College Sports Information Directors of America

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• Past Bill Esposito Backbone Award Recipients

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Jordie Lindley – Utah, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications

Bill Esposito Backbone Award
The Bill Esposito Backbone Award is presented to a member who displays sound judgement and unusual courage in taking a stand on intercollegiate athletics which is contrary to public opinion and sentiment or who displays sound judgement and unusual courage in guiding their institutions through difficult public relations situations.

by Paul Kirk – University of Utah, Senior Associate AD for Strategic Communications

It is often said that in times of tragedy, grief and trauma, there is no script for how to respond. It is a feel, and calls upon a person’s integrity, relationships and character to stand tall in those moments and keep doing the next right thing. The University of Utah Football program was confronted with those realities twice in a nine-month span, enduring the unthinkable tragedy of the deaths of two student-athletes – close friends and former high school teammates, Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe.
 
In her role as Utah’s Assistant Athletics Director for Communications, and as lead media contact for the Utes’ football program, Jordie Lindley was thrust into that situation and navigated the challenge of managing the intense media attention surrounding the tragedies while battling her own sense of loss and grief.
 
 
For her effective, thoughtful and skillful handling of those difficult situations, Lindley is being recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with the 2022 Bill Esposito Backbone Award. The award is presented to a CoSIDA member who displays sound judgment and unusual courage in guiding their institutions through difficult public relations situations or who displays sound judgment and unusual courage taking a stand on intercollegiate athletics which is contrary to public opinion and sentiment.
 
“Jordie did an exceptional job of helping us navigate through a horrific situation, not only in the immediate response to the tragedies but throughout the season,” said Utes football head coach Kyle Whittingham. “She demonstrated sound judgment and had a respectful approach in helping those outside our program learn about Ty (Jordan) and Aaron (Lowe) as people, while protecting the time and the privacy of our student-athletes and staff.”
 
Director of Athletics Mark Harlan expressed gratitude for the sensitivity and expertise Lindley has exhibited at every stage of the process.
 
“I can’t say enough about the tremendous work that Jordie did under incredibly challenging circumstances over the past year, in helping to guide our football program through the immense interest from the public and media,” Harlan said. “Her selfless and tireless work to constantly put the needs of our student-athletes, coaches and staff first, and to honor the Jordan and Lowe families each step of the way, was very thoughtful and effective in helping their stories to be told.”
 
After four seasons working closely with the Utah Football program as a member of the communications team, Lindley had been promoted in the spring of 2021 to associate A.D., and took over the role of primary football media contact. The move came just months after the tragic passing of freshman student-athlete Ty Jordan from an accidental gunshot wound, and with the program still in the mourning and healing process from this devastating loss. Lindley exhibited sound judgment, careful concern and a skillful knowledge of the emotional state of those in the program to manage intense interest from media to chronicle the story of the team’s return to action in preparation for the 2021 season.
 
Lindley also was instrumental in working closely with the program’s creative staff in the development and distribution of its tributes to Jordan, and coordinated those with the athletics department’s creative team, which included the presentation of the story of Utah cornerback Aaron Lowe, Ty’s close friend and high school teammate, who was named the first recipient of the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship in August. Lowe changed his uniform number from 2 to the 22 worn by Jordan during his freshman season.
 
Unbelievably, tragedy struck again, in September 2021, when Lowe was shot and killed, thrusting those in the program and the entire community back into the familiar pain of grief and loss from which they were still healing.
 
The relationships with student-athletes, coaches and staff that Jordie had developed in her four-plus years working closely with the program joined her in the collective grief from which all were suffering, while also equipping her to exhibit the authentic care that would guide her decisions in managing the high volume of media and public interest with the utmost professionalism.
 
From the immediate management of the crisis situation, to the long-term navigation of the media’s coverage of the ongoing season, Lindley’s expertise shined through. She used a strategic and thoughtful approach—developed in lock-step with Coach Whittingham and athletics department leadership.
 
That approach helped the public to learn more about how special Aaron and Ty were to their family, teammates and everybody who knew them, while protecting the privacy, time and emotions of those individuals through what developed into one of the most historically successful seasons in program history.
 
The team’s journey to its first Pac-12 Championship followed by its trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl, emerged as one of the most compelling and inspiring story in sports in 2021. It transcended the usual bounds of a sports story to one of triumph in the face of tragedy, touching many beyond the sports world.
 
The combination of such extremes challenges those in the key roles to navigate uncharted waters, and to operate at a high level while being personally affected by the events that have taken place. Jordie Lindley exhibited the best of those attributes with her primary focus on the well-being of those in the Utah Football program, and set an inspiring example in the process.
 
The Esposito is not an annual award and is presented only when worthy candidates are nominated. Fittingly, Lindley will be the ninth honoree to receive the Esposito Award since it was first presented in 1966, and the first since 2017.