College Sports Information Directors of America

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• Learn more about CSC Women at: CSCommunicators.com/CSCWomen
• CSC Women to Watch Feature Archive

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CSC Women to Watch
Chloë Clark
The Big West Conference Director of Multimedia Content

by Kristen Keller, UC Santa Barbara Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Digital Strategy/CSC Young Professionals Committee chair

Chloë Clark kickstarts the 2024-25 Women to Watch series. She is currently the Director of Multimedia Content at The Big West. 
 
The Southern California native started her career in journalism at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies and journalism. While she was there, she became a great addition to LMU Athletics by becoming the first sideline reporter for the Lions. Graduating during the peak of COVID, she decided to hone her skills even more and get her master’s degree in Journalism from USC. 
 
She takes her perspective as a sports fan and turns it towards her career, which she feels gives her a unique perspective in covering her athletes, whether that be in her current role with The Big West or in her previous positions with news outlets. Some of those stops included The Ringer, Playmaker, Sports Illustrated, the Tennis Channel, and Wave Sports and Entertainment.
 
What made you decide to make the switch to working in college athletics, and in particular, a conference office? 
CC: I would say that I was drawn to working for The Big West from my experience at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and being really hands-on with their college athletics department. I felt really comfortable working in that environment, and, since I had some of those experiences already, I translated those skills and expand on what I already learned. 
 
I also just enjoy working with college athletes. I am only two years out of college myself, so I am not too much older than these athletes. Being able to serve as someone that can tell their stories and relate to them in that sense really inspires me. Being able to work with The Big West has been great so far. I have been here for a year now and have been able to create different types of content for them from short form to long form. I have enjoyed uplifting the athletes, staff and faculty in different ways.


From my understanding, this is a new role at the Big West Conference. How have you really embraced it and made it your own? How has it been navigating a position with no real road map? 
CC: It’s funny because it is a brand-new role, but during the interview process, I really liked how they were so supportive of my ideas and what I wanted to do. They told me that this was an open canvas, so with that in mind, my first couple of months were uneasy in a sense as I was new in the role and there were no expectations, so to speak.

We all took it upon ourselves to brainstorm as a group. They got to hear my ideas and what I wanted to do so we could collaborate. I really like having that creativity, and they are open to any and all the ideas that I have as we head into this academic year. We are still figuring out what worked, what didn’t work, and what I can build upon for weekly and monthly content that allows us to uplift our athletes and dive into who they are as individuals. 


How do you go about coming up with the stories you tell? How do you make sure you are balanced, especially at a conference office? 
CC: That’s a big one as we try to make sure we are spreading the love across all of our institutions. When looking at the weekly content I make, like Hits of the Week, we are trying to highlight the biggest sports stories across all of our institutions. We are also trying to go beyond their roles as student-athletes as we also want to highlight them as individuals, so I really try to use the long form pieces to dive deeper into that. 
 

What skills from your time as a reporter are you using in your position now? 
CC: I use a lot of different skills. When I was doing my graduate work at USC, they really set me up to be a multimedia journalist. I was trained to do audio, which I use now at The Big West as I am editing audio and video myself. They also prepared me to be in front of the camera, which I do as the sideline reporter at our Big West Championships. Technically speaking, being trained as a multimedia journalist has been so impactful because, at some of our championship sports where we don’t have our broadcasts with ESPN+, I have been making all of the packages by myself. I have been able to go out there and do the shooting to turn around packages on a deadline at the same time to make it something that myself and The Big West can be proud of.

I also learned to be adaptable, work with a group and see how I can make my voice and ideas known, while not being afraid to say what’s on my mind.  


Have you faced any challenges as a woman in this industry?
CC: I feel like we all know the numbers and demographics. Going through my education and being one of the few females in my classroom, it is something that catches your eye. For me, it was something that never got to my head. It is important to use your presence as an asset, but I am not going to be the one to pity myself. I have always told myself that I am meant to be in certain spaces because I earned it and put in the work. Although imposter syndrome can be real, I know that I am in this space for a reason and I am not going to let that overshine the work I put in. 


What are your ultimate career goals? 
CC: I don’t know where I might be, but I hope I continue to level up each time I make a career move. My ultimate goal would be to work for the NBA and become their sideline reporter or host. I always looked up to Malika Andrews and Taylor Rooks who have solidified themselves as strong women in the sports industry. Although I do have lots of dreams and goals for myself, I am just waiting to see where it takes me. 
 

How does it feel to be so close to home as you began your professional career?
CC: I am so blessed because, even post-graduation, I got offers outside of California. As a Southern California girl, I didn’t want to move to snow or be too far from my family. I am so blessed in this field of journalism where people have to get out of their hometown and go to the small-market cities that I get to be close to home and work at a place that is so familiar, as my brother went to UC Irvine and my dad went to CSUN. To work with those Big West schools is a cool little connection. I am really grateful. 


What do you love most about your job? And what is most challenging? 
CC: I love the fact that everyone on the team is so flexible and supportive of my role, the ideas I have and what I want to see out of it. In that sense, I love how collaborative and supportive the job and the role is. I also get to do what I love - and the opportunity to grow within it - as I create content and work with student-athletes in general. I stated in my interview process that I wanted to get those reps as a sideline reporter and be involved on the broadcast side of things. 
 
Something challenging would be the work-life balance. With this being my first full-time job, March through June was a lot with all the travel to Las Vegas, San Luis Obispo and other places, and it took time to know what I needed to do for myself. 


Rapid Fire with Chloe
Favorite Artist: Gunna
Go-to meal: Salad with chicken 
Something people might not know about you: I was a dancer growing up 
Favorite journalist: Taylor Rooks (sports reporter with NBA across TNT Sports, Thursday Night Football and the Bleacher Report)
Favorite sport to cover: Basketball
Travel destination you always wanted to go to: Asia