College Sports Information Directors of America

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• CSC Women to Watch Feature Archive

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CSC Women to Watch
Shelby Scott
Allan Hancock College Assistant Athletic Director / Sports Information Director

by Marlee Ressa, CSC Intern

This month’s Women to Watch spotlight is shining on Shelby Scott. She is currently serving as Allan Hancock College’s Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director, a role that she took on in 2021. Previously she had experience working in the communications setting with roles such as director of communications at the Heart of America Athletic Conference, assistant women’s volleyball coach/assistant sports information director at Missouri Valley College, and Central Methodist University director of athletic communications/senior women’s administrator.

In addition to her work at Allan Hancock College, Scott also serves on the CSC Two-Year College’s Cabinet. 

Scott has two degrees from the University of Central Missouri. She holds a bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis on sports management, business management and marketing. Scott also has a Master’s in sports management. 
 
How did you get started as a college sports communicator? What drew you to the profession?
SS: I honestly stumbled into this industry and decided to stick around. When I was a dual-sport athlete at the junior college level, I was really struggling to find a job that would work around my athletic schedule. The school that I was attending hired me as a student worker to help with office paperwork (transportation schedules, meal money requests, etc.).That role eventually grew into in-game statistics, in-game photography, and content creation over the summer. I got into the role fulltime at that same school two years later as a coach/SID and never looked back. 

I learned to love the “behind the scenes” coverage of the job and really enjoy being able to flex my creative muscles with the new social media trends. 

What’s your favorite thing about your job?
SS: My favorite thing about this role is the ability to tell the stories of our student-athletes, celebrate the successes of our programs, and knowing that no two days are the same. While this job can be incredibly stressful at time – such as the dreaded crossover season – I still would take this chaos over being chained to a computer for eight hours a day.

You have experience in communications at the conference level; how has that experience helped you in your current role as an Assistant Athletic Director? What are the top skills needed to serve in a leadership position?
SS: I firmly believe that you have to have good communication skills and the ability to stay organized while juggling several deadlines to succeed in leadership positions in the athletics field. You also need to be able to problem solve and keep your cool when under pressure because, especially in athletics, things always seem to go wrong in some capacity. 

Working at the conference level gave me a new perspective from the administration side of the house when it comes to making decisions and prioritization outside of my athletic communications bubble. Working with other Athletic Directors on a consistent basis through the conference office also gave me a little more confidence in my current role with decision making and department leadership responsibilities. 
 
What’s your best advice to other young female professionals who are beginning their careers in athletic communications?
SS: Find a mentor – or a few – that you can reach out to throughout the year when you’re struggling. This job can be HARD and it can be really difficult to navigate managing this schedule long term, especially if you currently have or plan to have a family at home. Find people who have walked a similar path as you or are in a role that you hope to be in and reach out to them for advice on finding the balance, navigating the schedule challenges, etc. One thing I’ve learned in this industry is that we’re all truly rooting each other on. 

What has been the most interesting part about serving on the CSC Two-Year Colleges Cabinet, which is the advisory and leadership group for CSC members who work at two-year colleges and conferences? What are the biggest challenges facing an athletic communications professional at the two-year level?
SS: I’d say that the biggest challenge at the two-year level is the lack of resources available in the profession while seeing demands continue to grow. I currently work in a conference that has 16 full members competing at the 3C2A level. Of those schools, only six have fulltime members working in athletic communications and three have people in part-time roles. This makes it extremely hard for us to cover our teams consistently throughout the year when one school may be putting on a full production between stats, streaming, and photos while another can’t even get you accurate stats for two business days. 

What has been your biggest challenge since you joined the staff of Allan Hancock College in 2021?
SS: My biggest challenge so far has been balancing the expectations of our coaches/student-athletes with the reality of our limited resources. Many of them see things that are being done at the Division I level and request that type of content or coverage without realizing that those institutions (oftentimes) have an entire staff dedicated to the content that they are seeing. I’ve always been a part of a small staff at previous spots, but I am truly an office of one here at AHC when it comes to athletic communications.

Is there one thing that you had known before you started in this industry?
SS: Yes! I wish I had a better understanding of the hours this job requires, how to prioritize various responsibilities during crossover seasons, and how to draw boundaries early. Learning how to say “no” when you need to, paying attention to your mental health, and taking your vacation days is crucial to surviving in this profession. That would’ve saved me from several seasons of burnout! 

I also think it’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of never really being “off” with a job like this where hours vary and free weekends are rare, so it’s important to find new hobbies that truly allow you to step out of your role when you have the chance to do so.  
 
Rapid fire with Shelby
Your most played song of 2024… Probably some song by Kane Brown or Connor Price
What is your comfort TV show… Grey’s Anatomy
My go-to dinner to make… Steaks, baked potato, and a salad
You can only go to one clothing store for the rest of your life; where are you picking? Nike Outlet (girl math tells me that I can automatically buy more stuff because everything is on sale ??)
What is something most people don’t know about you? Outside of my husband Andre, my closest family member is 1,700+ miles away. We totally took a chance on this job at AHC and moved from Missouri to California right as things were reopening after the pandemic.