Support Staff Spotlight: Purdue SID Chris Forman

Chris Forman has sat courtside at Mackey Arena for 10 years, but he’s not a coach and he’s not the Boilermakers’ version of Spike Lee. He’s regularly seen talking to coaches, players and media personalities and he gets locker room access after games. So who is this guy and what does he do?

Forman is the Associate Strategic Communications Director for the Purdue men’s basketball and golf teams.

The what now?

“My role is serving as the (team’s) public relations contact. That ranges from organizing interviews, doing media guides, updating stats, updating the website, running social media, doing game notes, game operations, extensive research for records and basic general promotion of the team.”

Most athletic departments would call him the team’s sports information director, or SID. All of that to say, he keeps busy.

Forman’s Background

Forman got his start in the profession in 2000 as a graduate assistant at St. Cloud State University. He spent two years there and another two years at UMass before landing his first full-time job at the United States Naval Academy. For seven years, Forman ran communications for the basketball program under head coaches Billy Lange and Ed DeChellis. DeChellis is the reason he’s at Purdue now.

“In July 2013, Purdue needed a men’s basketball SID, so Coach Painter reached out to his Big Ten counterparts and asked if they knew anyone. Coach DeChellis, who Painter knew well from his Penn State days, asked me if I was interested. I said maybe and he encouraged me to apply.”

Forman sent in his application, got an interview and was offered the job on the spot. He accepted the next day and moved his family to West Lafayette. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses when he got there, but they adjusted quickly.

“My wife hated it here, we finished last in the Big Ten and you saw the passion of Purdue fans. But the following year, our daughter started kindergarten, my wife got more comfortable and met more people and we started our consecutive-year run of making the NCAA Tournament. Now, we love it here. My wife loves it, our kids love it and I truly believe Coach Painter is the best coach in the country to work for.”

A Profession At A Crossroads

Forman is grateful for how things are at Purdue and understands that his experience is unique compared to his colleagues at other schools. The profession as a whole finds itself at a crossroads.

“It is no secret that SIDs work long hours and in my opinion, are underappreciated across the country.”

Sports information directors are some of the hardest working people in college athletics. They do a job meant for many, by themselves.

“The biggest challenge in our profession is burnout, apathy and that the traditional SID role is not the same as it was even 10 years ago. When starting out in the profession, you are probably asking a young person to work 60-70 hours a week and for very little pay.”

Long-time Anderson University SID Randy Jones recently resigned from his position and let his feelings about the profession known in an impassioned statement on the school’s website.

“I haven’t embraced the rising – and often unrealistic – expectations that many school administrations have placed on SIDs or athletic communicators,” Jones said. “Quality people have left the profession in droves because of additional responsibilities and schools trying to boost enrollment by adding sport after sport without adding support personnel…a lot of places are simply overloaded.”

A Changing Landscape

Social media and increased access to coaches and players have drastically changed the roles and responsibilities for SIDs. Forman got started in the business at the beginning of the digital age.

“When I started 23 years ago, media guides were it. You had to have elite media guides because that is what you could send to recruits. We barely had a functioning website when I started. That’s how long I have been doing this. You just didn’t have as much media because it was all radio or print media.”

Now, everything is geared toward social media. SIDs are tasked with gaining a large following and getting as many clicks and engagements as possible. Marketing and promotion are the new priorities, whereas traditional responsibilities like record keeping and research have fallen to the wayside.

“There just isn’t a ton of focus anymore on the communication and media interactions that were so important previously. The focus is now on social media. How you stand out on social media is the biggest challenge facing basketball programs and if you don’t have creative people in your department, which fortunately we do, you are going to get left behind.”

Common Sense Solutions

As with any problem, there are common sense solutions that many schools are able, but unwilling, to implement. If social media needs are increasing, then bring in more people dedicated to social media. Hiring graphic designers, photographers and videographers at fair market wages would take a brunt of the extra work off stretched-thin SIDs.

For most schools, it comes down to putting people first instead of making them an expendable resource. Athletic departments across the country are seeing support staff quit in droves. Increases in workload are not rewarded with increases in pay. The amount of money generated (and saved) by these people doesn’t go back into their pockets, so maybe it’s time to give them a piece of the pie.

Forman’s solution is perhaps the easiest to implement of them all.

“I think just giving young SIDs the resources, education and patience can keep advancing our profession. It all starts with understanding that our profession is different now and we have to be flexible in how we treat and respect young professionals.”

It’s Worth It If Done Correctly

Despite the current struggles of the profession, Forman still finds joy in what he does for a living. He’s practicing what he preaches and it’s cultivated a great learning environment for young SIDs at Purdue.

“We’re fortunate here at Purdue that we have an excellent student staff and empowering them keeps them interested in the career.”

For Forman personally, it’s about everyone he’s met along the way.

“To me, the profession is rewarding simply because of the people I have met and the success stories I have seen. It’s still about relationships in this profession and we need to keep cultivating them.”

He has more stories than most, but there’s one particular memory with a student-athlete that stands above the rest.

“(One of my) favorite experiences here at Purdue was seeing Caleb Swanigan walk across the stage to get his diploma after a year with the Portland Trailblazers.”

“Seeing Biggie accomplish that goal after what he went through as a child still makes me smile to this day. He was an incredible representative of this university and we should always remember his story of perseverance.”

Forman says this job has taken him to 49 states and 13 countries. He’s experienced multiple NCAA tournaments, foreign tours and made countless meaningful relationships.

“I love being in this profession. Everyone hears about the struggles of young SIDs now. Let’s flip it around and remind them how great it can be.”

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