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25-Year Award
Presented to College Sports Communicators members who have completed 25 years in the athletics communications profession.
Vetted and voted on by the Special Awards Committee.
Chris Masters — University of Illinois Chicago Senior Associate Athletics Director - External Operations
Chris Masters joined the UIC staff ten months ago in July 2023 after serving seven years at the Big Ten Conference, most recently as Director, Communications.
AT UIC, he is the athletic department's spokesperson and oversees the communications and marketing units while serving on the department's executive cabinet. He is sport supervisor for the Flames' track & field and cross country programs and manages communications for UIC's men's basketball program.
Masters is involved in volunteer leadership positions in CSC. He is the chair of the CSC Academic All-America Hall of Fame Committee and previously served on the CSC Board of Directors (now Executive Board) as an at-large representative. Masters has earned 25 CoSIDA (CSC) national or regional citations for excellence in publication design and content across multiple sports. He was the 2017 recipient of a CSC Achievement Award for excellence in athletic communications by a associate or assistant director.
In his Big Ten role, he was the primary communications point of contact for various conference sports, including most recently women's basketball, volleyball, softball, women's soccer, women's tennis and men's gymnastics. He oversaw all media operations at the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, the second-highest attended conference tournament nationwide.
Masters spent 15 years working at Notre Dame as the associate athletics communications director prior to joining the Big Ten Conference, working with the nationally-recognized women's basketball and women's soccer programs. He started his career with a three-year tenure at Western Kentucky as assistant sports information director.
Gallery: (5-22-2024) Chris Masters, 25-Year Award
Muffet McGraw, former Notre Dame women's basketball head coach (1987-2020) and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee: "Chris Masters was the best sports information director I ever had. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of our program but also knew exactly where we fit nationally. Chris was a fountain of information and was a tremendous help to me throughout his tenure at Notre Dame. I also called him the "ambassador of hope" for the way he would help me get over a loss and see the big picture. He was generous with his time, always volunteering to work different events. But most importantly he is a great friend and a dependable, honest, and responsible colleague."
Michael Lipitz, University of Illinois Chicago Director of Athletics: "Chris is the consummate communications professional. He's dedicated his career to sharing the stories of student-athletes, coaches, and staff, and to elevating the brands of institutions of higher education, and all are better for it. Congratulations on 25 years in the profession, Chris... we're fortunate to have you in the Flames Family!"
Kerry Kenny, Big Ten Conference Chief Operating Officer: "Congratulations to Chris for a well-earned and well-deserved recognition of his contributions to college sports and the sports communications profession over the past 25 years. The exemplary resume that Chris has developed over the years at Notre Dame, the Big Ten Conference and now at the University of Illinois-Chicago is only strengthened by the unbelievable relationships that he has developed and cultivated at each of those stops.
His passion for the sport of women's basketball is matched by few, and his dedication and commitment to being an advocate for the sport and finding new ways to grow its popularity can be seen in many of the success stories the sport has experienced at the collegiate level over the past several years. Chris is a consummate team player who makes the people around him better, and this recognition is a testament to his service to the profession."
Masters quote on his tenure:
"It's an incredible blessing to have been a part of this wonderful business for the past 25 years. From the moment I walked into Mark Beckenbach's office at Ohio Wesleyan as an undergraduate in 1993, I knew athletic communications was the path for me. I have met and learned from so many incredible people along the way, Mark and Kent Brown, to Paul Just, John Heisler, Bernie Cafarelli, Scott Chipman and Jason Yellin, and to each of them (and countless others), I am eternally grateful.
Now, I believe it's incumbent upon all of us as veterans in this profession to share our knowledge and insight with the next generation. The future for our business has never been brighter, and we have to do all we can to support the extremely talented young women and men at all divisions, in large shops and small, who are the backbone of every athletics department — without them, college athletics will not grow to the unprecedented heights we know are possible."