College Sports Information Directors of America

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Tommy Chasanoff – University of the Cumberlands, Assistant Athletic Director - Sports Information

Rising Star Award – College Division

by Jay Stancil – Appalachian Athletic Conference, Assistant Commissioner for Championships and Information // CSC Special Awards Committee member

Which came first – the successful program or the amazing coverage?

The two really seem to go hand in hand, but it is sometimes hard to tell which preceded the other.

While the University of the Cumberlands has been very successful throughout its history, it is really hard not to notice how successful the Patriots have been in recent years.

Pick a sport, and odds are Cumberlands has won at least one conference title, made a deep postseason run, and/or had a student-athlete achieve national acclaim during the past seven years.

It won’t be hard to find out about the Patriots’ exploits due to the outstanding coverage Tommy Chasanoff and his staff provide.

And this is no accident either.
 

When Tommy arrived on the Cumberlands campus in the fall of 2016, it was his mission to provide the same amount of coverage for each and every sport – a big reason why he is receiving the 2023 Rising Star Award this summer from College Sports Communicators in Orlando during CSC UNITE.

“When I came to Cumberlands, one of the biggest mentalities (I brought) is to provide coverage for every sport and get them fair coverage,” Chasanoff explained. “You look around and you have schools which focus on certain sports over others. And when I came here, my goal was to elevate all of our sports. And I think we've done a great job of that. Our staff has been incredible in accomplishing this.”

And the proof is in the pudding. Tommy and his staff have amassed dozens upon dozens NAIA-SIDA Publication Awards over the past seven years and earned the prestigious NAIA-SIDA Gary Spitler Excellence in Publications Award in 2020-21.

In addition, Tommy himself has been named the Mid-South Conference SID of the Year three times and the NAIA National SID of the Year once.

While the individual accolades are appreciated, Tommy credits his staff for buying into his mission and to elevating the level of coverage each Patriot program receives.

“I couldn't do this without my staff,” he said. “Let's just face it. When I was at SCAD and I was a staff of one, and it was a struggle. When I got this job, one of the things that attracted me to come here was having the advantage of a terrific staff. You're looking at people like Bo Kidd and Brandon Hensley (a 2023 CSC award winner himself with the Achievement Award for the college division).

Brandon's been here all seven years that I've been here, and I couldn't do what we're doing here without someone like him on my staff because he's taken on the video streaming. Look at our staff now – Kristin (Shaffer), Jared (Kilgore), Will (Rollison), and Mackenzie (Pawlak). They really continue to elevate what we do. Our staff has been critical in providing the coverage that we want for our teams and student-athletes.”

As if this honor could not be any more special, Chasanoff is receiving this award alongside fellow NAIA sports communicator Donnie Smith of Southeastern (Fla.), who Tommy nominated for that award. The two are only the third and fourth NAIA members to receive the Rising Star award, joining Cindy Potter of Columbia (Mo.) and Aaron Sagraves of Cornerstone (Mich.). He also joins his staff colleague Hensley in being honored in Orlando.

“(Sports communications in) the NAIA has really elevated over the last decade within the sports information field, but you are also seeing a lot of turnover in the NAIA,” Chasanoff said. “For me to find a place I can call home, within the NAIA has been really special to me.”

His service does not stop with Cumberlands. He is currently an at-large representative on the NAIA-SIDA Board of Directors while also serving as the vice chair of the CSC Membership Recognition Committee. He also is a member of the CSC Mentorship Program and the CSC Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

At the end of the day, the thing that drives Chasanoff to press forward are the relationships and friendships he has made along the way.

“I'm very thankful to the people who have helped me along the way here,” he noted. “This profession has created a lot of long-time friendships and support systems. So that, in times when you need help, you can count on them. People like Jay (Stancil), Brad (Cygan), Donnie in the NAIA have always been people who I can pick up a phone and call. That's a key aspect of our profession. You have people who understand what you're going through and what your struggles are. Don't hesitate to reach out and make new connections and utilize them when you need to throughout the year.”