For 2013 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) College Division Rising Star Award recipient KatieJo Kuhens of Wartburg College, there are three things that she has learned in her career and would like to pass on to younger CoSIDA members.

“Work and life balance is extremely important, get involved and get to know people in and outside of your conference, and take the initiative to learn as much as you can,” says Kuhens, who received the college division award at the Orlando Convention June 14.

The Rising Star award is presented to a University Division Member and a College Division Member member annually with 10 years of service or less whose work at their institution and service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm to the profession make that individual a “rising star” in sports information.

Kuhens has certainly learned a lot in her nine years in the sports communications field. By the time she was 25, she had worked at three divisions – I, II and III – including two one-person shops. The Falcon Heights, Minn. native is currently the SID at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, her alma mater.

“The thought of returning to work at Wartburg honestly became one of my dream jobs during my time as a student,” says Kuhens. “Wartburg has very strong traditions in academics and athletics, and I feel very blessed to be back on campus. The Knights continue to be a national powerhouse in Division III and I feel fortunate to tell the story about our teams and student-athletes to the local and national media.”

Sports information wasn’t something Kuhens was interested in until she saw an advertisement while a student at Wartburg.

“I got started in sports information by answering a want ad in our weekly student e-mail newsletter for a volleyball statistician towards the end of my freshman year,” explains Kuhens. “I had done stats for my high school team for three years and thought it’d be fun to work with Wartburg’s team. Mark Adkins, then-Wartburg’s SID, then assigned me to work with the Knights’ other 18 teams.”

By her senior year, Kuhens was supervising a staff of 12 students, recruiting new workers and organizing the work schedule for all home events. Adkins suggested she look at sports information as a career, a change from Kuhens’ plan to work in public relations and marketing.

“I have always been a sports nut and remember reading the sports page of the newspaper first every morning over breakfast while I was growing up,” says Kuhens. “I feel very lucky to have found a job that incorporates my interest in athletics and doesn’t feel like ‘work’ most days.”

After graduating from Wartburg, Kuhens interned at the University of Wisconsin Athletic Communications office for a year.

“I have been very fortunate to work for some of whom I consider the greats in college athletics,” says Kuhens.” I was incredibly blessed to work in the athletic communications office at Wisconsin under current Hall of Fame inductee and former CoSIDA President Justin Doherty. My time with the Badgers afforded me the opportunity to learn so much from all of the SIDs in that office and I am forever grateful of my time there. I saw first-hand how this first-class department operated and have taken many of the things they did with me in my career.”

But Kuhens’ passion lay at the Division III level and she was hired as the SID at Maryville University in St. Louis in 2008. Her one-person shop covered 18 sports for the Saints and she also assisted with the department’s transition from Division III to Division II.

“I am also grateful for my time working for Tony Duckworth at Maryville University,” says Kuhens. “As the AD, he allowed me to grow as a professional and make improvements in my office which bettered the entire athletic department.

“Also during my time in St. Louis, I was fortunate to get to know Chris Mitchell from Washington University and see how another Division III athletic powerhouse operated. He has continued to be a great mentor since I’ve been at Wartburg.”

Mitchell also assisted with the nomination of Kuhens for the Rising Star award.

The job at Wartburg opened up in 2011. Kuhens was quick to apply and Knight’s athletic director Rick Willis was just as anxious to bring back an alumnus and former student standout.

“KatieJo was a leader within our sports information office as a student and through that experience, found her career path,” says Willis. “Now as our sports information director, KatieJo is totally invested in all our programs and student-athletes. Her position and her commitment allow her to significantly and uniquely impact the experience of our student-athletes, alumni and fans.”

Kuhens has found her home at Wartburg as well.

“Wartburg was a dream job for me because of the first-class conference (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) it competes in and how this is another group of top-notch SIDs,” says Kuhens.

“The amount of support of athletics from alumni, current students and from the academic side and administration is also refreshing. Wartburg has the best support from across and around campus I’ve seen in my career. “

In the two years Kuhens has been at Wartburg, the Knights have won four national championships, including two in one day in 2012.

“To win a national championship is the goal of every student-athlete and coach and to have experience covering four national championship teams in my first two years was absolutely incredible,” says Kuhens.

But covering championships is just part of what Kuhens enjoys about the athletic communications profession.

“For me, the division level that the institution competes in has never been the most important,” explains Kuhens. “I put more into how well the institution’s conference operates as these SIDs are whom you will work with the most.

“I’ve had the fortunate experiences of seeing first-class SIDs run first-class offices during my young career. They’ve all had a passion for athletics and working with student-athletes and coaches. We all know we aren’t going to make millions of dollars in this industry, but do this job for the love of sports and truly care about the student-athletes and coaches that wear our school’s colors.”

Release written by Diane Nordstrom, Associate Director of Athletic Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kuhens is the fourth Iowa Conference sports information director to receive a major award from the professional organization. The late Warren Berg of Luther was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1970. Berg was the first College Division member to serve as the organization's president (1963-64). In his honor, the Warren Berg Award was created to honor outstanding College Division members, including two from the Iowa Conference --- Duane Schroeder of Wartburg in 1993 and Larry Happel of Central in 2006. Happel was also elected to the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2010.



Click here to read the complete list of CoSIDA award winners