OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 23, 2021) – Hours before the game begins and long after it ends, members of Oklahoma Christian's athletic communications office are there, working to facilitate game operations, update websites and tell the stories of student-athletes and coaches.

That storytelling comes in different forms – words, pictures, video, statistics, graphics – and in different mediums, but the goal is the same: to publicize the accomplishments of OC student-athletes and coaches and bring positive attention to the university. Those people in college athletics who spend their professional careers promoting others are celebrated during the College Sports Information Directors of America's annual Membership Recognition Week, which this year is from Jan. 20-26.

The purpose of the week is to show appreciation for athletic communication professionals, to showcase their efforts and accomplishments and to bring positive recognition to them and to their work in promoting student-athletes and their institutions and conferences throughout all levels of collegiate athletics. Administrators, coaches, student-athletes, parents and fans are encouraged to post on social media their personal thanks for their sports information directors by using the hashtags #ThankYourSID and #SIDsMakeItHappen.

"No part of an athletics department has more constituents, or touches more people, than sports information," said Bill Little, a retired sports information director at Texas who's a past president of CoSIDA. "We are responsible to the media, our department administrators, our coaches, our student-athletes, our university administration, our faculty, our alumni and our fan base. That is at least eight different 'publics' that we serve.

"It's often been said that an athletics department is a university's 'front porch.' Because of the vast media opportunities it brings, I prefer to look at it as a university's 'Window to the world.' It is the SID's job to open that window."

If you've read a story, looked at a boxscore or statistical file or schedule on OC's athletic website (www.oceagles.com), watched a video stream of a game, followed highlights of a game on an OC social media channel, followed live statistics from an OC game, admired photos of OC athletes and coaches or just attended a game and enjoyed the ambiance, then you've been touched by the work of the OC athletic communications office.

Mostly working behind the scenes, the office sets up and runs video streaming equipment during games, keeps game statistics, handles public-address duties, communicates with media members, updates social media sites on multiple platforms, produces graphics and videos, nominates student-athletes and coaches for awards, manages the brand of the athletic department, coordinates the work of the Athletic Hall of Fame committee and maintains historical records, among other duties.

OC's athletic communications office is led by Murray Evans, a 1989 OC alumnus, who is in his 10th year serving as the university's assistant athletic director for communications/sports information director. As OC's number of varsity and club sports has grown – from 12 in 2011 to 22 in 2011 – so have the responsibilities of that office.

This academic year, for the first time, four graduate assistants work in the office – Tanner Rehl, a former college athlete with deep family ties to OC; Nehemiah Knox, an OC graduate who serves as the primary graphic designer and videographer; Kregg Matthews, who in his fourth year serving the office and coordinates much of its social media; and Morgan Boling, a former OC soccer player and outstanding writer who is the former sports editor of OC's campus online newspaper, The Talon.

Another GA, former OC soccer player Vinicius Alves, will assist this spring, particularly with volleyball and soccer game-operations duties.

OC alumnus Tim Herbel, in his ninth season as the high-energy public address announcer for OC's basketball teams, helps to secure game sponsorships and is adding volleyball to his announcing duties for 2021. Steven Christy, an entry programmer analyst for OC's information technology department, uses his considerable skills as a photographer to bless OC's student-athletes and coaches. His work can be seen at www.stevenchristyphoto.com.

Eagle Media, led by mass communication instructor David Jurney, is responsible for the broadcasts of OC basketball games, with senior Zachary Payne of Wichita Falls, Texas, and sophomore Elijah Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, serving as commentators. Alumni who help with those broadcasts include Knox, Shane Magness and Danny Henderson. Another OC alumnus, Tony Sellars, handles play-by-play duties for OC baseball games online.

Three student workers assist with equipment setup/breakdown and help handle in-game operational and statistical duties for OC's volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball teams – sophomore Andrew Evers of Lubbock, Texas, and freshmen Jhalen Blackburn of Mansfield, Texas, and Alexandra Aponte Torres, an OC volleyball player from Coral Springs, Fla.

"Every one of these students, alumni and workers has a key role in helping us successfully promote OC athletics," Evans said. "They work long hours – including a lot of nights and weekends, in all sorts of weather – behind the scenes so that OC students, parents and fans can follow their teams in different media. It isn't always easy, but it's almost always rewarding. We get a front-row seat to experience a lot of cool stuff."

The athletic communications office is entering its busiest season of the year – the crossover season between winter sports (basketball, swimming, indoor track and field) and spring sports (softball, baseball, golf, outdoor track and field). It will be even busier than usual in 2021, as OC's volleyball and soccer teams, which normally play during the fall, instead will compete in abbreviated spring-semester seasons.

"COVID-19 has affected our athletic schedules and limited the number of fans who will be able to attend our events, but our office is ready to help fill the gap for OC fans with video streams, live statistics of games and comprehensive game coverage," Evans said. "We will work our hardest to keep things running as smoothly and safely as possible over the next few months."