College Sports Information Directors of America

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This feature is part of our series of profiles showcasing members throughout the CSC membership during the celebration of College Sports Communicators Membership Appreciation Week for 2022-23. See more features at CSCommunicators.com/CelebrateCSC.


Brian Hand – Conference Carolinas, Assistant Commissioner for External Relations

by Barb Kowal – College Sports Communicators, Director of Professional Development and External Affairs

In his fourth year as Assistant Commissioner for External Relations at NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, Brian Hand oversees all external relations efforts and also works in sponsorship generation. NCAA Division II awarded Conference Carolinas a grant based on its strategic positioning as a conference in promoting its student-athletes, coaches and administrators through its “Body, Mind, and Soul” feature series in the fall of 2021. A graduate of North Greenville University where he was a honorable mention All-America standout soccer student-athlete, Hand previously served at UNC Asheville (Assistant AD for External Relations), University of South Carolina Gamecock Club, USC Aiken and Presbyterian College.
 
 
You've made committee work and outreach a priority. You serve on the CSC Academic All-America committee and have done tremendous outreach reach each year hosting the Conference Carolinas Virtual SID Career Forum. To those SIDs who might feel their time is already stretched, what would you say to them about the importance of volunteering on campus and or at CSC/regional/national committee levels?
BH: First off, it's incredibly important. It's a balancing act, for sure, but it's also one that allows you to be involved in making it a better experience for the student-athletes. That's why I started in the business, so it only makes sense to be involved with College Sports Communicators. I have worked on numerous committees over the years and it's just so rewarding. I always encourage all that ask me about committee work to try and get involved because it matters and you are making a difference.
 
As a long-time athletic communications pro, what are your thoughts about CSC's new branding, new name and logo, and expansion of membership with our All-In Membership?
BH: I am a big fan. I came into this field as an SID, and I have a passion for that moniker, but it was time. There is so much more to the profession now. I was a part of starting the social media and video efforts at two different universities. I also was a part of the start of the first external websites at two places. I think the new branding and the new name more clearly defines the things that were not around back then in the 2000s and 2010s clearly are definitely around now.
 
Our communication professionals have a lot more to deal with day-to-day and everything CSC provides allows for more learning and growth. Plus, the amazing opportunities for the student-athletes through the Academic All-America program, make it a no-brainer for all communication professionals to be members.
 
 
Your annual Virtual SID Career Forum is a terrific benefit to those student-athletes in your conference (and beyond). Tell us about how this came about, some success stories and why it's a great idea for other conferences to hold, especially as we are all searching to develop the next-gen of sports communicators.
BH: Conference Carolinas Assistant Commissioner Jill Robbins deserves the majority of the credit along with the vision of Commissioner Chris Colvin. A key part of who we are in Conference Carolinas is helping our member institutions fulfill their missions and virtual career forums allow us to bring in speakers to showcase what being in a different part of athletics actually entails. The communications forum has been a huge success for us over the last couple of years in that it has connected some of our student-athletes with our current communications professionals.
 
In addition, thanks to the great people at College Sports Communicators, we have been able to invite those around the country that have an interest in our fantastic profession. Many of our attendees have moved into the profession; one even turned that experience into a graduate assistant position. Another through our conference mentor program turned it into a full-time job. With the demands of athletic communications expanding daily, these types of events, to me, are critical. I would highly encourage any conference, or organization, to do the same thing.

As a former college soccer student-athlete yourself, what experiences and lessons from your collegiate playing days do you bring to your everyday work life?
BH: Why I do what I do is because of being a student-athlete. I always knew that I loved reading the newspaper and keeping up with everything I loved in sports, but I always assumed I would be a journalist working for a newspaper. When I found out what a communicator does during my time as a student-athlete, I quickly realized that was the best fit for me because it gave me the ability to remain around sports. I played multiple sports in high school and then soccer in college ,and all of the lessons I learned about teamwork and passion are from sports. One of the ways that I get my competitive spirit out to this day is through trying to get stories and more published by media outlets along with working to make sure Conference Carolinas is placed in the best light plausible every single day. It's important to me to use that drive wherever I work.
 
 
What are some of your top successes and highlights as an athletic communications pro and as a leader of your communications efforts at the conference? First, department successes.
BH: When I started at Conference Carolinas in July of 2019, I was handling a lot, but thanks to Commissioner Colvin, we were able to add another position and Assistant Commissioner for Communications Zach Shore has done a tremendous job over the last couple of years and is a huge asset for Conference Carolinas. We collaborate on pretty much everything. He handles the day-to-day more, while I focus on our external relations. In addition to helping out Zach, I also work with our corporate partners along with many other duties. Our biggest success, I believe, is collaborating daily with our first-class communicators in Conference Carolinas. We have progressed Conference Carolinas immensely externally over the last few years, but none of it is possible without working together. It takes all of us to make Conference Carolinas special.
 
How about your personal top achievements in sports communications?
BH: I have been incredibly lucky. At one point, I was the youngest Division I head SID in the country when I was at Presbyterian College. Since then, I have been blessed enough to be part of departments that have won numerous awards over the years, but to me, the biggest success is seeing my former assistants and interns move on to positions within the industry. Everywhere I have been, I have been surrounded by amazing people. That stands out to me the most. None of the personal accolades are possible without amazing assistants, tremendous coaches/administration and, most importantly, top-notch student-athletes.
 
 
Your recent Conference Carolinas series “Body, Mind, and Soul” has gained lots of recognition, earning NCAA recognition and CSC Stabley Writing contest honors. Congratulations! Tell us briefly about some of the highlights of the series, and what's the next content theme you are working on for your members.
BH: This is something we are really proud of in Conference Carolinas. This goes back to my newspaper background. In 2013, I had stepped out of the day-to-day communications to be the Executive Editor of Spurs & Feathers, which was the University of South Carolina Gamecock Club's official publication. During my four years there, I worked a lot running a 32-page per week publication, but, more important, I even more learned the importance of telling the story in all areas of a campus.
 
During my time as Assistant AD for External Relations at UNC Asheville, I met Bob Rose, the communication contact for the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants, among other teams. I pitched the idea of these stories to Bob and he and I have been collaborating on these ever since. They have been extremely well-received and it gives us a unique avenue to tell our specific story in Conference Carolinas. The "Body, Mind, and Soul" tagline is who we are, but through these stories it allows us to expound upon what that actually means.
 
Your next career goal?
BH: I am just trying to grow daily and learn from my mistakes and my successes more than anything, but in the future somewhere down the line, I would love the opportunity to be an AD at a Division II institution. I feel like my background is different in that I was a student-athlete, I have been the head communicator at three different universities, while also serving as the Executive Editor of an SEC booster club publication. All of that means I am getting older, more than anything, yet with my conference experience now, I believe everything I have done over the last almost 20 years continues to prepare me for that opportunity.
 
Watching our conference athletic directors work daily has been amazing. I have learned so much from them. Plus, Commissioner Chris Colvin and Associate Commissioner Kit Alewine are first-class and I enjoy learning from them. The same can be said of working with Assistant Commissioner Jill Robbins and Assistant Commissioner Zach Shore. We all bring something different to the table, which is what you want from a team, but that also means that it's going to make me better. That's my main career goal. I just want to continue to get better as a husband and father, first, but also as a professional in the field of athletics.
 
 
Quick Hitters
 
What was your first job?
BH: Working produce at a local supermarket in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
Favorite gameday sports or sports tech app
BH: The generic Apple Podcasts app. I use that more than anything listening to various sports podcasts and other podcasts while on my daily walks and in the car. I also utilize the SiriusXM App quite a bit for this same reason, particularly for their soccer coverage on SiriusXM FC 157. I am old school in that I love visiting websites organically for certain information.
 
What sporting event is still on bucket list to see live?
BH: I am pretty blessed. I was lucky enough to work The Masters for five straights years while I was at USC Aiken along with friend and former Augusta SID Joey Warren. I would love to visit every Premier League stadium still, but the real bucket list thing for me is attending the World Cup in person. That will be remedied though in 2026. It is my son's high school graduation year and he already knows going to the World Cup will be his gift from us. I also hope to work the event in some capacity!
 
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
BH: I am very much in the middle. I am an extrovert in that I love working with people and I am passionate about athletics, so I am very relational in nature, but at the same time, I also am introverted when working at the office and at home. I am very much why they coined the term, introverted extrovert.
 
What was the last book you read or the last podcast you listened to?
BH: One of my favorite books of late to read was "Soccer: $tate in the States" by long-time College Sports Communicator member and SID, Bob Lowe. I volunteered my time to help him edit, and it was really well done. I cannot wait for everyone to read it!
 
I am currently reading "Pappyland" by Wright Thompson. It's amazing. As for podcasts, I love movies, music and sports. I listen to "ESPN Daily" and various SiriusXM interviews about soccer and college football almost every day. Recently with music, l listened to "60 Songs That Explain the 90s." I am 42 and all of the songs referenced are from when I was in late elementary school through high school. My two favorite movie podcasts are "How Did This Get Made" (Jaws: The Revenge" is one of the funniest things I have ever listened to in a podcast) and "What Went Wrong” which focuses on how some movies just simply did not work and their troubles. As you can see from all of these different books and podcasts, I love learning about the process along with the aftermath.
 
What's your favorite holiday and why?
BH: Christmas is my favorite holiday. This is for my Christian beliefs, first and foremost, but it's also because it allows for time with family and friends. I relish the time and I am incredibly thankful to work in a conference and for a Commissioner in Chris Colvin that values all of this as well. I love to work, probably too much, but there is nothing I love more than spending time with my family.