and volleyball (Dec. 21) Academic All-America teams being announced for all NCAA and NAIA divisions. These announcements are released at AcademicAllAmerica.com.

As communicated throughout the summer and fall, new nomination criteria is in place and all eligible nominees receive Academic All-District® recognition and advance to the national ballot. Early results show a higher number of both nominations and votes are being received.

It is a privilege of CSC members to nominate and vote. Memberships can be purchased at CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Membership. Weekly communication regarding the Academic All-America awards program is sent to all members via email. All deadlines are strictly followed with no exceptions. If you have questions or issues, contact CSC staff in advance of the deadline. 

For a complete calendar of all deadlines and release dates, click here. CSC and the AAA Core Committee have made significant improvements to strengthen the program in 2022-23, and it's important for members to be up-to-date on these changes. Read more here

CSC Special Awards nominations open through Jan. 23

Nominations are open for the 2023 CSC Special Awards program as we honor those in the membership and outside the membership with recognition for distinguished service, work and achievement. Special Awards are presented annually at the association's convention in June. 

For a list of the various awards, click here. Nominations can be submitted at CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Awards.

Improvements to contests recognizing creative work by the membership are in progress – details coming soon

Details are nearly complete for the revamped Publications and Digital Design Contests as the committee has been hard at work improving and updating these contests to better serve our expanding membership. Some contests will be combined and other contests will be added to recognize the great work of photographers, videographers, social media managers and graphic designers.

You have not missed any contest deadlines. Details will be available on CollegeSportsCommunicators.com by mid-December. If you have an idea or want to get involved in the administration of our creative contests, contact committee chair Gene Cassell (Washburn) at gene.cassell@washburn.edu.

Membership Appreciation Week to be held January 18-24

CSC's annual week to recognize and appreciate our membership will be celebrated January 18-24, 2023. This later date will provide a better opportunity to include all communicators within our All-In membership and also better leverage CSC's new branding and marks, which will be unveiled in early January.

The new hashtag for the event is #CelebrateCSC. Resources, templates and more will be available at CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/CelebrateCSC in early January.

Questions can be directed to committee chair Amy Yakola at ayakola@theacc.org or CSC Associate Executive Director Will Roleson at will@cscommunicators.com.

2023 CSC convention attendance grant opportunities

Opportunities to attend the 2023 College Sports Communicators Convention June 11-14, 2023, in Orlando are available for all CSC dues-paying members through the association’s annual attendance grant selection process and through the NCAA inclusion grant program.

The CSC Attendance Grant offers expenses reimbursed up to $1,000 + free convention registration with applications open Dec. 2 through Feb. 3.

The NCAA Inclusion CSC Convention Grant offers CSC convention hotel, travel & registration covered, plus a trip to the NCAA national office with travel and hotel included. Applications open Dec. 5 through Jan. 20.

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New CSC branding to be unveiled in January

The wait is almost over. Be on the lookout for the January edition of CSC 360 when the new College Sports Communicators branding will be unveiled!

ACTION! Update your profile

As we introduce the All-In membership model for 2022-23, new demographic information has been added to your profile on CollegeSportsCommunicators.com. Please take two minutes to log in and update your personal profile at this link. Completing your profile allows us to better provide you the information relevant to you.

Describe your perfect day. Plus, favorite quotes, lottery dreams, forecasting 2023, holiday this-or-that, and more. Click to read

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