College Sports Information Directors of America

#CoSIDA17: Listening, Learning, Networking & Socializing

ORLANDO – Professional development assistance. Innovation. Networking techniques. Getting in front of social media trends. Writing tips … and so much more.

The speakers/presentors, classroom teaching sessions and discussions at the 2017 CoSIDA Convention were thought-provoking and offered attendees lots of creative ideas and problem-solving scenarios as we face the 24/7 world of athletic communications today. Most of the attendees – arrived on Sunday (June 11) and stayed through our Wednesday (June 14) sessions at the World Center Marriott in Orlando.

There were plenty of non-proprietary takeaways, which is a staple of the annual CoSIDA convention as participants, attendees and presenters freely share their ideas.

The final day of the convention saw morning discussions on crisis communications, writing for the web, feature writing, to-do list making and working with the media. The convention was capped by Wednesday afternoon’s new feature: Tech Time, where concurrent teaching panels of beginning, intermediate and advanced video editing, Photoshop and new social media platforms were conducted in interactive, classroom-style presentations. We saw packed rooms during these hands-on Tech Time sessions.

The convention came to a conclusion with a It’s A Wrap Session where five CoSIDA members presented their takeaways from #CoSIDA17 and convention-based trivia questions were asked, with prizes and giveaways for audience participants. Thanks to the five presenters (Martin Foley – West Florida; Wade Neeley – Martin Methodist College; Jessica Poole – Ole Miss; Denise Thompson – Northern Arizona; Ira Thor – New Jersey City University) and session host Rob Knox – Towson State, in his Second VP role during the convention, for their contributions.

2017 CoSIDA Convention Day 4

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Rob Carolla will served as CoSIDA President in 2017-18.

The 2017-18 CoSIDA Officers, Board and Staff.

Sam Atkinson (Gallaudet) was named Third Vice President.

Bill Dyer (Virginia Tech) with outgoing board member Aaron Sagraves (Cornerstone).

2017 CoSIDA Convention Attendance Grant recipients.

Recipients of the first NCAA Inclusion grants.

Sahar Abdur-Rashid of the NCAA was instrumental in organizing the NCAA Inclusion Grant.

CoSIDA Grant Attendance recipients from NAIA schools pictured with board members Jay Stancil and Aaron Sagraves.

Chris Masters (Washington (St. Louis)), chair of the Goodwill & Wellness Committee, reported that CoSIDA raised $9,270 for the charity Samaritan's Feet.

Lawrence Fan (San José State) received the only surprise award—The President's Award.

Seven 25-Year Award recipients were on hand to receive their awards.

David Alexander (College of Saint Rose) received his 25-Year Award.

Ed Cassiere (Xavier (La.)) received his 25-Year Award.

Tyler Cundith (Johnson County CC) received his 25-Year Award.

Greg Goings (Bowie State) received his 25-Year Award.

Mike Kern (Missouri Valley Conference) received a 25-Year Award.

Frank Mercogliano (New Mexico) recieved a 25-Year Award.

CoSIDA Past President Judy Willson (Mountain West Conference) received a 25-Year Award.

Dave Reed (Colorado College) received the College Division CoSIDA Achievement Award.

Chris Masters (Big Ten) received the CoSIDA Achievement Award.

Paul Carson (Toronto) received the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer award.

Paul Carson (Toronto) being interviewed about CoSIDA's relationship with Canadian schools.

Larry Dougherty (Temple) received the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award.

Larry Dougherty (Temple) discusses his work in the community.

Tim Volkmann (SUNY Geneseo) received the Bill Esposito Award.

Jeff Nelson (Penn State) received the Lester Jordan Award for his service to the Academic All-America® program.

Megan Hardin (Southwestern (TX)) was the College Division Rising Star Award recipient.

Megan Hardin (Southwestern (TX)) being interviewed on stage by Jamie Seh of CBS Orlando.

Chelsey Chamberlain (New Mexico) was the University Division Rising Star Award winner.

Blake Timm (GNAC) received the Warren Berg Award.

Blake Timm (GNAC) being interviewed onstage by Jamie Seh of CBS Orlando.

Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) received the Arch Ward Award.

Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) gave an entertaining interview about his many years being affiliated with CoSIDA.

Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) pictured with his supporters.

Jeff Hodges (North Alabama) with Shelly Poe (Auburn).

Lunch was served in the CoSIDA exhibit hall.

One of the many panels at #CoSIDA17.

CoSIDA Hall of Famers Barb Kowal (CoSIDA) and Shelly Poe (Auburn).

Langston Rogers (Ole Miss), Holly Rowe (ESPN) and Tim Tessalone (USC) at the ESPN Party.

Jeremy Rosenthal (Indiana) was the chair of the CoSIDA/NACDA 5K Fun Run/Walk which saw another record turnout.

Chris Plonsky (Texas), outgoing president Andy Seeley (UCF) and CoSIDA Executive Director Doug Vance.

Pete Derzis (ESPN Senior VP College Sports Programming & Events), John Skipper (President of ESPN) and Doug Vance (CoSIDA Executive Director)

Some of the young leaders and presenters at #CoSIDA17.

More on #CoSIDA17 Takeaways & On-Demand Information

Check out the #CoSIDA17 session downloads and handouts available on our member-only CoSIDA Connect. Go to the Resource Library on the right side of the main Connect page and download the powerpoints/PDFs that you want.

In the next few days/week, you’ll see blogs and summaries on CoSIDA.com and on CoSIDA Connect from our convention grant winners and others who attended #CoSIDA17, as they summarize their experiences in Orlando. Today, see the blog posts from Martin O’Rourke, Bishop’s University Sports Information and Scholarship Coordinator, and David Alexander, The College of Saint Rose Assistant AD for Communications.

Later this summer, we’ll post sessions which were videotaped on CoSIDA.com and CoSIDA Connect, so you can watch them in an on-demand fashion.

CoSIDA Convention Evaluation & Survey – Look For the Link!

On Tuesday, June 20, every CoSIDA member will receive an email inviting them to participate in the annual Convention survey/evaluation. As we do annually, we ask those who attended #CoSIDA17 and those who did not to fill out the survey. Please participate! We need your input to make our professional development convention bigger and better! Random participants will be selected in a drawing for gift certificates at the conclusion of the survey.

If we didn’t see you at this year’s event, we hope you’ll join us next June for #CoSIDA18, taking place Wednesday-Saturday, June 27-30 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center (at the National Harbor in Maryland, right outside of Washington, DC.).

As a CoSIDA staff, we took lots of notes during convention week, adding your suggestions, comments and critiques, so that we might deliver a bigger and better #CoSIDA18 next June in Washington, D.C. Your comments and evaluations will go a long way in helping us!

David Alexander (College of Saint Rose) Blog

SIDEARM Leadership Forum presented by Learfield

This week's gathering has been a great experience for me, but Sunday alone would have made the trip worthwhile. There are numerous college sports communications professionals that have an abundance of knowledge to share, but it was gratifying to engage with individuals outside of the profession who shared broad range views of both personal growth and the communications industry. The topics ranged from building your own brand, to developing a successful culture within your team, to leading during a crisis, to inspiring your team, and what the future may hold for various media platforms. Here are some of my takeaways:

• “Ordinary does not work anymore,” Kraig Kann, Managing Director of Kann Advisory Group.
• We need to be the CMO of our personal brand, we have to empower those who work for and with us, and we have to build our story on what makes each of us and the institutions we work for unique.
• The key question we must answer is why. Why should others value our opinion, why should one want to read about our student-athletes, why should a media outlet cover our game and not our rivals? All of those are poignant questions that force us to take a detailed accounting of our methodologies.
• We need to empower our team by putting trust in them, by ensuring that they know our organization's history and what is envisioned for its future.
• We are inherently surrounded by individuals who have large egos and that we must be humble and passionate, and we must remain calm during a crisis, as others are certain to allow emotion to interfere with their decision making. Furthermore, it is paramount that we put our University ahead of any individual and that we are first a team player.
• Incorporate your goals into all of your messaging, cross promote your plans.
• All communications should be delivered internally first, then externally.
• Don't underestimate your value, especially in a crisis situation. You are the media expert and don't hesitate to add your two cents on messaging. Attorneys will naturally take the most conservative approach, but that is not necessarily synonymous with the proper direction.
• People buy into a culture of excellence. Such cultures are nurtured by talent, passion, dedication, and sound communication. "That is not my job" is not part of the lexicon.
• Successful people are not afraid to approach individuals they respect and ask them: What do I do well and not so well? Those answers may be hard to listen to, but they ultimately provide learning moments.

The day provided an abundance of such moments. As for me; the idea of a lifelong learner was seamlessly reinforced. I will never develop the perfect work environment, I will have good days and bad days, and I will make poor decisions in a crisis. Ultimately, I came away with ideas and practices I needed to know, if not necessarily things I wanted to hear.

More Sights & Sounds From #CoSIDA17

Photos and video throughout the convention courtesy of CoSIDA secretary Jeff Hodges, Karen Hodges and The SkyBoat of Orlando, Fla.

Related News

• CSC Unite 2026 Sights & Sounds from Day 1 in Las Vegas — June 08, 2026
• CSC Unite 2026: Know Before You Go live webinar — May 28, 2026
• CSC Unite 2026 convention registration and hotel reservations open now! — February 24, 2026

Calendar

Important Dates

• All Events +
• 06/23/26 11:59 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 06/30/26 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
• 07/07/26 12:00 P.M. W At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 07/08/26 12:00 P.M. M At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 07/14/26 12:00 P.M. M Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/07/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/08/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/09/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/09/26 11:59 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 06/10/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/16/26 12:00 P.M. Softball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/16/26 12:00 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 06/16/26 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Nomination Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/23/26 12:00 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/23/26 12:00 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/23/26 11:59 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 06/30/26 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
• 07/07/26 12:00 P.M. W At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 07/08/26 12:00 P.M. M At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 07/14/26 12:00 P.M. M Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
• 06/07/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/08/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/09/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
• 06/09/26 11:59 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
• 06/10/26 All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

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Kraig Kann Interview at #CoSIDA17 [College Sports Communicators]

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CoSIDA President Andy Seeley Interview at #CoSIDA17 [College Sports Communicators]

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[#CoSIDA17 Goodwill & Wellness Community Project]

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[Maria Taylor of ESPN Speaks on the Importance of SIDs at #CoSIDA17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29iPYDwFEtY)

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[Some of the young leaders and presenters at #CoSIDA17.]

Some of the young leaders and presenters at #CoSIDA17.

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