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June Is CoSIDA Virtual Convention Month
Digital Delivery: Join All Sessions For Free
Throughout June, CoSIDA will offer virtual convention programming for all those interested (members, non-members, colleagues), free of charge. Sessions will be offered live and pre-recorded. Check out the information and schedule below.
Throughout June, CoSIDA will offer a virtual convention for members and non-members. This virtual convention will be free of charge, with sessions spread out throughout this three-week period rather than delivered as an all-day connected session stream that you would find when attending our in-person conventions.
The schedule is as follows:
- A total of 16 general sessions offered (9 live sessions, 7 recorded sessions)
- The “main virtual convention week” is Monday-Friday, June 8-12; each day, there will be one recorded session (at Noon Eastern) and one live session (at 3 PM Eastern). For the week of June 15-19, there will be one live afternoon session on Tuesday, June 16 and one afternoon live session on Thursday, June 18. For the week of June 22-26, there will be three live afternoon sessions: one on Tuesday, June 23, one on Wednesday, June 24 and one on Thursday, June 25.
- A total of three sessions in the SIDEARM Sports Leadership Forum Presented by Learfield IMG College will be offered (open to everyone)
- Focused and traditional “Divisional Day” programming is scheduled for NCAA Division I (June 23, June 24), NCAA Division II (June 17), NCAA Division III (June 3, June 4), the NAIA (June 5) and conference offices (June 16).
- Canadian and U Sports members will hold a live virtual meeting (tba)
- Two-year members also will hold a live virtual meeting (tba)
- The annual CoSIDA business meeting and Presidential gavel exchange will take place virtually on Friday, June 12
- For aspiring athletic communications professionals (students, interns, graduate students or those looking to make a career change into the profession), there will be CoSIDA U sessions on June 15 and June 22, discussing the basics of athletic media relations.
The educational emphasis of the sessions will be on the impact of COVID-19 as college athletics in general, and athletic communicators specifically, navigate through the ramifications of the pandemic.
Select sessions will be live; others will be recorded remotely and made available to stream on-demand. All sessions will be available on-demand as a downloadable webinar; for viewing on CoSIDA’s YouTube page; or, in many cases, as a podcast.
This “pick-and-mix” online content allows our members to consume the professional development sessions in a variety of ways (live or recorded) at a time that is convenient.
Please see the schedule below and note that it is tentative. We will update the schedule as sessions and presentations become finalized.
Virtual Convention FAQs
How was this setup for the CoSIDA June virtual convention determined?
- As the COVID-19 pandemic plays out, the CoSIDA Board and staff are cognizant that our CoSIDA members and non-members may have daily work responsibilities that need attention throughout June. Because of that, we’ve significantly streamlined and limited our sessions and panels in this virtual environment.
In planning for the virtual convention during April, the CoSIDA Convention Programming Committee completely reversed its course, abandoning the multi-layered in-person programming schedule to successfully set up these topics and panels.
The bulk of the virtual programming takes place Monday-Friday, June 8-12. No day will have more than two general sessions, and one of those sessions will be live and the other will be tape-delayed. (Divisional Day programming may differ).
During the “main virtual convention week” (June 8-12), we have set aside time for our three outside speakers (Dawn Dugle, Mark Potter and Crista Samaras) to hold their keynote presentations.
There also will be specific “Divisional Day” programing. Division I and Division III will hold sessions on two days for their division-specific topics. The NAIA. Division II and conference offices will offer all their specific programming on the same day.
There is time for each division to hold their own business meeting if desired; the business meeting can take place during divisional day our outside divisional day programming
What is the cost to attend the 2020 CoSIDA virtual convention and who can attend?
- Hooray! There are no charges associated with the June convention. In a unanimous Board of Directors decision, there will be no cost to attend or watch any sessions or programming from the virtual CoSIDA convention. It is open to everyone: CoSIDA members, non-members, your colleagues, student assistants, and those interested in an athletic communication career! All you have to do is look at the schedule and click on the link to either pre-register or join a session.
What platforms will be used to deliver the virtual convention?
- Our sessions will be offered on either GoToWebinar (GTW) or Zoom. All sessions, whether presented live or taped, will be available on-demand as well.
How do I find out my login ID and password?
- You will not have ONE login or password to access the CoSIDA virtual convention. Our sessions will be offered on either GoToWebinar (GTW) or Zoom. If a session is offered on GTW, you will preregister for that session at the link provided, receive a confirmation and reminder emails, and then log in at the day and time of the session. If the session will be on Zoom, you will have access to the Zoom link and password for that session.
Again - All our sessions will be available on-demand for you to download, watch on CoSIDA’s YouTube channel, or listen to in a podcast format.
What about the Educational Lounges, the immersive training sessions that have been part of the in-person convention the last few years?
- Educational Lounge sessions will not be offered during the virtual convention, in keeping with the philosophy of streamlining and limiting the amount of sessions. Instead, virtual Educational Lounge sessions may be offered later in the summer and into the fall.
Are there any other elements of the traditional convention that will be offered this spring or summer? Job Seekers session? What about a community service project or the popular 5K fun run/walk?
- Yes, these will take place - virtually. The CoSIDA Job Seekers Committee is putting together a session or several sessions for those seeking career changes. Also, the CoSIDA Mentorship Committee is planning to offer a webinar the third week of May. And, the CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee is hard at work, finalizing plans for virtual community service and a virtual 5K fun run/walk … stay tuned!
Is there anything else for CoSIDA members which will take place in June? What about the new CoSIDA governance structure we’ve heard about?
- Yes! One of the Board of Directors initiatives this year has been overhauling the CoSIDA governance structure. (A membership-wide email and two CoSIDA 360 magazine articles discussed this in great detail.) A Governance Review Working Group was formed to examine and modernize the governance structure of our organization. On May 14, CoSIDA will host a webinar to discuss the changes. Voting by current CoSIDA members is required to have these CoSIDA governance changes take place; voting will be conducted the week of June 15-19 via the Survey Monkey online tool. More information to come.