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.


Josh Deer – Concordia University St. Paul, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications

by Cole Helman – Palm Beach Atlantic University, Director of Athletic Communications // CSC Young Professionals Committee

Josh Deer has worked at his alma mater, NCAA DII Concordia St. Paul, for 20 academic years and has served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications since 2011. He was named Sports Information Director in June of 2008 after serving five years in the department, including two years full time assistant SID at CSP.

Deer has earned numerous honors and has served on multiple committees during his career. He is a CSC D2SIDA Board Member as the Central Region Representative. He also serves as the regional coordinator and Division II vice chair for the D2CCA (formerly Daktronics) Baseball All-America program and is a member of the Associated Press Division II Football All-America committee. Formerly, he was the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NSIC) Sports Information Directors chair (2017-19) and was on the NCAA Central Region Women's Golf Regional Advisory Committee (2020). Recipient of a CSP Leadership Award in 2016, Deer also earned an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Grant Burger Media Relations Award (Central Region).
 
 
You’ve spent most of your professional career at Concordia St. Paul. Can you describe what makes that place special to you and the great relationships you’ve built there?
JD: I've been at Concordia since my second year of college, and including internships and a graduate assistant position, working in variations of my position for 20 academic years. Concordia is a unique place. It's the only NCAA Division II institution in the Twin Cities metropolitan footprint and the only private DII school in the state of Minnesota. We have a nice niche that differentiates us from our league counterparts as well as our immediate neighboring institutions as St. Paul is a condensed college town.

Above that, the people have always been special. I've had great relationships with each of the athletic directors I've worked for in my career, and consider them all to be important lifelong influences. David Herbster, now the AD at South Dakota, was my sport management professor who encouraged me to intern for our SID at the time. Tom Rubbelke hired me as a full-time assistant SID fresh out of graduate school, and I've had a lot of trust and autonomy from each of our most recent two ADs, Lunch McKenzie and Regan McAthie. Of course, my first immediate boss, Jen Foley showed me how to be an SID. The combination of these individuals empowered me with a lot of responsibility to go along with the autonomy and it's been a tremendous combination that I'm not sure exists at very many places. Over the years, I've built the same types of friendships with coaches who have since moved on in their careers in a number of different directions, as well as the student-athletes who have competed in the Navy & Gold. I remain connected with countless individuals, and it is always very rewarding when I'm able to see past student-athletes return to campus.

You have another special CSP connection, too …
JD: Most importantly (by far) is my wife! While we had the same high school graduating class, she finished college a year and a half before I did (oops) and was a two-sport athlete at CSP. While we didn't know each other well during college, a mutual friend (Brian Jamros) connected us after graduate school. Steph attended Nebraska-Omaha for her graduate work. We just had our 14th wedding anniversary this January. 
 

What is your favorite part about working in athletic communications?
JD: It's a long list, to be sure, but to isolate something more recent and high on the impactful scale is when a team competes on the national level. I've been here for all nine of Concordia's Division II volleyball championships. I remember covering the first title run in 2007, and realizing I may never cover a team in my professional career that advances to a championship match/game and to soak in the magnitude of that experience while covering it the way I thought it should be covered. It was impossible to predict at that point that we'd win seven in a row and nine in a span of 11 years, but I always remember that thought: I may never do this again as a professional, so do it the right way and enjoy it. And each time, we had the ability to improve how we covered and promoted the program, or improved our efficiency and process.  

Tell us more about NCAA Division II women’s volleyball and your coverage of your championship program over the year.
JD: Volleyball in the NCAA Central Region is incredible. Every year there are nationally-ranked (AVCA) teams who do not qualify for the regional tournament. Winning the region is a massive achievement for any of the programs. Reaching nationals in any sport at any level is a huge deal, but in volleyball's Central Region, it's hard to predict ever making it back to that level. This year, CSP won the region competitive & dramatic fashion, to be expected, and I had the opportunity to travel to my first DII Festival. While part of that is always the opportunity to 'go to nationals' with a team, the excitement that I felt was more in that it was time to ramp up the urgency, quality & quantity in my work. I was excited to work!

That says a lot about what my favorite part about working in athletic communications is. It really helps working with people who share the same goal: Patrick Rydeen, Ty Dennis and our videography team Wass Productions. With the way athletic communications has evolved, it's imperative to have a team of people working together at all times, but especially when working to promote a run to a championship. Our team was able to provide a much more interactive and immersive look at our program in 2022 than what I was doing in 2007 as the lone person traveling to our first nationals in Topeka, Kansas. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to promote a national champion, but I was proud of the work done by my colleague at West Texas A&M (Jordyn Ballard) and I know that she had the same pride and excitement in covering WT's run. I want to publicly congratulate her for her role in the Lady Buffs' championship, as well her new position at Kansas State!
 

You’ve served on several different committees and boards outside of your job at CSP. How have those helped you develop professionally and how important is it to serve in those roles that may fall out of your day-to-day job?
JD: Carving out time is always a challenge for us as a group at-large, so I want to take the first stab at this question in thanking the work done by all of the individuals who have served CSC/CoSIDA, spent time working on awards committees (Daktronics/D2CCA), voting on polls, etc. Personally, when I serve on a committee, my objective is to do the work. I'm not a great public speaker, and I don't consider myself someone who aims for leadership positions. However, the work is important, and if I'm able to help others be more effective at doing the work, that's something I have a high level of interest in.

Committee work and volunteering have helped me professionally by expanding my skill set and pushing me out of my comfort zone. It's a challenge to find time to do extra things outside of the day-to-day job, but I've found it's made me more productive, efficient and well-rounded while expanding my network of colleagues. It's really rewarding to serve with people from different areas of the country, and different types of institutions, as well. I've definitely had times where I've had a strong opinion about an issue, but when someone else provided their thoughts, those things have resonated with me and helped shape a better thought-out opinion on a topic. With a greater emphasis from CSC on diversity and inclusion, and as we continue to make more progress as an organization in this area, I'm excited to continue to view things through a more inclusive lens. 

I strongly believe College Sports Communicators should be an organization that strives to help its members be more effective in their positions as opposed to seeking different jobs outside of our CSC tent. Of course, there is room for CSC to do both of those things, and so much more, and I appreciate the time, effort and energy of all of my peers who are making a difference in their volunteering and committee work. 

Of all your volunteer work, do any stand out?
JD: It’s the D2CCA All-America Baseball program where I'm vice-chair as well as Central Region coordinator. It's important to remember why we do this: participation in the process, and ensuring that the best players are selected for the teams to represent our region on the All-America ballot, and then to have a substantial voting process for the All-America teams. I spend time combing through the nominations at the region level, checking criteria and making sure each of the first team all-conference players are nominated. I then ensure a steady (but hopefully not too annoying) stream of communication to members and the conference SIDs to get votes in. I'm always really impressed with the voting level of the Central Region, and really want to thank the SIDs for their participation in the baseball process - my hunch is that we have high voting levels in all sports at the regional and national levels.  

The most challenging committee work I've done is my work on the local youth baseball board, although it's also the most fulfilling! Doing the youth baseball board website adds an additional 'after hours' demand, and the biggest challenge is the most important part - the registration process. The number of youth in our community who have participated and continue to play each year has grown in a short amount of time - and that's the goal. Make sure kids play baseball, have fun, and want to play next year! It's also been a great way to network within the community where my kids are growing up with their peers in the sports world!
 

What advice can you give young and new athletic communications professionals as they pursue this career?
JD: I'm an introvert by nature, so I've always been a hesitant interpersonal communicator. But early in my career, when it was about the work, coming out of my introverted shell was never hard. So my advice is to make it about the work. Be passionate about your campus and the people at it. Be an expert on your teams and know the ins-and-outs of what makes your teams tick. And when it's time to pitch a big story, the work can seem easy or more natural, even for those who are more introverted.
 
We know more things about our teams than anyone on campus – when you're on top of your game in that regard, and the rest comes easier. Writing, broadcasting, photography, highlights, media pitches - all of it. When you know your team's dynamics, it's easy to get that great celebration photo. When you know your team's dynamics, you know exactly what to look for when cutting highlights - you know the things that fire them up! You know what things to pitch to reporters, and you know what things to downplay. You know exactly when or why the turning point in a game happened for the post-game press conference and recap.

And, it's imperative to build trust with coaches. Stop in, chat with them about their teams, build rapport. Stop in at a practices periodically. They notice, and they appreciate your awareness of the work they're doing! Of course, boundaries are important, too, and every campus and program has different dynamics so be consistent with the boundaries you set and apply them to all of the sports you cover.

Overseeing a staff of three other people, describe your leadership style and how you strive to develop those around you.
JD: It's important that individuals are able to develop their professional skills to achieve their career objectives. Graduate assistants are here for a short time, so making sure they are ready for full-time employment is a high priority for me, and I've had the same full-time assistant (now associate!) for 10 years in Patrick Rydeen. Making sure Patrick can grow professionally has also been a high priority - that's actually getting tougher, because Patrick is amazing! He has built a strong reputation among the Twin Cities sports scene as one of the top statisticians, working for the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx and Minnesota State High School League, and as official scorer and gameday operator for the St. Paul Saints (MN Twins AAA).

Typically in the first year with a new graduate assistant (GA), I expect them to do a lot of learning for how a typical week of work flows, and how we run gameday for each of our home sporting events. By year two, my goal for them is to have a lot of autonomy on a day-to-do level throughout a typical work week, and to be able to run a press box/table at a home event on their own. With a staff of four (2 full-time, 2 GAs), we have a solid structure for a Division II institution. Our graduate assistants take lots of ownership and are encouraged to ask questions while they're learning what it means to have sport SID oversight. It's important to their next job interview that they can provide direct discussion about their experience and relate why they are prepared for their next position.

This year has been unique in that our two graduate assistants are both in their first year, so we don't have a first year/second year staggered format. However, I give a ton of credit to them (Jared Wall and Brandon Dugan). Their learning curve has been tremendous and they've been great team members. Before the fall sports season came to a close, they had developed so rapidly that they're able to meet a lot of my second year GA expectations.

Patrick and I have a strong complimentary background. We each have different strengths with our day-to-day functions and bring different things to the table to allow our department to operate at a very effective and efficient level. It's rare to retain a full-time assistant for this long (Patrick is in his 10th year including his GA position), and I'm fortunate to have him as a co-worker.
 

Being a veteran in the industry, how have you managed to avoid burnout? Do you find yourself just as passionate about the job as when you first started? 
JD: I think the answer to the first part of the question is the second part of the question! But there are absolutely periods of burnout that set in, though. To me, the flexibility that comes with the work we do is what helps combat it. Overlap is a real thing that impacts all of us differently, but it hits us all nonetheless and I think that's my main source of burnout.

I have a great campus to help combat burnout, though. President Brian Friedrich and our COO & Provost Dr. Eric LaMott are tremendous leaders who have a high level of awareness of our athletic programs, and the work that our athletic communications staff is doing year-round, home or road. It certainly helps having an athletic director with an SID background, too! Regan McAthie places a high value on the work that athletic communications brings to a campus and athletic department, too. We have flexible day-to-day schedules, the ability to take care of personal things throughout the week that most people handle on the weekends and our campus has a great structure with athletics when it comes to time off. We have an informal process to get the time off we need whether it's simply to recharge or to take care of personal/family commitments, etc. The administration here is special, and have provided an environment that I don't take for granted. And for me, it's great to have an administration that fully grasps the work we do, the time we put in, and that values our need to recharge and be with our families.