College Sports Information Directors of America

Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented to individuals who have served at least 25 years in the athletics communications profession (as of July 2025) who are retiring or leaving the profession. Years of service vetted by the Special Awards Committee. 

Shelly Poe — Auburn University Associate AD - Communications (Football)
Poe Letter and Reflections on Her Award-Winning Sports Communications Career

One of the most decorated members in CSC history, Shelly Poe has served as associate AD/communications for football at Auburn University since 2012. Poe was the director of football communications at Ohio State from 2007 until 2012, and the sports information director at West Virginia from 1988 until 2007. She plans to retire from her Hall of Fame career this summer.

Poe's additional awards and recognitions include: College Sports Communicators: 2006 Hall of Fame inductee; 2013-14 CSC national president; 2012 CSC Trailblazer Award; 2013 CSC Arch Ward Award; 2016 CSC President's Award; and CSC Board of Directors (1999-2003, 2010-2015). She has chaired several CSC committees and task forces, a member of NCAA Media Advisory Group (2014-present), an ex-officio board member, and Football Writers Association of America (2013-present).

At WVU, she was the youngest Division I SID and the only female head SID at a Division I football school when taking that position. Poe was also assistant SID at West Virginia from 1985 to 1988. She has promoted 21 postseason football teams, 16 All-Americans, and finalists for many national awards. Poe has also been lead publicist for men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, tennis, softball, swimming & diving teams; and media coordinator for numerous NCAA and conference championships. 

Greg Seitz, Jacksonville State University Director of Athletics, CSC 25-Year Award (2020): "Shelly Poe has been a trailblazer, a mentor, and a friend to so many of us in college athletics. Her passion for telling the stories of student-athletes, her steady leadership, and her kind heart have made a lasting impact on our profession. Shelly opened doors for others simply by being excellent at what she did. We’re all better for having worked alongside her, and I hope retirement brings her the same joy she has given to so many of us through the years."

Cindy Potter, Columbia (Mo.) College Director of Athletics, CSC Past President (2022), CSC Hall of Fame (2025), CSC Bud Nangle Ethics Award (2022), CSC Warren Berg Award (2020), CSC Rising Star Award (2008): "Shelly Poe has been a trailblazer in sports communications, inspiring countless professionals through her leadership, mentorship, and dedication to the field. She has championed the profession, advocating for the growth and recognition of sports communicators, especially young females. Her contributions to the profession extend far beyond the  institutions she served, as she has chaired numerous committees for CSC, served on advisory boards, and mentored countless professionals, to ensure that  the next generation of sports communicators is well-equipped to succeed. Shelly has been one of the greatest mentors, setting such an inspiring example of perseverance. Her encouragement and advocacy has helped so many, and personally, I would not have made it through my years without her wisdom and support. Thank you for everything, Shelly!"

Eli Gold, Broadcaster, Voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide (1988-2024): "I have been blessed to have been able to make a living broadcasting college and pro sports events for some fifty-plus years. I have had the pleasure to work with some of the best sports information professionals that this nation has to offer. Bar none, Shelly Poe has been one of the  best with whom I have ever worked. Her willingness to answer questions, her ability to help me find just the right stat, her desire to help make my broadcasts better, is an example of what a sports information professional should be like. Shelly is a shining example of how an SID should do their job. Her being honored today is a clear indication of what your CSC organization is all about, and her retirement, while wonderful for her and her family, is a sad day for the rest of us."

Mike Stamus, Georgia Tech University Associate Director for Communications and Public Relations, CSC 25-Year Award (2019): "Longevity in our industry is a product of building and maintaining good relationships with so many constituents, including our student-athletes and coaches, athletic department administrators, the media who cover our teams and colleagues at other schools. It also is a product of providing good information in a timely manner, being a storehouse of institutional knowledge and being helpful at all times. Shelly has done these things at a high level for so many years, and our profession and Auburn University are losing a true pro. I wish you all the best, and hope the next stage of your life brings you great fulfillment."

Charlie Fiss, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Historian, CSC Hall of Fame (2017), CSC 25-Year Award (2019): "Anyone who has spent time as a College Sports Communicator has Shelly Poe to thank for the role she played in making our jobs such an important part of every athletic department. During her many years of working at high-profile institutions like West Virginia, Ohio State and Auburn, Shelly has been one of our profession’s most productive leaders. A trailblazer, an innovator, and an inspiration to all of us, Shelly is a true Hall of Famer. We are blessed to have known and worked with her for so many years. Here’s wishing her the best in retirement."

Poe Letter and Reflections on Her Award-Winning Sports Communications Career: 
It was August, 1981, and I had the world at my ear – literally. 

My first day as a student worker in the West Virginia University coincided with the introductory press conference for a new athletics director but the basketball team was on a summer tour in Australia, and someone needed to take their phone call with the results of that day’s game, then type up a short news release that could be phoned in or telecopied to news outlets around the state. 

I had been a stringer for the local paper and radio stations during my high school days, I was well-equipped to handle that task, and while the rest of the office was next door at the press conference, I was speaking to the other side of the globe – a “wow” on my very first day.

And there have been a lot of “wow” moments in the 44 years since that freshman-to-be started work in the office at the Red Gate of the Coliseum. 

I’ve known national champions, Hall of Famers, Olympic medalists, first-round draft picks and All-Americans, as well as a lot of folks who have taken their college experience and gone on to lead really cool lives. I was there when Georgeann Wells became the first woman to dunk in a college game, was the official scorer for a Women’s Final Four and I’ve been to three football national championship games, almost every major award event and so many venues around the nation. 
 

But the things most memorable are not statistics and stadiums but experiences – the smell of the popcorn at the Palestra, the sun going down at the Rose Bowl, the buzz of a packed Madison Square Garden for the Big East tournament, the steel-hearted focus of a rivalry week, the taste of a hamburger delivered from the grills in left field of the original Dudy Noble Field, having a CIA observer in the press tent at the shooting venue of the Pan American Games (a South American assassin was among the participants), helping carry 500 pounds of BBQ chicken to an upper-deck press box when the elevator broke, buzzer-beating shots and scores for my team (and sometimes the other team), the hectic joy of hosting NCAA and conference championships with friends from afar brought together, correcting the official scorer’s math at the gymnastics national championships to get our team onto the medal stand, swimming through an ecstatic crowd on the field after seeing a missed field goal returned for a “Kick Six” game-winning touchdown, orchestrating wedding proposals, meeting the kids of people you knew when they were kids, and just wondering what Major Harris could possibly do next. 

And I never expected any of it, which makes it even more incredible. Only in hindsight do I appreciate the marvelous arc we SIDs get to experience if we follow the rainbow to its end. 

The skill set for being an SID in any sport is constant attention to communication, not just writing and speaking, but listening to the people around you and how you can help them tell their stories and communicate their vision. You have to be a multi-tasker, a planner and someone who can adjust on the fly. And you must enjoy working with people and getting to know them, not hiding behind a keyboard; curiosity is a must. Technologies and delivery systems change and will continue to change, but how to talk with people and help them share their stories is still the bottom line. 

In every sport, I’ve learned a lot from patient coaches and athletes who were willing to answer questions and teach me the sports they love. I think that is the key to all success in this field – ask questions, be interested and be observant of why these premier competitors love to do what they do. Passion and determination are compelling in any field and always of interest to the public. It’s wonderful to spend your life with people who want to accomplish great things. Keep seeking them out.
 

After three years as assistant SID, I got the top job at West Virginia in 1988 and I was the youngest Division I SID and the only female head SID at a Division I football school at that time. I spent two decades at my beloved alma mater before a chance to work with Coach Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes. After five years there that were magical until they ended, I took a chance taking a job at Auburn and having spent the last 14 years in the SEC, I will admit, it does mean a great deal here. 

I have never forgotten that I was extremely fortunate to have been part of what some might call the “second generation” of women in collegiate sports – I was very lucky to work for and learn from some of the pioneering coaches and administrators who fought and pushed to create teams for women on college campuses and kept fighting to improve resources and opportunities. People of my age don’t take for granted how hard they worked and how much resistance they met. It wasn’t that a law was passed and then everybody was so happy to have women as part of the landscape. That was not the case, and if you knew those women, you would work every day to make their efforts worth it, that they weren’t wrong to invest so much in getting those opportunities for generations to follow them. And also credit to some strong men of all ages who believed women in sports was the right thing even when it wasn’t popular and did what they could to help us become established and grow. I’ve been fortunate to have both men and women in our business and in the media who have served as role models and cheerleaders every step of my career.

My involvement with the people who live alongside us in college athletics -- players, coaches, staff, media, scouts, officials and fans – has truly been a wonderful ride. I’ve been behind the scenes at many memorable events and I’ve also had a daily opportunity to see how the best of the best build a program and build up young people. Sports can be life-changing – to an individual and to an entire fan base. It’s one of the great unifiers and uplifters in our world today.

I’ve also had some amazing opportunities to meet friends from across the continent and admire all their skills and contributions through our professional organization CSC (nee CoSIDA). I’ve attended at least 35 of our annual workshops, the first being in St. Louis in 1984; I remember meeting Rich Herman from Clarion and Jim Hollister from Bloomsburg through a co-worker who covered wrestling as we walked over to the Cardinal game, the beginning of many beautiful friendships this organization fosters. 

I’ve worked on and even chaired a number of committees, forging treasured relationships with colleagues from schools large and small. It was astounding to me as a young professional that veterans of our business would take time to talk with us and share insights about our profession – something you never forget and something I hope I’ve been able to pay forward. 
 

I’ve served 12 years during two terms on the Board of Directors, all during those days of the 6 a.m. meetings, and one of the most humbling experiences of my life was to be your CoSIDA president for 2013-14 because of the opportunity it gave me to see how many terrific things all of you are doing to make the world of sports a better and more vibrant place. 

I appreciate the many honors this organization has given me, because I hope that means I was doing something right – I certainly was trying! Not much will top the surprise when I learned I was a Hall of Fame inductee in 2006, along with the wonderful (late) Ann Bready King, my exhibit hall partner in crime, which made it even more special. To receive the Trailblazer Award later named for my friend Mary Jo Haverbeck was very moving, and getting the Arch Ward Award is an honor just to be among those listed as its recipients through the years – the best of the best. I’ve laughingly said the only award left is the Lifetime Achievement, and here it is!

In a few weeks, I’ll close up my desk one last time and take my “Beat Pitt” sign off the wall, but the memories and friendships I’ve collected and the pride I have in being part of this amazing profession are things that will make me smile every day. It’s been quite a run; thanks to all of you who helped me get to the finish line. 

And when people ask me what my life’s work was, I’ll always be proud to tell them I’m an SID. Others can concoct whatever titles they want to use, but those in the trenches know what an SID is – and know their value. I’m proud to have spent my time and energy toward such a worthy calling. I hope each of you, when you’re ready to retire, can share that satisfaction of a tough job well done.