College Sports Information Directors of America


College Sports Information Directors of America is an organization that focuses on professional development and support for sports information directors at all levels. It offers awards, scholarships, and grants in support of SIDs and prospective SIDs in the industry. Since 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-American recognition on male and female athletes in Divisions I, II, and III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association —covering all NCAA championship sports—and NAIA athletes.

History

CoSIDA began as a part of the American College Public Relations Association. It split and was established as a separate organization for sports information directors in 1957. CoSIDA holds an annual conference based around professional development. The first conference was held in Chicago in 1957, where there were 102 attendees. As of 2019 there are over 3,100 members in the United States and Canada.
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. 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.

CoSIDA'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. Some key results are:
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.

Academic All-American Selections

Since 1952, CoSIDA 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. Google Cloud is the title sponsor for the All-American selections. Previous title sponsors include GTE, Verizon, ESPN The Magazine, and Capital One.
CoSIDA is responsible for the annual selection of 816 Academic All-Americans in men's soccer, football, basketball, baseball and track and field/cross country and women's soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field/cross country. The sports that CoSIDA recognizes as eligible for at-large Academic All-American recognition are:
Men's SportsWomen's Sports
FencingBowling
GolfCrew
GymnasticsFencing
Ice HockeyField Hockey
LacrosseGolf
RifleGymnastics
SkiingIce Hockey
SwimmingLacrosse
TennisRifle
VolleyballSkiing
Water PoloSwimming
WrestlingTennis
Water Polo

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." Frank Beamer has been selected as the 2019 recipient.
The following is a listing of past presidents:
The following is a listing of past and future convention sites, including membership and attendance: