WoSIDA Women to Watch: Teri LaJeunesse
College Sports Information Directors of America
Related Content
- Learn more about WoSIDA at: CoSIDA.com/WoSIDA
- WoSIDA Women to Watch Feature Archive
WoSIDA Women to Watch
Teri LaJeunesse, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications / SWA
East Central University
by Danielle Potts – 2020-21 CoSIDA Intern
Teri LaJeunesse is in her second year as Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications and the Senior Woman Administrator at East Central University, an NCAA Division II institution located in Ada, Oklahoma which is in the heart of the Chickasaw Nation. She joined the staff in 2012 as the Sports Information Director.
In this Q&A, LaJeunesse talks about her rich family background in Michigan Tech athletics, her top moments as an SID, the SWA role, social media philosophies, and how, as a double-major with a degree in business administration/marketing and management and one in scientific and technical communications, she chose a career path as an SID (check out her mention of the then-newly released Stat Crew for ice hockey became the focus for her final senior class project!)
LaJeunesse made stops at Murray State University and Western Illinois University before joining the ECU athletics staff. The Houghton, Michigan native attended Michigan Technological University and received two bachelor’s degrees; one in business administration with a concentration in marketing and management, and one in scientific and technical communication, all the while working for the Huskies as a student assistant in the athletic communications and marketing department.
In 2009, LaJeunesse earned her masters degree in liberal studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth while working for the Bulldogs as a graduate intern in the sports information office.
Former CoSIDA Board member and Michigan Tech SID Dave Fischer and LaJeunesse at the 2003 Michigan Tech Hockey Banquet, Teri’s last year at MTU. Fischer currently serves as USA Hockey Senior Director of Communications.
What is your most memorable moment in your career to date as an SID?
TL: My most memorable moment so far in my career was in 2009 when I was at Murray State University. I was excited to surprise women’s basketball student-athlete Amber Guffy with one of the biggest honors ever received by a MSU student-athlete. We surprised her with a half-time presentation at a men’s basketball game with the 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year honor for the university division of women’s basketball. For me, the most important line item on my resume are the academic honors I can help student-athletes receive during their careers.
Since I got to East Central, student-athletes have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® teams 10 times, from five different teams. Three of those student-athletes have earned the honor twice during their careers. Before I started 10 years ago, the school had received just one Academic All-America® honoree.
How has taking on the role of SWA (Senior Woman Administrator) changed your career? What has the experience been like?
TL: The biggest change that I have seen since starting as the SWA is in roles on several committees across the university. I was added to the Athletic Committee, the GAC Admin Council and a few committees for the university as a whole.
I enjoy the added responsibilities and to have the ability to push through some important decisions for the department. The biggest was the renewed ECU Athletic Hall of Fame that is re-starting the program after five years without a class. The department needed to update their policies and procedures and I had a large role in creating those and am in charge of the nomination process. We released the restart in October 2020 and our first round of nominations are due by the end of January. We have received several nominations so far and I know that our new process will allow us to induct a more diverse group of student-athletes, coaches, teams and supporters.
Taken at a promotional booth at the 2003 NCAA DI Women’s Frozen Four in Duluth, Minn., which was the first NCAA Final Four tournament that LaJeunesse attended. This was before Teri started working at the University of Minnesota Duluth as a graduate assistant.
As someone who has great expertise in brand promotion and growth, what are some best practices in promoting programs through digital media? What is your approach to creating a social media presence?
TL: The one thing that I always look for in social media, releases and on our website is consistency. Each year I create a few different options for graphics and then have others in the office look over them and choose which one they like the most. Once determined, all website graphics and social media graphics will have the same brand for the season. When scrolling through social media you will always be able to pick out our posts, even if you miss the account name.
For social media, I am always learning as I go, but I try to approach our main ECU Tigers account as an informative account and the individual team accounts are so fans can get a more interactive (behind the scenes) look at the team. Each program has its own identity and I have the coaches run their own accounts so they can show their fans and recruits what it means to be part of the program.
East Central University is located in Ada, Oklahoma which is the headquarters of the Chickasaw Nation. Does ECU have a large population of Chickasaw natives? Are there any student athletes that are Chickasaw natives?
TL: We have several college student-athletes who are members of the Chickasaw Nation.
The Chickasaw Nation has been a wonderful partner to the university for more than 100 years. In fact, Chickasaw Citizen Daniel Hayes donated the land to ECU when we began in 1909. ECU continues to honor and recognize this strong relationship and ECU athletics is no exception. Every year we have Chickasaw Nation Appreciation during the football season to honor the connection as well. All members of the tribe and their employees get in free to the games and we have special presentations during the games that are decided by the tribe to promote their culture.
Most recently we name two athletic facilities in their honor. Our football plaza is known as Chickasaw Plaza and the stadium is Koi Ishto Stadium, which is big cat in Chickasaw.
Outside of work related topics, what are you passionate about? What are some of your hobbies and interests?
When I am not at work, I normally just relax. Every summer I go on vacation and so back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to be with family. I then spend most of the day in a floaty on the lake reading. The rest of the time is spent with family around the fire, out with friends, shopping or just hanging out telling stories and laughing.
LaJeunesse with her best friend Julie Perry and Perry’s son Cameron in front of 2018 Great Lakes Invitational signage. LaJeunesse met Julie at Michigan Tech where she was a volleyball player and LaJeunesse was on the sports information staff. This is the biggest alumni event of the year for MTU alumni and was Cameron’s first live hockey game (and MTU event). He has now started playing hockey (goalie) on a travel team in Detroit.
Related News
- CSC to Distribute More Than $50,000 in Scholarships, Grants for 2026-27
June 03, 2026 - CSC Women to Watch series: Tia Day, Bates College
May 28, 2026 - CSC Women to Watch series: Sarah Finney, Seattle University
April 30, 2026
Calendar
Important Dates
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)
06/10/26
/
All Day
2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
PreviousNext