College Sports Information Directors of America

About the June Stewart Leadership Series

Ep 05 June Stewart Leadership Series Podcast, March 3, 2020

Podcast with Chris Plonsky, University of Texas Senior Associate AD/Chief of Staff

with host Trip Durham, 2D Consulting, LLC

Chris Plonsky has worked in college athletics since 1976 and is completing her 30th year at The University of Texas. She is executive senior associate athletics director/chief of staff and for conference and NCAA governance, and also serves as UT's senior woman administrator (SWA).

During her career, she has managed the areas of sponsorship, communications, marketing, licensing and TV. She has significant roots in sports information at Kent State, Iowa State, Texas and the Big East Conference.

In this June Stewart Leadership Series podcast with host Trip Durham, she shares her thoughts on leadership, the athletic communications field and topical issues in college athletics today

Subscribe to CoSIDA Podcasts

Podcast Length: 21:52

Highlights of the Podcast, hosted by Trip Durham, 2D Consulting LLC

1:42: How Plonsky defines leadership: “Following a vision and mission for an organization and inspire others to dedicate themselves to the good of the organization ... good leaders inspire others to work hard and do the right things in their own support areas to fulfill the missions of the organization.”

2:10: How to you know if you are an inspiring leader? – “Passion and energy come to mind. Leaders can lead by example, and it boils down to how people treat others. Give others the freedom and confidence to make their units work and lead … we underrate the qualities of treating people right, being respectful, being honest, pulling your own weight, learning how to work as a team. I learned this from my family along with my sisters."

4:30: Having worked at mainly Power 5 Conferences in her career, how does Plonsky's experience translate to everyone listening today? “My early communications opportunities came at a time to publicize women’s athletics in an early era. We were trying to get this started and those were fun and important days. We had to go and find the fans, beat our own drums … To find the media, we had to go where the “fish were” – to the media that covered men’s college sports. We would slide into the football press box, or get time on a radio broadcast for men’s basketball, and tell our stories. Without never having directly covered men’s sports at Texas, I credit my colleagues and the opportunities to tell the women athletic stories at Kent State, Iowa State and Texas for preparing me to go from Texas (as the women’s SID) to take my next career step to the Big East Conference as the PR director.”

7:03: Athletic communications professionals are in search for respect for what they do on a daily basis. How are others assessing the work and energies of SIDs – and how should athletic communicators go about asking for assessment from supervisors? “If I had not been able to convince the coaches at Kent State, Iowa State and Texas that I was there for them, that what I and the staff could do for them in publicity and promotion would help them and their teams realize their vision and goals, and we could be part of their teams - it all would have been for naught ... I would tell SIDs today: tooting your own horn does not come first. What comes first is the proof – based on your work ethic, your production and your relational trust – with those people that matter and who can be your ambassadors, your endorsers and your voice in the room. It’s not about us – it’s about the people we serve … I know the leaders that I worked for all highly value communication professionals. In fact, I don’t think they could ever see the day of not having a good one - that would not make sense to them. They actually consider them (communications professionals) essential and in my mind, they (athletic leaders) are the ones who have always supported the profession.”

9:59: How would and where would an SID lobby for a particular need for themselves or their staff? When do you strike? “You’ve got to position yourself correctly first. It’s got to be at the critical moments of knowing whether you can do your job well … In my experience, I’ve had to make sure that in my role as the communications professional, I needed to be perceived as a critical staff member for my leaders and for those we served. That always was not the case. I’ve had the conversations with my ADs and commissioners that ‘you pay me to be knowledgeable. You pay me to know. You don’t just pay me to talk and promote things only; you pay me to be knowledgeable’. So, the ‘information is power’ lesson is something I learned early on in the 1980’s and today, it’s as important as ever.”

12:58: What’s your advice on how a sports information director sets this expectation? In a job with so many time crunches, how do you see the SID managing it all? “The most valuable asset we have is managing time and being most productive with your time. Technology matters. If I was on an SID staff today, I’d ask for the best equipment and technologies available. That creates efficiency. There’s not an athletic director or vice president or leader on a campus today that doesn’t understand time management and efficiency. Again, as you set priorities – regardless of how many staff members you have, or what your budget is – as a communications professional, you have to pick your battles. Start with the things that will matter most to make you better, more efficient, and more productive in your role.”

14:25: If an SID manages up well and sets expectations well, is it a forgone conclusion that they can have a better work-life balance? “There’s no question (they can). There’s also the personal part of letting your bosses and colleaguess see you as a person as well. In today’s work environment, great leaders want their people to be happy and balanced. They want hard work and production. In college athletics, we all get to the point that we are not normal in our schedules and in our demands. Our schedules run counter to the culture on our campus. When we hear, ‘oh, it’s spring break,” we say, ‘what’s that?”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard (UT Vice President and AD) Chris Del Conte say to our staff, ‘You all have to take your breaks, make sure you connect with your families.’

Leaders are empathetic to that. The grind is always gong to be there. Good leaders inspire their employees to learn how to manage that grind with appropriate step-aways and management of when you can become a little distant from your workload so you can come back energized and passionate to get into the whirlwind again.”

16:20: Plonsky has served on major NCAA and conference committees and working groups throughout her career. She was asked: Why volunteer and do committee work? What do you say to those in the SID world who say they don’t have time to serve and do committee work on campus and off? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. I had the good fortune of being asked to serve on committees and I made the time. Truth be told, that almost became like a holiday break for me, to be in a different environment and to meet other people in the world of athletics – the NCAA, Lead1, Women Leaders, NACMA, you name it. The work was always waiting for me when I got back from meetings, but those opportunities opened my mind, opened my heart and created relationships that I can never put a limited value on.

These experiences have been invaluable.You have to create those experiences for yourself and be willing to serve because you’ll never know what person you’ll meet who will be your conduit to your next opportunity. You might want to be at your place forever, but there’s always somebody to give you an insight or idea to help you and make your job better … You have to evaluate the right (volunteer) opportunities, and I would say you need to look at them as professional advancement opportunities and not just committee work.”

18:14: Final thoughts: What are the pressing issues in athletic communications today and how does the SID address them? “It’s not just communications issues for the SID, but for all of us. The biggest issue right now is justifying the place of intercollegiate athletics within the collegiate model … We’ve got to be open to changes. I’m excited about the NIL (name image likeness) opportunities for student-athletes. It’s actually a First Amendment right and it won’t be the end of the world for us … We have to figure out how to balance the needs of the modern student-athlete, the modern coach and the modern administrator with the role of athletics in higher learning. Good minds can get there. It will take good minds, good communicators, to continue to close the gap of what a very cynical public views us as now. What are we? Where are we going? Let’s all link arms together and get there together. We are going to need all of our communications professionals to be at their very best as we forge ahead.”

About the June Stewart Leadership Series Podcast

CoSIDA debuted the June Stewart Leadership Series in the Fall of 2019 as part of our year-round professional development and continuing education program for our members.

This series adds to our existing professional development initiatives and is named in honor of the late June Stewart who served as CoSIDA's first female president during the 1990-91 academic year. Stewart was a longtime Vanderbilt University administrator and a pioneer for women in college athletics. The series was created in honor of Stewart's great leadership, her love and commitment to the profession and her legacy in giving back to CoSIDA.

This special June Stewart Series showcases noted speakers and experts who will address CoSIDA members on timely communications and leadership topics and issues.

Designed exclusively for CoSIDA members, this series of webinars and podcasts will offer perspectives on leadership and perspectives on managing and directing collegiate athletic communications.

Click here to read more about CoSIDA Hall of Famer June Stewart.

Related News

• On-demand webinar - Finding balance in the always-on world of university sports communications
• On-demand replays of the 2026 CSC U Summit now available
• 2026 CSC U Summit free registration now open; calling all students and young professionals

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-District 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

PreviousNext