Lindsey Branch is entering her second year as SID and athletic facilities manager at NAIA’s Montana Western. This is her first position in sports communications. She previously was a high school special education teacher and volleyball and softball coach at Caruthers (Calif.) High School. Branch is a 2019 graduate from Vanguard University where she was a four-year softball player, a three-time NFCA Scholar Athlete selection and a member of Vanguard’s 2019 team that competed at the NAIA World Series.
Last fall,
Lacey Crandall was named sports information director at Lake-Sumter State College, an NJCAA school in Leesburg, Florida. She previously served as an assistant commissioner at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences that competes in NCAA Division III. Crandall received both her bachelor’s (2019) and master’s degrees from Valdosta State (2021), and played on the Blazers' softball team for six seasons.
Entering his second year as director of sports information for NCAA Division II institution Elizabeth City State University is
Jordan Lynch. The HBCU school is located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He is leading ECSU’s initial design and launch of a new website with SIDEARM Sports this fall. Lynch was a student assistant and then an intern in the Winston-Salem State athletic communications office while attaining his bachelor’s degree, managing social media accounts, graphics and doing gameday operations. Jordan spent some time as an intern with Commonwealth Basketball Group, a media company that covers basketball events nationwide.
Erikka Sansom is entering her fifth year as director of athletic communications at Bethany College. Sansom oversees athletic communications efforts and is the primary contact for 22 NCAA Division III varsity programs. She also a member of the department’s administrative staff. Prior to Bethany, Sansom worked as a behavioral therapist at Augusta Levy Learning Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, and also coached softball at Elmira College and in high school. Sansom is a University of Pittsburgh at Bradford graduate where she was a softball student-athlete and SID student assistant (maiden name Rosplock). She holds a master's degree in special education from Slippery Rock University.
Take a look at your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked the image that you display …
Branch: The image is my husband and I during our 2021 engagement photo shoot in Yosemite National Park. After taking photos with each other for who knows how long, we were getting so angry over everything and so exhausted. In this photo, we were standing in a stream and arguing in between smiling through pictures. In the end, the shots in this stream ended up being my favorite ones we took!
Crandall: It is a photo of my and my sister’s hand making a heart at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert in Tampa in April. Taylor Swift holds up the hand heart while she performs her well-known single “Fearless,” so it has become a staple thing for Swifties to do. Taylor Swift has had a huge impact on my life and getting to go to the Eras Tour with my sister was one of my greatest memories.
Lynch: It is a picture of me and my father Jerry. He passed away in January 2022. I picked this picture because I was young at the time and carefree in my father's lap.
Sansom: It is a photo of my husband, Brian (who serves as Bethany College’s Director of Athletics) and our three-year-old boy, Lucan Scott. They both have the biggest smiles on their faces and it is my favorite photo.
As a participant at #CSCUNITE23, give us two professional takeaways that you gained by attending ...
Branch: The first takeaway came from the “Saying No and Setting Priorities” session: you need to set boundaries as you cannot always say “yes” to a request so that you can have a life outside work and take care of your health and wellbeing. The second takeaway came from the “Working With A Small Staff” session. Key points for me were to "feed them and clothe them" when you can't necessarily pay them. I am excited to begin this fall with my small staff of student-workers.
Crandall: Being a younger SID, I was expecting to learn a lot about the technical side of sports information. Yet, a lot of the mental health and diversity & inclusion programming is what ended up being extremely helpful to me. Lake-Sumter has a very diverse student population, and our student-athletes come from a variety of backgrounds, so it’s my goal to help grow our athletic program and make their years the best experience it can be through the work I do.
The emphasis on setting your boundaries, recognizing your workload and knowing that it’s okay to say no/not every single thing has to be an immediate priority were key takeaways. Knowing what is time sensitive, like a post-game press release or graphic, versus things that can wait (whether it feels that way or not). Take the time to go home and take care of yourself instead of extending your workday.
Lynch: 1.
Be authentic to yourself and the brand you are an ambassador for. 2. This field is all about the relationships you build.
Sansom: It was my first time attending the convention, so I took away a lot. The two that impacted me the most were: family is non-negotiable, and that it is important to take time to yourself.
What was your favorite part(s) of being in Orlando at #CSCUNITE23?
Branch: Making friends and connections within the industry. I just finished my first year in the sports information role at Western and it was something I was lacking throughout the year. I am starting to build a network of amazing people in various roles, and I am excited to continue to grow that network!
Crandall: Divisional Day was my highlight experience. I really enjoyed being around the other two-year SIDs which I’d only known over Zoom and email before. I also had the opportunity to speak on a panel with Maura Vizza and Candice Kelm on “College Sports through the Female Lens.”
Lynch: #CSCUNITE23 was my first athletic conference. I was nervous and did not know what to expect. When I got to Orlando, my favorite parts were the networking opportunities that were taking place and all of the knowledge that was being presented.
Sansom: There is a lot you can do during the evenings, and you can make a family trip out of it by going to Disney or Universal Studios.
Have you ever had, or do you have, a nickname? What is it?
Branch: I don't know if there was ever a time I was called by my actual name before I graduated from college! In high school, I was "Little Gilmore" (Gilmore my maiden name, and I was the second child at the school) and "Lindsey Smash" (due to my softball playing abilities). I am also a former college softball player and when I first got to my school, there was another Lindsey on the team. So naturally, I picked up numerous nicknames. My coaches started calling me LG and some teammates called me "Crow Town" or "C-Town" after my hometown (I was from a small farm town in central California and many of my teammates knew I was proud of where I came from).
Crandall: I’ve never had a real nickname, but most everyone in my life calls me Lace over Lacey, which I have come to love being called
.
Lynch: Yes, Chop!
Sansom: Rock or Rockie. When I played high school basketball, we had two Erikka's on the team. I spelled my name with an "E" and she spelled hers with an "A" but we needed nicknames. (My maiden name was Rosplock.) My coach started to call me Rock and it just stuck.
What could you give a 30-minute presentation about with no advance preparation?
Branch: Floral design! I competed on a floral design team in high school through the FFA program. My team was the state runner-up in California my senior year at the state finals held at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I can ramble on and on about symmetry in a potted flowering plant in order to place them 1-4 and give an impromptu reasons speech to a judge.
Crandall: Mental health in collegiate student-athletes
Lynch: BlueFrame video production
Sansom: Being a mom and working a full-time job in the world of college athletics.
Lottery fever! With July being a month where both Mega Millions and PowerBall surged in prize money, what would you do if you won the lottery?
Branch: I would pay off mine and my husband's student loans, buy some land, build a house and start a goat farm (while still keeping my SID job of course!)
Crandall: I’d love to do a full van build and travel for a couple of years while documenting my experiences through social media.
Lynch: I would build a ranch for my family far away. I love to travel so plan some trips with my loved ones. Lastly, invest and save the rest.
Sansom: Pay off student-loans, build our dream house, donate towards cancer research.
Where are you in birth order (oldest? middle? youngest? only child?) and do you think it affects your personality?
Branch: I am the middle child with an older and a younger brother. It definitely affected my personality, but in a good way. I am extremely hard-headed and independent. You tell me I can't do something, and I will absolutely show you I can.
Crandall: I am 11 years younger than my sister and yes, I think I have a younger sibling personality.
Lynch: I am the younger between me and my sister. I do believe that it has an effect on your personality, for the best… if you are the baby!
Sansom: I am the oldest. I think that it plays a part in my personality. It helped shape me to who I am today.
In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read?
Branch: I would absolutely play a game! Board games like Scrabble or Monopoly were always my favorite growing up, except I had to break my "if you ain't cheatin, you ain't tryin" attitude.
Crandall: I spend A LOT of my free time reading.
Lynch: Watch a movie … but ideally, be in nature.
Sansom: Visit a relative
.
This or That: Art festivals or music festivals?
Branch: Music festival! I keep a list of artists that I have seen perform live and I am up to 57 total, mostly country music artists. I was also pretty lucky in that my first concert was seeing Alan Jackson.
Crandall: Music festivals
Lynch: Music festivals. I am a lover of music!
Sansom: Music festivals
This or That: Neutral colors or bold colors?
Branch: Neutral colors. I rarely wear anything that stands out!
Crandall: Neutral colors
Lynch: Neutral colors
Sansom: The bolder the better
This or That: Would you prefer a snack stash or drink station at work?
Branch: Snack stash! Specifically salty snacks!
Crandall: SNACKS 100%
Lynch: Drink station… for sure!
Sansom: Snack stash … who doesn't love snacks?