After one year as sports information director at Southwestern College, Hillsboro High School alumnus Scott Nuss is already making an impact in a job that combines his passion for sports with his skill for writing.
Nuss, who accepted a position as Southwestern?s first full-time SID the beginning of last school year, has been named KCAC Sports Information Director of the Year for his efforts relating to statistics, marketing, publications and promotion of the college?s athletic department.
?Scott is professional in all he does and has been a tremendous asset to Southwestern College and our athletic department in a very short time,? said Dave Denly, Southwestern?s athletic director and head women?s basketball coach.
?The tireless work ethic and dedication to coverage of all our sports is a major contributor to the overall success we have enjoyed the past year at Southwestern.?
The beginning
Nuss? interest in athletics dates back to high school. The son of Dale and Becky Nuss, Nuss graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2003.
?At that point I knew I loved sports, but I didn?t have an athletic bone in my body,? Nuss said. ?I also knew that writing was a talent of mine, but I didn?t know if that?s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.?
Nuss enrolled at Pratt Com?munity College to study journalism; he also served as a basket?ball manager. The opportunity became a catalyst for his current career path.
?On a basketball trip to Hutchinson, I saw a set of game notes sitting on the scorer?s table and started looking through it,? Nuss said. ?I noticed that the title of the guy that put it together was sports information director. I asked our coach why we didn?t have anything like that, and he said, ?You can do it if you want to.? So I started making game notes for our team.?
That experience led Nuss to take a closer look at what it meant to be an SID, he said.
After two years, Nuss graduated from Pratt and continued his studies at Southwestern.
?My journalism adviser had worked as an SID at St. Mary?s of the Plains out in Dodge City before it closed,? he said. ?The job was very different back then, but the fundamentals of the position were the same.
?Somewhere in there I decided that being an SID is what I wanted to do.?
Nuss gained experience working as an assistant for the Southwestern SID, and served as a media relations intern with the Kansas City T-Bones, a minor league baseball team, the summer before his senior year.
His calling was taking shape.
?When I arrived back at Southwestern, I knew I wanted to be an SID,? he said. ?It was a way to combine my love for sports with my skill of writing.?
Nuss earned a degree in communication from Southwestern in 2007 and went on to earn his master of education in sports administration from Wichita State University in 2009.
During his time at WSU, Nuss served in the athletic media relations office as a graduate assistant. He then worked from 2009-12 as SID for Newman University, an NCAA Division II school in the Heartland Con?ference?from 2009-2012. Twice he earned Heartland SID of the Year honors. He returned to Southwest?ern to accept his current position in 2012.
Job responsibilities
Nuss? duties at South?western involve overseeing coverage for the school?s 16 varsity sports as well as being involved in game-day tasks.
Nuss also volunteers at KCAC events and also serves as an umpire for high school and youth baseball teams.
Nuss said he enjoys being the ?voice? of the student-athletes at Southwestern.
?Especially at the NAIA level, there are so many student-athletes that have interesting stories to tell,? he said. ?Our kids know they probably don?t have a shot at the NFL or the NBA, but they are taking advantage of a chance to continue pursuing their passion.
?The nature of my job requires me to be involved with, literally, every single one of our teams. So I am one of a very small group of people that has the opportunity to interact with all of our student-athletes on a personal, yet professional level during their time here.
?I know our kids are going to read what I put on our website, and when they get excited about an article and re-tweet it, or share it on Facebook, then I know I?m doing my job well.?
Nuss also finds satisfaction in helping students move toward their career goals.
?I was fortunate enough to place two of my student workers in baseball internships at the minor league level,? he said. ?For the students, it?s a nice first step in their career path, and for me it?s just a way to return the favor.
?I had people helping me land my internship with the T-Bones as a student, and now it?s my turn to help them get their feet wet in the professional world.?
Presentation
Nuss, who lives in Winfield with his wife, Andrea, will be presented with the award at the 2013 KCAC Football Media Day in Wichita Aug. 7.
?It?s definitely a great honor to win this award,? Nuss said. ?I appreciate all of the KCAC SIDs that voted for me for this award.
?My name may be the one on the plaque, but I can?t take all the credit. I?ve got what I consider to be the best student staff in the KCAC, and my wife has been incredibly helpful and supportive along the way. ??
