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This story is part of our August 2022 CoSIDA 360 package, to view more stories,
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From the Desk of CoSIDA President Jessica Poole – Changes on the horizon
by Jessica Poole – 2022-23 CoSIDA President
Chicago State University, Interim Athletic Director/Deputy Athletic Director/Chief Operating Officer @JessPooleA2
The calendar has shifted to August and for those of us in the intercollegiate sports industry that means can only mean one thing … the countdown to fall sports is in full effect!
As we look forward to marking another new academic year, we’re also an industry staring changes right in the face. This year will bring us a new executive director, a new All-In membership structure and new branding. We’re taking on a lot of changes in the midst of a challenging time in intercollegiate athletics as we see the continued rise of NIL, the NCAA Transformation committee work and recommendations, transfer portal and all of the numerous things that affect our industry on a day-to-day basis.
Change breeds opportunity.
It’s so important for us to remind ourselves that the changes ahead will take us into the next era of our profession and while they may seem daunting, they are needed to get us to the next level.
Having longtime CoSIDA friend and former NCAA staffer Erik Christianson come on full-time as our third executive director provides the organization an opportunity to take the work done under Doug Vance to the next level while continuing to position us as a forward thinking, member-oriented, solution-based organization.
Our new All-In membership structure helps us become more inclusive of all strategic and creative communicators throughout the intercollegiate athletics landscape. As more diverse communicators join our organization, we have a greater opportunity to collaborate, brainstorm and plan with the insight of everyone who tells the stories of our student-athletes, programs and departments.
All of these changes lead to the reason for our rebranding initiative. Our organization has an extremely rich history with wonderful brand recognition and it’s time for us to wrap our arms around the fact that our industry has changed, which necessitates a change for us. We have long set ourselves apart in the college athletics landscape by being aware of the challenges that face our organization and its members, and facing them head on. This is no different.
CoSIDA’s rich history will only be enhanced by all of the changes on the horizon this year and in the coming years. What we do as an organization in this pivotal time in intercollegiate athletics will set us apart and help us not only enhance our organization right now but for years to come.
Change is hard.
There is no question that we are socializing a lot of changes right now and change is not easy. We must be patient and have a larger perspective than what we can see in front of us. I encourage you to think of all of the things that are ahead of us in terms of opportunity rather challenges. Using the phrase of one of my favorite people, American author and activist Glennon Doyle, “We can do hard things.”
Leading this organization as the first Black female President is an honor and a privilege and I hope to push our thinking and challenge us to see ourselves and our organization in a different light this year. We are braver and stronger than we know and I look forward to looking back and saying “Look at what we did together!"
Until next month, take care of yourselves and take care of each other!
Jess
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