College Sports Information Directors of America

This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2017 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories, please click HERE.

Hope Shuler: Western Athletic Conference
Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations


This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2017 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories, please click HERE.

Hope Shuler: Western Athletic Conference
Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations


by Tim Hanson, Rogers State University Sports Information Director

This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2017 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories, please click HERE.

Shuler coordinating a press conference.

Looking back on your career, what sparked your interest in athletics communication? It appears that your father played a big role in laying the foundation for your career path!

The entire reason I work in this industry is because I’m a daddy’s girl and he loved the Denver Broncos so I, of course, wanted to follow suit. His rule was that if I wanted to watch games with him I had to know the rules of the game. So at seven, I took a written test on the rules of the game! When I passed the test, I then had to learn about the team if I was going to be a true fan. So for the next 10 years that I lived at home, he tested me on the roster. Thus began my obsession with the Broncos.

My Dad was also the editor of a magazine, so I knew I wanted to get a degree in journalism. I actually chose the school I went to, University of Nebraska at Kearney, because it was small and had student-run radio and TV stations as well as a student newspaper. I wanted to get experience doing all three, which I did. I initially had journalism as a major and sports administration as a minor, but when I found out the difference between a sports administration major and minor was only an internship, I decided to double major. The summer before my senior year in college I interned with the Colorado Xplosion, a women’s professional basketball team in the American Basketball League. It was a grassroots organization and I got amazing experience there in a bunch of different areas. They held a position for me from January until May when I graduated as the director of community relations so it was my first full-time job. I also served as the assistant media relations director.

When the league went bankrupt eight months later, I took a job at the University of Denver in admissions. I hated the job but it came with a tuition waiver, so I started grad school. I also worked part-time waiting tables just to make ends meet. I did this for eight months but was burning the candle at both ends and decided that if someone would hire me without my master’s degree, I would take the job. Elmhurst College did, and that’s how my career in collegiate athletics began.


Shuler coordinating a press conference.

What have been some of your most meaningful accomplishments during your career?

People saying I’ve helped them along the way, whether it was student-athletes when I worked at schools, SIDs from around The Summit League or WAC or coworkers throughout my career, will always be my biggest accomplishment. I try to keep things fun and make people laugh and smile as often as possible. Life is too short to take ourselves too seriously. And let’s face it, what we do isn’t rocket science!

Successfully navigating the unexpected death of Shawntinice Polk, a beloved basketball student-athlete at Arizona, is the most difficult thing I’ve endured professionally. My own sister died when I was 16, so I knew firsthand what it felt like to lose someone so young - yet I was able to grieve in peace, without any media spotlight. The media circus that ensued when Polkey died was so difficult because not only was I affected by it personally, but it was such a balancing act to get the media what they wanted while also protecting these 18-23 year-olds, many of whom were experiencing grief for the first time in their lives.

By proactively safeguarding and educating the student-athletes about media interactions, I was able to develop consistent guidelines, contact protocols and strategic statements and I truly believe I served the grieving student-athletes, the media and everyone else involved very well. Obviously no one wants to experience something like that, but I am proud of the way I handled it.


Shuler with Arizona State assistant media relations director Mollie Hanke at the CoSIDA Convention.

What's been the most enjoyable part of your time in your time at the WAC?

The friendships and relationships I’ve built. There have been more than 25 schools in the WAC during my time here, and I think I could name just about every SID and coach I’ve worked with during that time. While you obviously don’t “click” with everyone, I believe I’ve left my mark and hopefully left people smiling.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to enter the business?

Volunteer any chance you can, even if it’s awkward to reach out to a stranger and offer your services. Once there, help however you can, because you’re only going to advance by paying your dues. And most important, don’t complain!!

What is the most gratifying part of your positon?

Helping others and seeing them either succeed in their current positions or move on to something that brings them true happiness.

What are your outside interest/hobbies, and how do you find time for them?

My family is the most important thing in my life and I will ALWAYS put them first. This is something I refuse to budge on. One of my guiding principles when making decisions about whether or not I need to be at a work function versus a family function is whether the people at work will remember in a year that I wasn’t there and whether or not my family will. It often makes your decisions crystal clear.

Unlike some people, I work to live, I don’t live to work. My husband Scott and I visit National Parks each year for our anniversary, and we have set a goal of making it to all of them. As a family we also camp quite a bit in the summers. We also spend lots of time with our seven-year-old daughter Everly’s activities which currently include soccer, gymnastics and acting. I’m also involved in the PTA at Everly’s school.

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