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Ed Haas – Collegiate Water Polo Association, Director of Communications
CSC 25-Year Award
by Doug Vance – retired CSC Executive Director / Special Awards Committee member
Ed Haas has learned many intriguing life and work lessons during his quarter century working in college sports communications.
His longevity and accomplishments in the profession will be recognized in June as Haas, who has served as the Collegiate Water Polo Association Director of Communications since 2006, receives his 25-Year Award at the 2023 CSC Convention in Orlando.
One nugget of wisdom that formed a foundational principle he embraced throughout his 25-year career was delivered unexpectedly prior to a home football game during his years as SID at Franklin & Marshall College.
On that fortunate day for Haas an older gentleman, whom he had never met, knocked at the pressbox door seeking a brief escape from the hot sun prior to kickoff.
The Ed Haas family (brother Frank, late father Frank, mother Trudy, and Ed) donated time to help West Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia with their annual fundraiser, Burrs at the Beach, which is hosted in Ocean City, N.J. each summer. It was Haas’ father’s alma mater (photo is circa 2014; the family continues as volunteers even after his passing).
Haas would later learn the chance encounter was with a highly decorated World War II hero, an alumnus of the school, who had inspired the making of a movie about his experiences on the beach at Normandy.
“There was no shade in the concrete stands, and he just wanted a more comfortable seat for a few minutes. He told me that from his experience, you will not remember the bad but only the good and the people that you do it with,” Haas recalled. “Find good people, do good things and be good to those around you.”
“That stuck with me – and it took on more importance when I saw him a few weeks later when I realized it was Dick Winters – the commanding officer featured in Band of Brothers on HBO. Find good people, do good things and be good to those around you – kind of a tagline for CSC and life, isn’t it?”
Haas has moved through his long career admirably and thoroughly. He’s recycled the values of being unselfish and caring at each step along the way.
“Every SID starts down this road with some form of advice,” said Haas. “It is critical to offer help to those who come after you in this field – the experiences of one person lays a foundation for the careers of those that come after them. It’s like bricks; the strength of one row is only as strong as those above it and below it.”
In an organization that prides itself on volunteers stepping forward in various ways, Haas has the distinction of being at the front of that volunteer line quite often.
He’s earned top honors five times in the CSC Volunteer 15 initiative which annually recognizes volunteer involvement outside of the workplace. Last year Haas recorded 1,356 hours of community service both for work in his national organization and in his community.
Like many who find a career in college sports communications, Haas wasn’t originally looking in that direction during his undergraduate days. But an internship with an indoor soccer team in Harrisburg (Pa.) put him on the communications path. His boss at the Harrisburg Heat, Tom Hanrahan, mentioned an open graduate assistant position at East Stroudsburg and connected him with Pete Nevins, a beloved CSC Hall of Famer.
“What I thought would be a one-year job to gain some practical experience ended up being a career,” recalled Haas. “Part of that is the experience I had with Pete – the SID G.O.A.T. in my opinion – and part of it was the athletes I got to work with. The hours are long, praise is rare, and the events are typically stacked up in too short a window. We get to work in an environment where winning and losing occurs, but growth and excellence is the norm.”
“Working for Pete Nevins you received a constant ego check, encyclopedias of knowledge and a love for what SIDs do,” he added. “He explained that excellence is measured in degrees. Ninety-nine is not 100 and good is not great. Don’t aim for perfection, achieve it every time.”
After his tenure at East Stroudsburg, Haas accepted an internship at Lowes Motor Speedway (Charlotte, NC) and a year later took a full-time position as SID at Alvernia University. He became director of athletics communications at Franklin & Marshall College in 2000 where he served six years before moving to the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
Haas, who has missed just one national convention (2004) since 2001, has served on a variety of CSC committees. He’s been a member of the Academic All-America Committee since 2003.
Like many with a long history in the profession, Haas recognizes that progress in technology has been a game changer in communications.
“Technology in sports information is like the quote from Field of Dreams about the one constant through all the years has been baseball,” said Haas. “It reminds us all that once was good, and it could be again, or something like that.”
“The technology changes, but the meaning of the SID remains constant – telling stories of athletes who are attempting to earn recognition for their performance,” Haas concluded. “The machines change but the basic elements of the job remain steady: the ability to write, tell a story, earn attention for what is good, minimize what is wrong and endure long hours for the love of the games.”
Gallery: (5-22-2023) Ed Haas, 25-Year Award