The next chapter of SID Sports

A monumental move and shift in programming

I’ve been talking a lot this year about something “big” that I had in the works that would reshape SID Sports entirely. I mentioned it in my yearly preview piece. I’ve talked about it some with fellow writers. Well, it’s time to announce that big news. This is something that has been in the works since December and now, it’s finally finalized. Officially official, as they say.

Before we get into this, let me say one thing: Thank you. Legitimately and truly, thank you to everyone that has been along for the ride here at SID Sports.

We’ve done a lot here, from covering the death of the PAC-12, to a profile on a flag football gold medalist, to breakdowns of each week of action, to a magazine, awards shows and so much more.

I started this newsletter in 2023 when I left working in college athletics as a tether to that career and life that I left behind. It was a very hard choice for me to step away from working in sports information, but one I made because it the right move at the time. Having this community to talk to, share my experience with, and keep me honest as I tried to stay sharp was invaluable. I can’t say it enough, so I’m just going to say it again: thank you all.

For those that have been around a while, you know I’ve kept one foot in the door of college athletics as I worked in higher education outside of the athletic department. You saw that with last year’s March basketball story and my inside look at working an ESPN+ production.

To cut this tangent off before it gets too far, you could say that SID Sports has been my connection to the career path I wanted to take and always envisioned taking: being a Sports Information Director. Leaving the world of college athletics was hard for me, but undoubtedly the right move at the time. My time away from sports and working in higher education as a whole in student support has been a great, fulfilling time. It emerged as a legitimate career option for me as I looked at the rest of my life. I was laying the ground work to double down on that career path, looking to head back to college for a Master’s in higher education. But that all changes now.

As of today, I’m making a career change. This is no longer a newsletter written by a former SID. Now, I’m a current SID. Today marks my first day as the Specialist, Sports Information & Media Relations at Cuyahoga Community College. Fun fact: I’m also the first SID the college has had at all, let alone full-time.

Being the first SID at Tri-C - as it’s known in the Cleveland area - is going to have my hands full. I’ll be taking over things like statistics, social media, media relations, record keeping and more for all nine of the college’s sports. It’s a huge undertaking to get the department (read: me) to where I want it to be, but it’s one I’m excited for.

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So, what does this mean for SID Sports going forward?

Well, I’m sure you noticed the change in branding to Tri-C colors of teal and black. But that’s just a visual tweak.

Obviously, I’m not going to be able to keep writing and covering the topics I have here while working in the field. Even though Tri-C is an NJCAA school - a junior college - I don’t feel comfortable writing about the affairs at other schools while still trying to cover and tell the stories of the athletes at my institution.

That doesn’t mean SID Sports is going away, though. Instead, it means we’ve reached the end of one chapter of SID Sports. It’s been a great, fun ride talking big-time college football. We had some great stories, conversations and fun doing that. There were some series I had planned that I wish you all got to see, but maybe they’ll see the light of day at some other point. Who knows. (If you’re a writer and want some of the series I won’t be able to pursue, hit me up. Some have some work done, others are just ideas)

But, as I’m sure you’ve gathered, this isn’t the end of SID Sports. Instead, think of it as a new beginning.

Here, I’m planning on taking you inside my role and covering tasks, projects and things I do on a day-to-day basis. If something particularly cool or interesting comes up, I’ll write a quick story. Think of SID Sports as more of a professional blog of sorts.

I wouldn’t expect more than a post a week from me most weeks. On Fridays, I’ll send out a weekly a blog-style post about something I did that week and how I did it so you all can get a feel for being inside college athletics and building a sports information department from the ground up. Then, I’ll end with a Triceratops Roundup (yes, that’s our actual mascot name) that includes some links to stories and other things I wrote or created that week.

If there’s something of major interest, I’ll potentially write another article, but for now, expect those Friday morning drops. As I get settled in, they probably won’t be very detailed. But there can still be things to talk about and learn.

With that said, expect the first Triceratops Roundup to come your way next Friday, April 24. I imagine this week will be a lot of training and getting acclimated to the department, so I don’t want to bore you with that information. If anything interesting happens, though, then I’ll write up a post and send it out!

Since I’ll be doing so much work, I also am going to take a step back from the SID Sports social media accounts. If you want to follow along, you can always drop me a follow on Notes and Bluesky, where I’m most active. And I’ll include links to follow along with the official Tri-C channels and platforms at the end of each post.

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Again, thank you all for coming along for the ride, I really do appreciate it. Building this newsletter was like a second job (and third, when it came down to getting the Season Preview Magazine out) and it was worth every second.

With all this change, I understand that some of you may not be interested in this new content. I completely understand that. It’s not what you subscribed for. But, I think it will be a unique set of content unlike anything else you can get. Trust me, I tried to find things like this and couldn’t.

I sincerely hope you join me along for this new chapter in college athletics. I’m excited to share this all with you!

You can follow along in real-time at athletics.tri-c.edu, the official Triceratops website. If you’re a social media person, you can find us on Instagram at tri_c_athletics, Facebook at Tri-C Athletics, or Twitter at TriCAthletics.

Go Tops!