Assumptions sports information director, Ken Johnson, and WPI’s sports information director, Rusty Eggen, have both experienced similar careers leading them to where they are now. Some of the topics that were covered through out the interviews were:
Job Description
Both men do a lot of work with keeping statistics. It is part of their daily routine to make sure that statistics are correct and updated so that they can be viewed by anyone who is looking to find them. Ken has also experienced a increase in the amount of marketing that he now has to deal with. He could recall, along with Rusty Eggen, how marketing used to have very little effect in their day-to-day activity.
Changes in Technology
Like most jobs today, there has been a significant change in technology that has changed the filed of work completely. For Johnson and Eggen this change is very evident in their work place. Rusty Eggen said that he does very little of what he used to do because of the change in technology. Eggen emphasized that he had to connect with the college age student because that is who he is working with most of the time. So in order to do so he had to teach himself how to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets. Also, Professor Nordman expressed how just 15 years ago everything that needed to sent to someone or somewhere was done by fax. Now, that art is extinct from the work place even though it was top tier technology just 15 years ago. Both directors also expressed the importance of their sports websites. They used to have to rely on local newspapers to put box scores in the paper and have little write ups about games, but now all of that can go on the website and it is much easier to find. One con of the changes in technology, as expressed by Ken Johnson, is that the expectations from people have greatly increased. Now every little mistake is pointed out and if you are not on top of your game then you lose credibility.
How They Ended Up in Their Current Position
Johnson was a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a degree in sports management. Like most people in his field, he started very low on the food chain, but worked his way up to his first sports information job at Manhattanville College where he was for two years. He then went on to work in sports information at the University of Bridgeport while also being assistant AD. After three more years there he moved onto Saint Anselm’s college but left in 2011 when he landed the sports information director job here at Assumption. Eggen graduated from Slippery Rock College and also began working at the bottom of the field. His first job was as a publicist for the Massachusetts Stat Athletic Conference (MSAC) where he made $10,000 a year with no benefits or bonuses. He left this job to work as assistant AD and to be a part of the conference work at Fitchburg State for six and a half years. When he was presented with the opportunity to take the sports information director job at WPI he did not hesitate, and that is where he has been for the past eight years.
Pros and Cons
The pros of being a sports information director heavily outweigh the cons. Rusty alluded to the age old expression “if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.” He said that he has not worn a pair of pants in a long time because he is his own boss. He can make his schedule and it allows a lot of flexibility. He may have to work some long nights, extra hours, and on weekends but he says it is worth it because of how he is able to make his own schedule. He also said how much he enjoys being around people our age (18-22) because he can feed off their energy and it makes me feel younger than he is. Johnson only talked about one con that he deals with which was that the improvements in technology have increased the expectations from the sports information department. But other than that he loves his job too.
Working with the Media
Both directors say that working with the media is a large part of their job. One thing that they will do is contact local/hometown newspapers when a certain player has done something worth writing about. For Example, when Mike Pedone rush for 209 yards the other week, Ken Johnson contacted his hometown newspaper, which happened to be in Worcester, and get them to write a feature about it because of his outstanding performance. Both directors said that they actually have been lucky and haven’t had many issues with working with the media. Everyone they have talked to has been willing to work with them. They even get some people who will write about a certain player without even being asked because they are able to find information and statistics on the teams athletics website.
What I Liked About the Athletic Websites
- How easy it is to navigate
- The overall look of the website
- The updated statistics on all teams and players
- The amount of information that can be found on the sites
- Your available to look at more than just teams and players (Inside the athletics department)
Sam Pouliot 