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Will Roleson – CSC Associate Executive Director 

CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2024 

By Doug Vance, retired CSC executive director/former CSC/CoSIDA president

In retracing his career path, one that has sparked significant growth in his profession’s national organization, Will Roleson can recall a prophecy that was delivered to him by College Sports Communicators (CSC) Hall of Famer Dave Young during his days as an undergraduate student assistant in the Miami (Ohio) University sports information office.

“He told me that someday he thought I’d be president of CoSIDA (now CSC),” recalled Roleson. “Dave took me under his wing and showed the utmost confidence in me. That experience paved the way for me to move forward in the profession.”

Roleson knew his career course was charted and his fate was sealed. Young obviously saw potential as he groomed the hard-working student assistant for the demands of the job.

Roleson was introduced to the communications profession thanks to his father who worked as the Xerox copy machine technician for the Miami University sports communications office. With his dad’s recommendation opening the door, Roleson started doing work for Young and the athletic department during his junior and senior years in high school.

In 1992, following his junior year at Miami University, Young invited Roleson to attend the CoSIDA Convention in Lexington, Ky. 

“It opened my eyes to the scope of the work and broadened my perspective of the industry,” Roleson noted.

While Young’s forecast didn’t exactly come true, it could easily be argued it came close enough. In his three-plus decades serving the profession, Roleson’s resume’ includes 22 years working in sports communications, including his undergraduate days at Miami; a three-year stint on the CSC (then CoSIDA) Board of Directors; and now, 12-plus years representing the profession as a staff member for CSC.
 

Will Roleson with wife and CSC Unite registration coordinator Cristy Roleson at last year's CSC Convention.

Promoted in 2017 to Associate Executive Director of CSC, he’s been part of the national office leadership team and helped the organization navigate through some of its most significant changes and growth.

His career contributions to the profession will be recognized on June 10 at the CSC national convention as he’s honored with five of his colleagues comprising the 2024 Hall of Fame class during the CSC All-Star Night of Honors, presented by ESPN.

 “It’s an unbelievable and unexpected honor,” Roleson said. “I never thought that I’d be considered when I left working in a conference communications office. It means so much because it serves as proof for me that people appreciate what I’ve done.”

Roleson joined the national office staff in 2011 as director of internal operations after stints at Wisconsin (1993-94), Host Communications (1994-96), Kent State (1996-2004) and the Horizon League (2004-2011). 

Underscoring Roleson’s role in management leadership of CSC are the robust changes in the organization’s development during his time on the staff. They include:

• In a major step designed to enhance advocacy, the organization formed a partnership with NACDA which included the incorporation of the national convention with NACDA Convention Week.

• The growth of the national staff from three to five staff members.

• A major governance revamp that streamlined the board of directors leadership structure and brought all the divisional units into the decision-making process.

• A total overhaul of the membership model which last year sparked membership growth to a record 4,100-plus members.

• A change in the national organization’s name from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to College Sports Communicators (CSC) and introduction of a new logo.

“I’m fortunate to have known Will for almost two decades, when I first joined the NCAA national office and he joined the Horizon League,” said CSC Executive Director Erik Christianson. “I’ve watched him grow as a professional and leader, and his impact on the organization is positive and inspiring. He is a trusted and valued colleague, and he is helping us each day to advance and live out our brand.”

Roleson can also take credit for launching the organization’s Membership Appreciation Week, the Convention Attendance Grant which has opened the door for scores of members to attend the national convention, and the National Champion Communicators program which recognizes college sports communicators who handle responsibilities for national championship teams.

In his current role at CSC, Roleson’s primary responsibilities include producing the organization’s annual convention and serving as chief financial officer. He also handles human resources and is involved in corporate partner sales opportunities.

“There are few people in our organization’s history who have made a more positive, direct impact on the success of the College Sports Communicators than Will Roleson,” said long-time CSC secretary Jeff Hodges of North Alabama. “From his time as an at-large representative on the board of directors beginning in 2006, to becoming a full-time staff member in 2011, to his current position, Will has helped shape the direction and growth of CSC as the organizations chief financial officer and convention manager.”

“As a tireless advocate for our members, Will is an absolute hall of famer,” Hodges added.

Roleson played a meaningful role in the development of a stats software program that helped revolutionize how sports communicators chart statistics in football and basketball competition. The Miami University stats crew served as beta testers for the development of the Stat Crew Software program developed by Mike Ranieri. Roleson, a member of that stats crew, played a pivotal role in the testing as he provided critical feedback to help Ranieri improve the software program which was founded in 1988.

It’s noteworthy that Roleson’s path to the national organization staff was launched when he received the organization’s postgraduate scholarship award in 1993 and accepted a sports information internship at the University of Wisconsin where he was tutored by longtime SID Steve Malchow.  

“We sort of ‘recruited’ Will at the CoSIDA Convention one year and it was obvious from our first meeting that his enthusiasm for the profession was unmatched,” Malchow, now retired, explained. “When I did some background checks on his skills, we knew that Will needed to be on our team at Wisconsin. He loved the whole concept of promoting his players, teams and coaches while accepting none of the accolades.”

“Will’s induction into the CSC Hall of Fame is a perfect testament to the passion, professionalism and dedication that Will has for our profession,” Malchow added.

Roleson stepped away from the campus communications office in 1994 to serve as assistant editor at Host Communications Publishing in Lexington, Ky. After two years at Host, Roleson crossed the sports information threshold once again when he accepted a position as assistant SID at Kent State University. Three years later he was promoted to head the communications office staff and handled men’s basketball responsibilities when the team advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2002. During his time at KSU he worked with eventual NFL standouts Antonio Gates, James Harrison and Josh Cribbs.

From Kent State, Roleson moved to the Horizon League where he was eventually promoted to associate commissioner for communications and multimedia.  

Roleson started the first conference-wide video-streaming platform while overseeing the Horizon League communications team. In addition, he was the local media coordinator for the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2005 and the Men’s Final Four in 2006 and 2010 when the league’s own Butler University advanced to the national championship game in Indianapolis.

Roleson remains active in gameday activities in the Indianapolis area serving as the official scorer for Butler men’s and women’s basketball games. He fills in when summoned for help at the University of Indianapolis, Ball State University, IUPUI and Indiana University. He also makes himself available to handle talent stats, timeout coordinator and spotter duties for television and radio while serving as official scorer for the Indianapolis Indians.

Starting with the 2024 spring semester, Roleson accepted an adjunct professor position at the University of Indianapolis where he teaches a course in sports public relations.

The job is often a family affair in the Roleson household. His wife, Cristy, has contributed as a volunteer on stats crews throughout his career and is a familiar face and volunteer at college sports events.

He graduated cum laude from Miami University in 1993 and received his MBA from the University of Southern Indiana in 2023.

“Working in college sports communications, whether it be on campus, in a conference office or working for the profession’s national organization, has been a big part of my life,” Roleson said. “To be selected for the CSC Hall of Fame means more to me than anyone can imagine.”