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This story is part of our June 2022 CoSIDA 360 package, to view more stories,
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Getting to know Erik Christianson
The new CoSIDA executive director will officially assume his new role on June 13
by Beau White – CoSIDA Director of Creative Services @beau_white
Erik Christianson, who was named the third CoSIDA Executive Director on May 17, officially begins his duties on June 13 and is eager to get started. Less than 10 days later, he’ll join outgoing Executive Director Doug Vance and the rest of the national staff in Las Vegas as we prepare to welcome our membership back in person for the first time in three years at #CoSIDA22. We can’t wait.
As a longtime supporter and advocate of CoSIDA, Erik is a natural fit to lead this organization that means so much to so many.
In the announcement of his hire, President Cindy Potter said in part, “Erik rose to the top throughout the selection process. His passion, dedication and connections to the communications profession, and especially to CoSIDA, is impressive. And his widespread network of respected friends and colleagues is unmatched. We have no doubt that our organization will be in great hands with Erik at the helm.”
Scroll through Erik’s twitter feed @NCAAErik and you’ll see that CoSIDA has been near and dear to him for many years. If you’ve attended a CoSIDA Convention, you’ve likely seen him presenting on stage, roaming the halls, or even contributing in our virtual settings.
That’s what you’ve been able to see.
But, much like our members, there is much more Erik has done behind the scenes. Some of those things you might not know include meeting monthly with Doug to talk through communications ideas and solutions, hosting CoSIDA leadership at the NCAA offices each summer and during the NCAA Convention, connecting with staff on Covid strategies, and even supporting corporate partner outreaches.
How well do you know Erik? Here’s a little bit more about the person who will soon be leading us, in his own words.
Erik credits his family for shaping him into the person he is today.
So many wonderful people have helped shape me, starting with my parents, who are still alive and were committed public servants and good role models. My wife, Rachel, and my three sons Sten, Gunnar and Anders help me remember each day that life is not about me. Good friends and mentors — coaches, professors, supervisors — through the years have been important as well.
His wife Rachel and three sons are on board.
My family is both supportive and excited for this opportunity, especially since we don’t have to relocate. My youngest son will be a sophomore in high school this fall, and we’re happy for him to be able to continue at his school.
Communications, education and sports have been the common thread of his career.
My life and career paths have been surprising to me. But with the benefit of hindsight, I can now see the consistent threads of communications, education and sports running through my life and work. I played one year of college baseball, and at the time I had no idea that experience would be so meaningful to me later in life. I started my professional career as a journalist, where I learned quickly how to sort through issues, get to the main point of a topic and effectively communicate. My campus experience was critical because I saw up close for many years how college sports operates within the larger context of higher education, and that helped me land my first role at the NCAA.
This is a role that is extremely attractive to him.
I believe I can harness my many career experiences and tap into my triple play of interests in communications, education and sports to elevate the athletics communications industry. I’ve been fortunate to work for and help lead some iconic organizations and brands, and I want to apply that experience to an organization that is vital to the future success of college sports and student-athletes.
He feels grateful and honored to succeed Doug Vance, a legend in CoSIDA.
I’ve known Doug a long time, and people may not know he and I have held a regular monthly call since he took over as executive director to share communications ideas and solutions. I know firsthand the excellent work he has performed over many years to support and elevate CoSIDA and the athletics communications industry, and I look forward to building on the strong foundation he has established along with John Humenik, CoSIDA’s first executive director.
He knows our business is a relationship business and that being a strong and equal advocate for all of the divisional groups that make up CoSIDA is central to our work.
I want to examine all we’ve been doing, listen hard to our many stakeholders, and then consider how we position all our resources to best support our constituents in their work, which of course is our work.
We work in a relationship business, and I look forward to reaching out to new and existing colleagues and acquaintances and organizations to introduce — or reintroduce — CoSIDA to them. I’ll use every technology available, represent CoSIDA at a variety of other meetings and organizations, and connect in person whenever possible.
He feels college sports needs CoSIDA more than ever.
College sports needs CoSIDA to keep growing and evolving and be successful in the future, so our members can continue to advocate for student-athletes, and our organization can advocate for the role of athletics communications and provide communications solutions for the future of college sports.
CoSIDA’s relationship with NACDA is important to our future.
One of my top priorities as executive director is to promote CoSIDA and the field of athletics communications within the broader context of college sports and higher education. This means taking a fresh look at our relationship with NACDA and many other affiliate organizations. Athletics communicators are central to the success of campuses, conferences and national organizations, but they don’t always have a seat at the leadership table. I’ve been working on improving that for a long time in my roles at the NCAA, and I plan to continue this advocacy and make it central to my role with CoSIDA.
A successful rebrand for CoSIDA will include making college sports leaders view strategic and creative communications as vital to the overall success of their departments and institutions.
CoSIDA has a long and successful history and 65 years of brand equity. We need to make sure we respect that as we work through the rebranding effort, while acknowledging that the role of sports information continues to evolve and change. We also need to accept that not everyone has an accurate or positive view of our profession. The research shows far less than half our membership still uses the term sports information to describe their communications and advocacy efforts.
For nearly two decades at the NCAA (and before that in my campus and system roles) I’ve led ongoing efforts to innovate and lead through communications by maximizing more traditional approaches to our work and combining them with new and emerging approaches and technologies — all within the broad context of communications. That is my goal for this effort as we consider the future of the organization and the brand.
There are three critical stakeholder groups we need to keep top of mind as we examine our rebrand: one, our more than 3,100 current members; two, potential new members who are working in creative roles in college sports and deserve to benefit from the professional development and networking within CoSIDA; and three, college sports leadership, including athletics directors, commissioners and presidents. We need them to view athletics communicators as vital to the overall strategic communications efforts and overall success of their departments and institutions.
He believes CoSIDA can play a role in helping shape conversations in support of making athletics communications a more sustainable career.
We need to help those in campus and athletics leadership roles understand what’s working and not working and how athletics communications plays a critical role in the success of athletics departments and campuses. As the old saying goes, athletics often is the front porch of a campus. Time management/work-life balance is a concern, along with salary and compensation and how leaders view their athletics communicators. This requires courageous conversations and approaches to our work, which includes thinking hard about what we need to do — and not do — in the future. I believe CoSIDA can play an important role in helping shape those conversations both at the campus and national levels.
CoSIDA has been an organization he’s admired during his time at the NCAA.
I’ve long admired that CoSIDA as an organization has always taken a posture of continuous improvement in how it approaches its mission. This was very evident when the Covid pandemic hit in March 2020, and CoSIDA staff and leadership quickly pivoted to virtually support the membership and college sports and didn’t miss a step. I recently told some of my top leaders at the NCAA that I even connected with CoSIDA leadership a few times early in the pandemic for ideas on how to virtually support our members. I commend the CoSIDA board and staff and other leaders in the organization for recognizing that athletics communications is a fast-evolving industry, and as such a rebranding exercise is important to examine how we might continue to position the organization and those who work in the industry as leaders for college sports.
Rapid fire round…
Name three books that would make the Erik Christianson Book Hall of Fame.
- The Bible
- Moby Dick, by Herman Melville (one of the greatest first sentences ever in literature)
- The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkien
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve watched recently?
“Dopesick” on Hulu, which is a dramatic overview of the opioid crisis. It’s a gripping and sad and compelling account of the issue that unfortunately is still plaguing this country and world.
What was your first job? What was your most unusual job?
First job was selling subscriptions to the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper door to door when I was 14. Most unusual: houseboat captain on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota one summer in college.
What motivates you?
Faith, relationships and service to others. Those elements have been my guideposts for life and work, and they motivate me now as I move into this important role.
How will you describe your new job to your friends and family?
Leading and serving a respected national organization dedicated to supporting college sports, student-athletes and the communicators who advocate for them. Put simply, we advocate for the advocates.
What’s your walk up song?
Livin’ On a Prayer, by Bon Jovi
What are you most looking forward to at #CoSIDA22 in Vegas?
It’s been three years since we’ve been able to meet in person at the convention to support college sports and each other, so the answer is easy: the people. I’m eager to connect with old friends, make new ones, listen and learn as I transition into this important role and season of service for me.
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