CSC 360 August 2023
College Sports Information Directors of America
CSC 360 is delivered in electronic format via email and through CollegeSportsCommunicators.com. To submit a story for consideration, click here or email beau@cscommunicators.com.
President's message
24543 From the desk of John Paquette CSC is being seen, let's keep going! President John Paquette says that CSC has made important changes that are working, and we have more challenges to attack. He encourages members to join him in becoming involved in CSC. Click to read
Cover story
24544 Rate yourself: How do your media interview procedures stack up? If you are among the fortunate to work with local or national media to help tell the stories of your student-athletes, coaches and teams, how would you rate your experience doing that task? Complete the 'Media Management Scorecard' to see if it's time for you to reevaluate your processes. Click to read
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Member features
24546 Young professionals spotlight: Three up, three down with Danielle Whaley of Villanova Danielle Whaley was the first recipient of a new award in the CSC Creative & Digital Design Contest — the Designer Portfolio of the Year. She took the top honor in the University Division for her collection of designs throughout the 2022-23 academic year. Click to read
24547 Clemson athletic development staff includes two CSC members Clemson recently became the first school to add two members to its CSC roster who are in the university’s athletics fundraising department, IPTAY. Brooke Robbins is the director of communications for IPTAY. Kelsey Tibbs is an assistant director of IPTAY with an emphasis on graphic design and communication. Brad Brown, chief operations officer for IPTAY, saw the benefit in adding the two to Clemson’s All-In membership. Click to read
24548 College Athlete Day at The White House Ken Johnson, Jr. of MIT details his experience attending College Athlete Day at The White House in June of 2023. Johnson and his colleagues took a break from attending the CSC Unite and NACDA conventions to travel to Washington D.C. to provide a memorable day for their student-athletes. Click to read
24535 Creative bent: Hear from CSC Creative & Digital Design Contest winners Creative talents abound throughout CSC, and you’ll find many examples of it when perusing the list of national winners in our 2022-23 Creative and Digital Design Contest. Contest winners Liam Kissinger and Nolan Alexander of Kennesaw State and Johnny Smiley of Oklahoma share more on their creative philosophies. Click to read
24550 Writing ideas and strategies from Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest winners Three CSC members who earned 2022-23 Fred S. Stabley Writing Contest honors offered some insights on their writing process and shared some thoughts for CSC members on the topic of writing and editing including National Story of the Year writer Chris Harry plus Brian Hand and Samantha Sunseri. Click to read
Advocate • Connect • Educate • Honor • Support
24551 Executive Director Erik Christianson: Building on our brand promise Executive Director Erik Christianson shares thoughts on building on recent important changes by CSC that have led to record membership growth, greater brand awareness of our organization and, most importantly, an acknowledgement across college sports of the critical importance of communications. Click to read
Academic All-America® awards program working group update and survey If you have not yet completed the CSC member Academic All-America survey, please do so today! The survey is scheduled to close on August 4. Click here to take the survey. Committee chair Mitch Blankespoor (Wilmington College) provides an update on the progress of the AAA working group including three items that are gaining a lot of agreement during meetings this summer. The 2023-24 Master Calendar is targeted for a late September release. Click to read
Self-advocacy tips to kick off the new year from the CSC Advocacy CommitteeSharable link With the start of the new academic year in our sights, CSC’s Advocacy Committee offers the following self-advocacy tip to peers and colleagues. A common thread among presenters during CSC Unite was the advice to step out from behind the desk and meet others on campus and in your own athletics department. Begin your outreach with the school’s media relations department. It might go by a different name on your campus, but the university’s or college’s external communications staff is a great group of people with whom to share best practices and be in alignment. * Invite the department director to meet for coffee - your treat, of course. * Explain your department’s role in athletics - bring facts and data on your outreach to the media and on social platforms. * Ask how your department can amplify the university’s messages through your channels. * Establish a cadence for communication with this important group on campus. Taking bold steps now to advocate for yourself can have a significant impact on your department. Advocacy Committee Leadership Danny Barnts, Chair Mike Williams, Vice Chair
Focus on Diversity & Inclusion Each month, CSC’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee shares best practices and resources for members on various social media platforms. Follow this space each month for a recap of what’s been shared to date. Click here to read more about the latest from the D&I committee.
Updates, news & notes
2023-24 CSC membership drive officially underway; best rates available now through September 30 Renew or purchase CSC membership for 2023-24 now through September 30 for the best rates. Click here for information and a link for purchase. Guarantee access to CSC benefits for an unlimited number of people in your department in 2023-24 with the All-In membership at the same great rate as last year. Individual, undergraduate and advocate memberships remain available at the same price as well. More information available at CSCommunicators.com/Membership.
Staff directory and profile update information Has your staff changed recently? Account custodians can edit their staff roster by logging into their profile and clicking the Organizations tab on the top navigation bar followed by the blue Manage button next to your organization’s name and then the Individuals tab. You can update or add to your staff directory any time throughout the year at no cost. If you are adding someone who may already have an account, check with the CSC staff first so as not to create a duplicate account. CSC staff will transfer that member to your institution. For members who have had a title change or a job change, update your individual profile at CSCommunicators.com/profile.
30 Under 30 recognition award to return for second year Led by the Young Professionals Committee, the 30 Under 30 recognition program will return this fall. Nominations are planned to open by September with a submission deadline in October. To be eligible for the 2023 list, nominees must be 29 years old or younger on Dec. 31, 2023 and have an active 2023-24 CSC membership. Candidates will be considered based on achievement in one more areas such as professional success, impact on their athletic department/conference office and service to CSC. Details will be communicated on CSCommunicators.com and through all of our regular communications channels.
Mentorship sign-ups to open August 15 CSC’s 2023-24 Mentorship Program sign-ups open August 15 and run through September 8. Open to all current dues-paying members, the program is in its ninth year and will feature pairings done by the Mentorship Committee as well as some feature programming throughout the year that will target special audiences. This programming will be open to all CSC members, not just those officially signed up for the program. Watch your email and the CSC website for a link to the sign-ups and more information about the program. Details will be available at CSCommunicators.com/mentor.
Submit job transactions It's that time of year where positions are open and members are accepting new opportunities. The CSC Career Center remains the best value to post your strategic or creative communications job posting. If you or someone you know has accepted a new position, be sure to submit your transaction. This sends a message to have your news posted on our @CSCcareers social account and notifies staff to update your profile in the membership database. Post jobs at: CareerCenter.CollegeSportsCommunicators.com Submit a transaction: CSCommunicators.com/transactions
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of NCAA Division II and Division III Division II and Division III are thrilled to begin celebrating the 50th anniversary of their respective divisions! Established on Aug. 6, 1973, the 2023-24 academic year marks the golden anniversary of each division. To commemorate this milestone, Division II and Division III have planned a marketing campaign that is set to launch externally on Sunday, Aug. 6 for Division III and Monday, Aug. 7 for Division II. We would like to encourage both Division II and Division III conferences, schools and student-athletes to participate in this yearlong celebration. Details about both campaigns will be available on ncaa.org. For any questions pertaining to Division II initiatives, please email Becca Burchette Medel at bburchette@ncaa.org and for all Division III inquiries, please email kmucci@ncaa.org. We hope this information is helpful as you plan your own way to celebrate the 50th anniversary!
2022-23 Rewind What a year! A new name and logo. A record-breaking membership. A renewed purpose. In addition to some very big initiatives in 2022-23, CSC maintained its commitment to many favorite member programs. Check the links below if you missed any recent announcements. * Special Awards Recipients | Watch CSC Hall of Fame Awards Show | Watch Special Awards Luncheon * Academic All-America® Year in Review * Watch 2023 Academic All-America Hall of Fame® Celebration * Creative & Digital Design Contest Winners * Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Winners * ChangeMaker Innovation Awards Winners * Volunteer 15 record-breaking year * National Championship Awards Program
The Life
What were your top takeaways from attending #CSCUNITE23 this summer in Orlando? Plus... nicknames, phone wallpapers, snack stashes or drink stations, lottery daydreams, presentations we could give with no preparation, and more. "The Life" is a series surveying College Sports Communicators members for their thoughts on topics and issues in the athletic communications industry, plus personal insights into not-so-serious issues, too. Click to read
Staff Directory
- Lindsey Branch Montana Western Sports Information Director / Athletic Facilities Manager
- Lacey Crandall Lake-Sumter State College Sports Information Director
- Jordan Lynch Elizabeth City State Sports Information Director
- Erikka Sansom Bethany College Director of Athletic Communications
About 360
CSC 360 is currently delivered in a digital format via email and on CollegeSportsCommunicators.com. 360 celebrates our profession, educates our members, and advocates for athletics communicators at every level of college sports. It features monthly stories on members and relevant topics, and includes an important look at the month ahead. To submit a story idea, contact a member of the College Sports Communicators staff or email beau@cscommunicators.com.
For information about corporate partner opportunities, contact Executive Director Erik Christianson.
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