College Sports Communicators (CSC) is a membership association for all strategic, creative and digital professionals working in intercollegiate athletics across all levels for colleges, universities and conferences across the United States and Canada.[1] CSC provides year-round leadership, community, professional development, recognition and advocacy for its more than 4,100 members.[2] The organization focused primarily on sports information directors before expanding during the 2022-23 academic year.
CSC offers awards, scholarships, and grants in support of its members and prospective members in the college sports communications industry.[3]
Founded in 1957 as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization rebranded in 2022.[4] CSC hosts an annual convention each June called CSC Unite.[5] It also operates the Academic All-America® program and Hall of Fame.[6]
Since 1952, more than 40,000 student-athletes have been recognized with Academic All-America status in all sports (through 2022-23).[7] CSC recognizes male and female student-athletes as Academic All-Americans in Divisions I, II, and III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—covering all NCAA championship sports—as well as student-athletes from the NAIA, NJCAA, and other Two-Year Colleges and Canadian Institutions.
History
CSC began as a part of the American College Public Relations Association (ACPRA) in 1931. In 1955, a Sports Division of ACPRA began to form. It split and was established as a separate organization for sports information directors in 1957 as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The organization holds an annual conference based around professional development. The first conference was held in Chicago in 1957, where there were 102 attendees.[8] As of 2023 there are over 4,100 members in the United States and Canada.[9]
In 2008, CoSIDA launched a strategic plan to change the image and focus of the organization. Part of the plan was to modify the traditional "Sports Information Director" job title to "Strategic Communicator". Along with this, CoSIDA changed its logo and began to work with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).[10] Another key point was to have members get better at effective communication strategy, specifically strategic communication. This change is in response to changes in media technology, namely social media.[11]
The organization's name was changed to College Sports Communicators on September 1, 2022 to further change the image and focus of the organization to include creative communications professionals.[12][13]
CSC's research on social media
A 2012 study, conducted by G. Clayton Stoldt of Wichita State University, surveyed 529 CoSIDA members on how social media had impacted their institutions.[14] Some key results are:
92% said that social media changed how their institution communicates
89% said social media changed how they handle external communications
81% agreed that social media has in some way enhanced public relations practices
92% said that social media impacts mainstream media
92% also said social media has forced organizations to respond more quickly to crises
69% said that social media is less accurate than traditional media, 72% said social media is less credible than traditional media
75% said that social media impacts organizations' transparency
Only 6% knew of any time their institution managed social media based on legality
A separate study in 2016, conducted by CoSIDA and researched by Katelyn Miller of Rutgers University, found that just 33% of institutions had implemented a social media policy and 50% of SIDs had, on at least one occasion, deleted a social media post from a coach or student-athlete.[15]
Academic All-American selections
Since 1952, CSC has selected Academic All-Americans for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. In 2018-19, two-year schools and Canadian institutions were made eligible for at-large All-American selections. The award currently has no corporate sponsor; past sponsors include GTE, Verizon, ESPN The Magazine, Capital One, and Google Cloud.[12]
CSC is responsible for the annual selection of Academic All-Americans in men's and women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country. All other sports are grouped into men's and women's At-Large. The sports that CSC recognizes as eligible for at-large Academic All-American recognition included any that have a sponsored national championship by the NCAA or NAIA.[16]
Dick Enberg Award winners
The organization presents the annual Dick Enberg Award to a "person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America Teams Program and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics." Tamika Catchings has been selected as the 2023 recipient.[17]
