They’re the overworked and underpaid, talented yet unappreciated glue that holds an athletic department together.
No, they’re not assistant coaches (although they certainly qualify under every word except “glue”). They’re the Sports Information Directors.
Every school has one (almost) and almost none works as few as 40 hours per week. They’re the ones who make sure the media knows what’s going on in the athletic department. At the Division III level, it’s usually one full-time person (who works 50-70 hours per week) covering about 15 sports. They write and design media guides, issue press releases, write feature stories, update the department Web site, often traveling to away games. They’re often the department photographer, historian or technology expert.
Underpaid, overworked and disgruntled.
Such is the life of a Division III SID.
I wasn’t kidding about them working 50-70 hours per week. That is the range cited by 72.8% of Division III SIDs who responded to a salary and job responsibilities survey presented at last summer’s College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) convention.
Well, for all that extra work and responsibility, they must be getting paid well, correct? Decidedly not. The national average full-time SID salary is $34,953, with the average brutally low in some of the areas with the highest costs of living ($32,637 in the mid-atlantic, with full-time SIDs in that area making as low as $20,000). At 60 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, that’s $11.65 per hour.
When you throw in having to deal with all forms of questions from people who don’t know a person’s job responsibilities (i.e., this is not the person you call to ask when the pool is open or how to get a booster club membership), this is a group of professionals seemingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
That pressure has led to a decidedly early 21st-century outlet, a blog called Disgruntled SID. This is for the parents who compile their own statistics of their son or daughter and complain to the SID when the official stats don’t match. It’s for the coaches who want a flyer for their summer camp or want to know why they don’t have a media guide two weeks after submitting the information.
I don’t know who posts on this blog, but to be honest, I don’t care. This is a brutally accurate picture of the profession as it stands in Division III. Talented people leave the profession all the time to take jobs where they are appreciated, where they can spend time with their families, where they can make enough to someday pay off their student loans, let alone afford a mortgage. It’s a job prone to breakdowns — I had colleagues in the business who were forced to take medical leave because of exhaustion. As the talent drain continues, we’ll be left with the lowest common denominator at the level at which a good SID is most helpful. When the local media ignores the small schools, an SID can be the most helpful in terms of getting the word out. Unfortunately, too many schools take a short-sighted approach and nickle-and-dime the position, rather than realizing the public relations potential and exposure one can gain with a top-notch SID.
I used to be an SID myself. Thankfully, my time in the business was short, but it doesn’t take away from my appreciation for the hard work these people do seven days a week.
These people deserve more respect, not just from the fans or the coaches, but the administrators as well.
Don’t dismiss a key part of your institutional mission.
Believe me, the NJCU fans are most appreciative of Ira Thor. There is always a score available soon after a contest ends. He sends the press releases to all the fans on his mailing list. He has gotten a very nice website going, stories make the local paper, game stories are updated here and if he thinks something will be of interest to the fans he will post about it.
Thanks Ira.
this is always nice to know going into an internship in sports info! lol
Pat … I spent 10 years in the profession and I couldn’t agree with you more. It seems as though public relations professionals are cherished in the private sector … but dumped upon in higher education … at least that’s what the pay scales say.
Especially in these times … where the 3-minute TV sports report is filled with the pros … and the local newspaper cannot afford newsprint, but can afford to run AP stories on national sports in its every shrinking section … the SID is our link to what is happening on campus. Try reading the Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun or Washington Post for small college sports info sometime … you will find two sentences on your favorite team’s game last night (if you’re lucky to see anything at all).
Now go to your favorite team’s website. A good SID will have a story that is well-written with highlights from the contest. If he/she is at the game … you’ll even get the ebb and flow of the game from a play-by-play. Did you know that the Dickinson women had not won at McDaniel since 1996? You’ll get that info from an SID.
Pat … hopefully your message will strike a cord with most … and perhaps make a difference with some. It already inspired me to send a note to my conference’s SIDs saying thanks for all you do.
Oh, that’s great. As someone who helps our SID and cares that the stats are accruate – the stat stalking parents are the worst, especially when they don’t know the rules.
I think its safe to say that not all SID’s are disgruntled. Would we like shorter hours, of course. Would we love better pay, of course. But speaking for myself, I really enjoy my job because of the athletes. Watching them compete on the collegiate level on a daily basis is fun. There are not too many other jobs where you are around sports all day.
I chose this profession because I love it and it is something I can honestly say I feel I will retire from.
J.A. Rasheed,
Shoot, I’m the one that created the Disgruntled SID blog, and I even second your comments.
If we didn’t love what we did, we wouldn’t do it. But because we work such long hours for the pay (or lack there of) we get means there will be those times – like “blogged” about already – where we get disgruntled.
Keep in mind the climate at a school (specifically in the Athletic Department) has a lot to do with how much a SID can enjoy his or her job.
Who knows, maybe your school doesn’t have all this, but picture having no assistant(s), 20+ sports (including swimming – ugh), coaches that raise hell if they don’t get what they want, etc.
Luckily this isn’t my situation, but consider that most Division III SIDs work under those conditions. It can be quite frustrating at times.
J.A.,
I would say this: Even if you aren’t disgruntled with your own situation (and that is excellent to hear) you should stick up for your fellow SIDs, because the profession as a whole is, frankly, mistreated at this level.
Awareness needs to be raised about this.
As Pat and the rest of us know, SIDs are also the silent engine that helps drive D3hoops and D3football.com.
They help us post schedules and scores. They provide game stories since we can’t be everywhere. They tip us off to good leads and help us chase our own. They help us get stats, phone lines and athletes that take radio broadcasts to another level. They really are tremendous people who work long hours, a lot of which I imagine come late on a Saturday night when the athletes and parents are long gone and a story on the cross country team still needs to be written.
Plus I’ve found most of them are a lot of fun to talk to since they share our perhaps somewhat unnatural interest in Division III athletics.
I couldn’t possibly thank all the SIDs who’ve helped me, but I’ve been very fortunate to work closely with a few and they’ve helped make my Division III experience a great one.
As a D3 SID myself, while I empathize with those who are “disgruntled,” I’m very much torn by this. First off, I think it’s fair to say that one knows that they’re getting into with this field. Long hours, lots of work, crappy pay, we’ve all been there. If those are why you work, then perhaps you should consider another profession. J.A. Rasheed has the right attitude: Where else can you work around a great bunch of energetic kids and around sports all day long?
I was at the Workshop last summer in Philadelphia, and I, too, received the survey that was distributed in the national Division III meeting. When I saw that what I was making, in a very expensive city, ranked among one of the worst in the profession, in spite of the fact that my average time spent working was one of the highest, I took that to my athletic director, whose response was a succinct, “That’s nice. Now get back to work.” Is it right? No, it’s not. But at this time when schools are slashing budgets and cutting sports, this isn’t going to change anytime soon. And it’s not just mistreatment at this level – it’s all across the board, whether at a Division III school or one of the big universities.
My final comment on this is that while I have worked with a great number of wonderful people at my current job, the number of incompetent people in this profession far outnumber those who know what they’re doing. I’ve found those people to be far, far more difficult to deal with than any parent, coach or alumnus.
I just can’t see why, if you’re so frustrated at the long hours, you’d spend additional time writing a blog about it. I’d think that the last thing you would want to do is spend even more time in front of a computer…
I appreciate my SID, and the League SID a ton.
While I couldn’t be a good fan of my team without D3hoops.com, and Pat, et all, it’s even more true that I’d be lost with out Brett Marhanka and Dave Wrath who are two of the best SIDs in the business. The longer I spend here, and try to find information on other teams site, the more appreciate just how outstanding they are.
I try to be supportive, because I know that the realities are true, and I know it must be very difficult for them to have lives. For me, that appreciation usually comes out through cookies. 🙂
Having seen what D-III SIDs do and what D-I SIDs do I can tell you there’s no comparison. A D-III SID has 20 sports that all need more from him/her. A D-I SID has 3 or 4 sports, of which only one requires high meida demand. Yes, they do 20 pages of game notes per game, but if the D-III guys only had 3 sports to worry about they could too. I’ll never disparage what the D-III guys go do.
I have been at this profession on this level for five years – I don’t consider myself disgruntled, but I find myself very frustrated at times.
There is no doubt that I do this because of the kids. I debated leaving a few times before, and whenever the issue came to the fore in my life, an athlete has sent me an email, or a parent sent me a note, and it was enough to alleviate the frustration. I have a drawer full of thank you that I dig into now and again after dealing with a malcontent.
At the same time, I recently married, and I want some of my life back. I just don’t have the energy to put in another year with 24 sports and essentially, just me. I made it clear to my boss that money is not my concern. I did not get into this to get rich. I just need help, or to find something else that will afford me the time to have a life.
As my wife often works Saturdays, I’d be happy with knowing I can always have a free Sunday, and just once in awhile, take off on a guilt-free Monday like a barber. I currently cannot have either of the two.
If it comes to leaving, it will personally be a sad moment in one compartment in my life, but necessary and happy event in another. Unfortunately, the 24 hours on demand nature of the profession makes it hard to compartmentalize the job.
I have watched a lot of good SIDs leave for the same reasons that have brought me to the point I now find myself in. It seems at the moment my institution is willing to make an effort. Apparently that is a rarity, or maybe schools are starting to get it.
I think that speaks to gbp’s point above about “the number of incompetent people in this profession far outnumber those who know what they’re doing.”
I would offer that there is a corollary effect with his earlier statement about the long hours. If all of the good people who take pride in their work, are run out of the business, the business will be left with only the incompetent people.
I like where I work. I played sports where I work. My degree is from where I work. I like most of the people I work with. I could go do prepress at a local printing company for more money. I would be bored to insanity for 40 hours a week, but I’d gain a lot of freedom.
That we’re having a discussion about these issues, regardless of where you come down on them, is likely a healthy thing.
-Steve Peed
Incidentally, I joke about this all the time, but long hours and all, I would love to be an SID. Someday, maybe I will…. if Brett lets me be his sidekick! 😀
I’ll echo the comments of Gordon and Pat above…
Gordon and I set out on a new project this season in broadcasting various games/doubleheaders direct for the Centennial Conference as the Centennial Conference Basketball Network.
The SIDs have been nothing but incredibly helpful, professional, and willing to do anything to support our task. As a broadcaster, for SIDs to be as helpful as they have been, even if they aren’t familiar with our particular broadcast setup, they help us to the best of their ability. And for that, plus some water and statistics…they are most appreciated.
Knightstalker…Thank you, I appreciate it. Hope you didn’t get heartburn from the food at the alumni reception the other day…I did 🙂
Here’s my response to this blog, one which I think is very interesting…While the money in this profession is anything but great, especially in a state like New Jersey where you need to work for Donald Trump to afford a home, I remind myself everyday how much I love what I do, and I try to inject that same passion into my work.
It is nice to be at a school like NJCU where I know my efforts are appreciated, where the President, Vice Presidents, athletic director and others praise my work, and where I receive thank yous from parents, athletes, and alumni almost every day. I’m also very close with several members of our coaching staff, which makes it easier. Plus, the brownies that one of our women’s soccer mothers bake each game are magnificent!
I have to say that top to bottom, the SIDs in the New Jersey Athletic Conference are outstanding and a pleasure to work with.
I’m also the conference SID for men’s volleyball for the NECVA…the largest single-sport conference in the country at any level, and work with SIDs from many different size schools, from many different states, and have had a wide range of experiences working with these individuals.
With all the positives about this profession, I do struggle mightily trying to balance a seven-day work week with a family. I have to admit I feel very guilty at times that I cannot spend more time with my wife and my 2-year-old son, and I hope I won’t look back and regret it. I’ve lost several good friends in this business at both the DI and DIII levels who have left the profession because of the difficulty of balancing an SID career with a family. In my own personal situation, I try to make it up to my wife and son during the summers when I cash in my vacation and comp days and try to be the best father/husband I can. I look forward to taking my son to games when he gets older and allowing him to help out.
There are definitely pros and cons to this profession. However, I’m in my sixth year in the field and as I hit 30 next year, I’m very happy with my career choice, and the difference I feel I make in the lives of our student athletes and fans.
Brownies at the womens soccer games? I think the stalkerette needs to see that girls can play soccer. MMMMMMMM Brownies.
Cupcakes too from the assistant coach’s mom…It’s amazing I don’t gain weight…
Pat, I agree with you that this warrants necessary discussion. Steve, you summed up perfectly the dilemma we face as SIDs who are married. Even though I’ve been a full-time SID for less than a year, I covered baseball for a DI university as an intern and I drank, ate, and breathed baseball from February to June. I was getting paid peanuts to do the job, yet travelled with the team everywhere while seeking to maintain a long-distance with my then-fiancee. I drove from Virginia to Tennessee after a baseball series just so I could spend Easter Sunday with her.
I enjoy the coaches and AD at my school, but I think the school’s administration must be made aware of our SID issues. Because our Athletic dept. is under the Student Life office, they have the final say on a variety of things whereas many DI athletic departments are a separate entity from the university and have more latitude regarding website format and content, etc.
I constantly think about the SID profession and how long I’ll be an SID, but I think a positive item from the long hours is that we realize (and I speak as a married man) just what truly is important in this life: faith in the Lord and family. I agree with Ira. We do make a difference and while we may not be recognized as often as we like, knowing that I am giving this job the very best of my abilities is satisfaction enough. Attitude is the key and one of my favorite quotes is “Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”
You know, it’s funny. I’ve been involved in sports information since my freshman year in college. The Division II college I went to did not have a full-time SID and by the time I had grauated I was pretty much running the office. And I never got paid a cent for it because I wasn’t eligible for work-study. I really loved it because I was dealing with student-athletes who were also in my classes and some were my friends. I did an internship at another D-II institution and while I was not directly the contact person for it, we had D-I ice hockey that I had to assist with. I really liked it. This was before the days of the Internet, Stat Crew, live stats, webcasting, and everything else we rely on every day. In fact, the school I interned at had a football program. We played our games at a city stadium where it took forever to walk up the bleachers and stairs to get to the press box. Oh, and try to do that carrying a mimeograph machine five times a year. Yeah. One of those machines that produced the blue ink on paper.
I started my current position in October of 1995 as the college’s first full-time SID. I had to go in and clean up a mess and establish myself as a head person. The college I work at is specialized and finding students to help me was never easy and to this day is not easy because of the time commitment. Because of the dynamic of the office, I was forced into other administrative areas, but didn’t get compensated or recognized as such.
Even after being promoted to an Associate AD almost four years ago, the work has not let up, nor have I received any assistance in the form of an intern or even a part-time assistant. I keep telling myself why I love the job and the profession, and I am active in one of the sports information organizations. Then the FLSA kicked in and I got more responsibility (two coaches, including men’s hoops) report to me, but yet no more money.
Our office, until last July, reported to the President’s Office. Our direct supervisor was an assistant to the president who would tear some of my stuff apart if he found a comma out of place. But, both he and the president loved sports and would go to bat for me and our department on pretty much anything. We have a new president, who I don’t think is as keen on athletics and we are kind of on an island right now. There are stupid things regarding our website I have to conform to–things that were written by people who have no clue about sports. We don’t even have a link on the college’s main page to the Athletics site because “it’s not needed.” If you don’t know the direct URL (which is just/athletics), you have to go through a three-step process just to get to the site.
I think of all the hours I spend in the office, or, like right now, sitting in front of a laptop doing work from home, while my wife is in another part of the house. Though she can work long hours, it sucks that sometimes the only time during the week we’ll see each other is when we wake up in the morning. And that’s the time I don’t like it. Or, when my dad passed away two years ago, trying to scramble to find coverage for a couple of events, while assisting with funeral arragements because there is no one else in the office who could handle what I do and I only had one volunteer worker.
I’ve always said that the Internet is the best invention, but the worst thing to happen to our profession. I can not begin to explain how many e-mails I’ll get, wondering why a score hasn’t been posted, even though in reality, the game hasn’t even ended. And forget about it if a photo or a wrap-up isn’t changed the day after the season ends. Then you hear it from the coaches.
I went to my first CoSIDA Workshop in six years when I went to Philly last summer. I got the BS survey and have wondered for many years what exactly our national organization does for us. Being on the administrative side of things, I know that the second the NATA came out with salary guidelines, our two trainers got raises. I showed the survey to my boss and was told we didn’t have the money. Disgruntled? Perhaps. Frustrated, you’re damn right.
Over the last few years, I have seen a bad trend in student-athletes. Less and less are appreciative for what is done for them, while more and more think it’s their God-given right to do whatever they want. And the parents? How about a senior softball player who was elected captain in the fall. The coach had not told me because he figured I’d release it after spring practices start, which is my normal practice. The mother (who I have had battles with for four years now) sent her own release into the two papers that service their town–I found out about it because it came back through a newsclip service. I’m sorry. I don’t come into your job and do it for you. Or, “My son is on the tennis team. How come his name hasn’t been in our hometown paper, but his best friend from high school, who plays at another college is?” Come to find out the friend was one of the top-ranked tennis players, while the son hadn’t won a match at number six singles. It’s tough to pitch that.
While I work with some terrific coaches where I am, I have dealt with some real beauties: “I didn’t like something you wrote in last night’s program. Response? “I thought your 0-11 power play sucked last night.” I’ll do my job, you’ll do your job.
We do make a difference on our campus, but sometimes I feel as though we’re the only one who know that. We can do 99 things correctly, but the second we mess that one thing up, all hell breaks loose. I’m all about accountability, but sometimes it’s a little over the top the things we get blamed for.
When I was in college, an intern, and even just starting as the head SID, I saw myself in this profession until I retired. Some days, even through the worst part of it, I still do. Others, though, I wonder how much longer I can justify to myself the amount of hours I put in, the consecutive days I work, and the stress I get.
People always tell me that I have a “cool” job. Sure, I’ve got to meet some people who I consider to be my closest friends and confidants, and have been able to do thing like work NCAA Championships, while working with some talented coaches and student-athletes. But, we have a national organization that doesn’t care much about our level (you can not get into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame unless you are a D-1 SID) and takes care of themselves and the “Big Boys.” Until that changes, you’re going to find a lot of talented people getting burnt out and getting out of the profession.
I do want to give props to Ira. He is the SID for the men’s volleyball league we are in and does a hell of a job.
Finally, I realize my rant might jump all over the place, but theyare thoughts I have had while reading this the last few days.
Pat, I’m glad you did this as a daily dose and the “Disgruntled SID,” you have a great blog.
Rest assured, billg, that you are by far one of the two or three best in your sizeable conference… Your colleagues do notice the quality work you turn out on a regular basis.
I had one student say to me the other day that he wanted to work in this field after graduation. Amazingly, I found myself trying to discourage him from doing so – phrases like, “long hours” and “crappy pay” were coming out of my mouth before I knew it. Still, I told him that if he still felt that way, that I’d do anything that I could to make sure that he could get a quality internship with someone who I trust and who I know he would learn a great deal from.
The thing is, if you’re getting into this field, you know damn well what you’re getting into. You know the hours are going to be long and the pay is going to be far, far less than you’re actually worth, and you know you’re going to have to deal with some really ignorant people. On the other hand, I’ve gotten to work some really incredible events and see some truly amazing things, things that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to without being in this field.
billg’s right, the internet is a tremendous invention. It’s also a huge benefit to smaller schools. No longer are you at the mercy of the newspaper not having space for your teams, or favoring Big State U down the road – your website can be your version of the newspaper. If done right, your fans will pick up on this and check your site first instead of the newspaper. I’ve spoken with plenty of reporters and the thought they all seem to have is that the end of the newspaper as we know it is fast approaching (Pat may disagree with this sentiment, which is fair enough). Being ahead of the curve (and having an administration that recognizes this and is supportive of that) will help down the road.
I believe the problem with our national organization is the old chicken/egg story: does the organization not care about its members at smaller schools, or do members at smaller schools not care enough about the organization to get involved? I mean, the chair of arguably the most important committee is a DII man, Dick Lipe at Bentley.
Honestly, I’ve had about all I can stand with the constant banging my head against the wall that I do on a daily basis to be able to do my job as I know how. I do know I won’t be in my current job much longer; I’ll probably give the field one more go before moving on to something else.
“the end of the newspaper as we know it is
fast approaching (Pat may disagree with this sentiment, which is fair enough).”
No, I agree. I would choose to emphasize “as we know it” but agree that changes will come.
I still have 30 years until retirement so I just hope the industry lasts long enough for me to get there. 🙂
thanks for the compliment, gbp0013…shoot me an e-mail so I know who you are. clearly, you have me figured out.