When student athletes take the field or court, everyone’s focus is on them. But who’s updating the stats online for alumni and fans to follow along? Who runs the social media accounts that allow for an online community to form around Wolfpack faithful’s favorite teams? The ones whose work goes unrecognized but aren’t looking for appreciation.
Meet the women behind the machine: Sports Information Directors, better known as SIDs.
With responsibilities ranging from running the team’s social media accounts to being in contact with media outlets across the country, SIDs keep things running smoothly behind the scenes for NC State Athletics. Out of the eight SIDs NC State has, six are women.
As women continue to shape the culture surrounding sports — through events like National Women in Sports Day and Women’s Basketball College Gameday — the women SIDs of the Wolfpack deserve some recognition for the silent work they do day in and day out.
“When I got to NC State with the women’s basketball program, which is obviously very good, it was really cool to be a part of,” said Kylie Magar, the SID for women’s basketball and women’s golf. “When we beat Notre Dame and all the media coverage and stuff that we got, I was able to help. … I realized, okay, I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
The path to becoming a SID is not linear, but many of those who follow the career path have a passion for sports.
“I don’t know a life without sports,” said Anne Hirschfeld, the SID for NC State volleyball and softball. “I always knew from a young age I just wanted to be involved in sports, and I love to write. So it was just kind of fitting when I was in college and I was like, ‘Oh, I could actually do something with sports and writing.’”
Others SIDs fell into the role, such as Rachel Miller, the SID for NC State men’s soccer, wrestling and men’s tennis. In high school, she was asked to run the scorebook for her basketball team, where her love of sports flourished. While Miller still runs the statistics for each of the teams she works with, that’s just one part of the day-to-day responsibilities.
“The main things are social media management, which is becoming a really big part of it, and managing media interviews,” Miller said. “I’ve had Zoom calls with people on the West Coast that are covering us on the East Coast, and those outlets can be as big as ESPN or local media.”
Keeping track of the milestones and noteworthy statistics is also something that the SIDs do to ensure that NC State’s athletes are being celebrated and recognized for their hard work.
“I think that’s my favorite part,” Magar said. “Telling the stories of these student-athletes while seeing them grow is awesome.”
One thing that can be hard for these SIDs though, specifically the women, is fitting into a male-dominated career path. A study published by the Atlantic Journal of Communication last year found that out of 2,242 sports-related articles, 94.9% were written by male journalists while only 5.1% were written by female journalists. With not many people to look up to in the field, it can be a daunting career path to take.
“Over the years, I’ve definitely seen a shift of people, specifically women, coming into sports, which I think is really cool,” Magar said. “What I thought was really awesome is most of the time with our intern meetings, I feel like it’s primarily men, which is pretty typical, obviously. But then this year for NC State, when we had our intern meeting in the beginning of the year, it was primarily women.”
The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport released a report card in 2021 detailing race and gender among sports media. Of sports editors surveyed, 79.2% were white and 83.3% were men. Of web specialists surveyed, 72.4% were white and 78.1% were men.
“This shouldn’t be an issue,” Miller said. “You shouldn’t have to think twice about it. There’s definitely a lot of times where I feel intimidated as a woman to approach a man in sports and feel respected and like they’re taking me seriously.”
But these hurdles don’t stop the ladies of NC State Athletics, as many of the SIDs approach their work with confidence and a high level of admiration for their ability to make it in this career path.
“No matter who tells you what, no matter who puts you down, you deserve a seat at the table, and you have a voice that is worth hearing,” Hirschfeld said. “I think that’s just something that every female needs to remember, and I have to remind myself that sometimes.”
