Collegiate Athletic Administrations Roles during Pandemic
March 12, 2020, was a day in the world that will never be forgotten to most. In the sports world, the front offices saw significant pay cuts, layoffs, positions terminated, and their entire jobs are taken away from them.
On Long Island, the pain was felt throughout all schools around southern New York, such as Adelphi University, Molloy College, and Long Island University. The NCAA had no plan in place for a return to play, and the universities around the globe, we’re unable to pay their employees while no sports occur.
Universities in the tri-state area were unable to sustain their athletic departments on a full-time basis. Long Island University, which just completed a merger of two campuses between LIU Brooklyn and CW Post to become “One LIU,” now has an issue on their hands with double the athletic administration with Division II and Division I staff joining forces.
Sports Information Directors are sometimes compared to scouts in baseball, where the organizations rarely recognize the two. Players would not be in the pros without getting noticed by scouts, and collegiate student-athletes would not have their stories told without the SID’s. Others were able to obtain new jobs in different roles within the college or simply, apply for unemployment.
Athletic administrations took the first step by furloughing position after position at colleges around the nation. One university, LIU, furloughed five graduate assistants and assistant directors, who once covered 31 programs within the Northeast Conference based university.
One problem on Northern Boulevard and Tillary Street, sports have now resumed, and one person is now in charge of 32 sports.
Casey Snedecor, the Assistant Director of Athletics and Director of Athletic Media Relations, who has resided on the Brooklyn campus for the previous four years, was slated to begin a new role following the merger. Then, COVID-19 changed the outlook for the athletic department as a whole.
Eight staff members within Snedecor’s department, were put on leave indefinitely.
The distance between each campus is 27 miles. Snedecor now has to travel back and forth for specific events that include baseball, field hockey, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, and football.
“Not going to lie to you; it was so difficult. Covering 32 sports is not something I, or anyone should sign up for. commented Snedecor. “Thankfully, I took over when no sports were happening, so it was just reaching out to everyone and trying to create content. That was the difficult part. I was the SID, and the content producer as well.”
Snedecor is now in charge of 32 division one sports, including football, men’s basketball, and baseball. In the sports information field, one person is in charge of those three sports individually. Rarely, if ever, one in charge of all three.
“They told me in November that I would be on my own for the season, but I would be able to hire staffers for specific contests. I did receive some help from the other Casey out in Brookville at times, which was nice. But not nearly enough to keep me sane.” Joked Snedecor.
During the quarantine period, Snedecor did not have much time on her hands since she had to cover all the sports. But she did have empathy for her colleagues in Brookville and Brooklyn.
“I felt awful for my crew in Brooklyn. It was all left on me. But for them, they now have nothing. Yes, some help now and then, but it’s not the same. They have no insurance. No coverage for anything now. It is a challenging time.”
The second in command behind Snedecor was furloughed from his position and brought back under a different role. Assistant bowling coach.
Casey Schermick, 28, the former Director of Athletic Media Relations for the now-defunct LIU Post Pioneers, was an addition by subtraction during the “One LIU” merger, where he led the crew on Long Island. At the same time, Snedecor would lead the staff on the Brooklyn campus.
When COVID-19 came along, there was uncertainty in collegiate athletic departments because contests were cancelled. You can only promote student-athletes so much when there are no games or practices. Schermick was furloughed on April 7, 2020, and was not offered a return till September 6, 2021.
“It honestly hurt,” commented Schermick. “I don’t know how else to put it. My wife, Rachel, works at Hofstra in a similar role. Thankfully, she was able to earn a paycheck still, but I went on unemployment with no end in sight. We were told over and over again that we would be back in our desks by the time spring sports returned.”
That has yet to happen.
The Wernersville, PA native was hired as the assistant bowling coach to be brought back in some capacity to help Snedecor and the rest of the LIU staff, who still occupy their positions.
“They raised their prices to freelance staffers to get through the COVID season. So, to stay fresh now, I’m working as a part-time SID in an assistant bowling coach role. Now, I’m heading off to Staten Island to become a semi-professional golf coach in a couple of weeks. They’ll have to find someone else to help with spring sports because I can’t wait around any longer. Its unfortunate things had to end this way, but the writing was on the wall when the two universities merged.”
In 2016, Long Island University announced it would merge LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post effective the 2019–20 academic year. An announcement followed two years later that the respective athletic departments would merge effectively for the 2019–20 seasons.
“There was no time to make any adjustments. It was a race to find another job since many people in Brookville wanted out quickly,” said Schermick. “Things happen in mysterious ways, but I’m glad I can still stay fresh as a freelance statistician.
Schermick spoke about how he was offered the Director of Football Communications position, where he would’ve been in charge of Army football and men’s basketball. As well as other Olympic sports. But, he was offered it two days after he accepted the golf position on Staten Island.
“I feel for those who lost their jobs during COVID. It’s nothing you ever want to wish for on anyone,” commented Schermick. “Whoever took that job at Army is one lucky person, but it was evident I was not meant to be there in West Point.”
Furloughs around Long Island continued on the south shore at Molloy College, where Athletic Communications Assistant, Patrick McCormack, was put on leave for nearly ten months. Luckily, McCormack had the connections to put his other talents to good use, and work inside the Molloy health services department, and make some of the money he lost back.
“It was tough at first,” commented McCormack. “A lot of golf in the beginning, but after a while, not doing statistics, game-day stories and graphics was getting to me. I needed to get out of the house. Thankfully, I am very close with our athletic director, who knew someone in health services that needed a hand since the main person was out due to not being comfortable out of the house. I took advantage of that. God had a plan for me.”
The positive from the Rockaway native was that he could get his job back following the near one-year layoff from Division II sports. Still, he knew that if he was not on good terms with his head boss, he might not have been in the collegiate athletic field beyond April 10.
“I was also thankful to have saved a decent amount for my bank. I was able to live off that, and still be able to do some of the things I wanted to do. Like, go golfing.” Said McCormack. “Why? Because I live at home still. I’m extremely grateful I was able to do those things.”
People have not been as lucky as the 27-year old McCormack because other sports information directors and or Assistant Athletic Directors for Sports Information have families. That includes Adelphi University’s Ian Schraier, who was out of work for months due to Division II sports’ cancellation in the spring and fall.
“The beginning was not easy for my family or me. It was different because I was home a lot. My wife is a teacher, so she was working remotely, and I had more time than usual with my two-year-old daughter.” said Schraier.
Division II athletics within the NCAA did not resume till January of 2021, and it was up to each respective institution whether or not its sports would continue. For the fall sports, they would not compete during the 2020–21 academic year. Winter and spring sports did return. At Adelphi, spring sports were the only thing on the docket for the Athletic Department.
“We began to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we heard that the NE10 (Northeast 10 Conference) would be playing spring sports. So my leave lasted five months.”
Schraier was able to generate enough income through unemployment and lend a helping hand to a friend’s podcast, where he has since become co-host of the show.
“I went to CW Post for my bachelor’s in journalism. I always wanted to be a broadcaster, but that was not the road for me. I feel young again talking sports every Friday night with my friend and his buddy.”
The four subjects have gone through rough patches throughout their quarantine periods. One extreme to another for those universities on Long Island had to abide by New York State guidelines with sporting events. For those who had the funds to reopen safely, it was suitable for some, like Snedecor. For Schermick, Schraier, and McCormack, it was difficult for the trio, who did not return to their posts until the new year.