Collected Wisdom - Christina Hundley

I started in Collegiate Athletics when I was a student at Arizona State. I had been an athlete my entire life but quickly figured out I was not good enough to compete at ASU. So, I reached out to the Athletics Department and was lucky enough to land in the Media Relations Department. I was brought on as a student intern, unpaid, and spent three of the best years of my career working for Sun Devil Athletics. I came in during the 1996 Rose Bowl season so I was thrown into the deep end out of necessity due to the sheer volume of work that needed to be done. I learned on the job and was fortunate to have that experience serve as part of the foundation for my work in the athletics world. 

Navigating the day-to-day in our jobs under normal circumstances can be challenging. The day-to-day in this moment has proven to be almost indescribable. It’s been a long tough summer getting to today. We’ve been through ample plan changes and waves of uncertainty. Our staff and coaches are currently in a place of support and preparation. We are currently supporting our students every day in their academic pursuits. Making sure our students are enrolled, attending class, keeping up with their studies, understanding the importance of academics in their collegiate athletics plan, etc. That is a full time job, especially now. We are planning for a spring return to competition. Right now, we are completely shut down for fall. No practices, no scrimmages, no athletics. Our planning is not only for how to return in the midst of COVID but also how are we going to manage our entire athletics year, all of our sports, competing in the span of five months.  The impact has been felt by all of us, students and staff alike. We are all wired to be out and doing and competing. When that came to a halt in spring, the impact was instantaneous. The reverberations of that have continued to today. We are all finding our way but it has certainly been tough to navigate a new day-to-day and the void that not having our typical outlets of activity and involvement has created.

My initial reaction was shock because it happened so quickly. At that point in time, I hate to admit, I wasn’t really tuned in to COVID and what it all meant. We were just starting to discuss it at my College and we had not made any decisions as a campus. After I worked through the shock I moved on to heartbreak, because the worst day of my being an AD became the day I had to explain to all of our spring sport student-athletes why we were suspending their seasons. I can’t say the decision made my job easier but I can say it gave me the beginning of a roadmap forward. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said over the past six months, we made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time. We’ve seen this whole thing change a million times, and it’s going to keep doing so. All we can do is plan for what we know now and remain flexible because it’s inevitable, you are going to have to take on this obstacle course as it comes.

Funding and understanding. Funding is certainly relative, at every level of athletics administrators can claim that there is never enough funding to do what we “need” to do as athletics departments. At the two-year level, that is true across the board. Where we really struggle compared to higher levels of athletics however is necessity vs. the “extra.” At the two-year level, most of the time, we are not looking at a situation where we may not have enough funding to purchase the primo gear pack for our student-athletes. We are facing budgets where we often do not have the operational dollars to cover basics such as uniforms, travel, officials’ fees, coaching, scholarships, etc. And to boot, there are instances where we have to fundraise to provide the basics.

Understanding something is the key to appreciating it. We are the stewards of our story and it is our responsibility to tell it as often as we can. If we can positively impact a student’s life, and in turn their families, it is our responsibility to do so. It always amazes me how many people aren’t aware of the world of two-year athletics and the benefits it can offer to many student-athletes. Helping people understand what we do, what we offer and what we can provide to help support them and help them be successful is the most important part of what we do.

Personnel moves are one of the most challenging parts of being an AD, in my opinion. The most important part of the process for me is to be organized and on top of what I need when I need it. There is no greater moment than when recruiting potential candidates when I need to tap into my network of colleagues in the business for recommendations, advice and support. That is key to finding the who. Then you have to deal with the how. I’ll be honest, the hiring process in our district is difficult. As a hiring manager, it is on me to navigate the process and to do that I have to be on top of every step. We all know, in athletics time is of the essence, this goes for everything including hiring. Whether you are up against it because the season is about to start, you are on the clock because your prime candidate is highly sought, or because you are juggling this hire with the myriad other responsibilities you are managing, hiring needs to be done efficiently. Another piece to the puzzle is to include staff in the decision. In general, an AD should not make a hire without getting input from other members of their team. Bringing your team into the fray is important and will help inform the best fit and decision for the department.  

Academics is king of the hill. We are expected to perform in the classroom. Our department prides itself on the academic success of our student-athletes. Long before I came to PVCC the foundation of academic success was set when athletics was started at the College. The consensus was, and still is, that athletics is an amazing and supported pillar of the College but only if academics are stressed and supported. In turn, our department is expected to support our student-athletes in any way we need to give them the tools to be successful in the classroom. We are fortunate that we have the support of the College and its administration but our department runs point on execution. Over the years we have built an amazing academic support system that is forever a work in progress. We enlist the help of the entire campus and all of its services to support our student-athletes. The orchestration of such support is one of the largest focuses our staff and coaches have and one of the biggest expectations for which our department is responsible.

I always love answering this question because I get to talk about my student-athletes and coaches. I LOVE watching our student-athletes and coaches do what they love. Luckily, I am not stuck behind a desk all day. My job responsibilities actually expect me to be out at events and I love that I get to spend much of my time out at our athletics events. Watching our student-athletes and coaches do what makes them happy, what they are passionate about, fuels my passion for doing what I do. 

Get in front of as many people as you can and ask questions. Reach out to the people who inspire you, even if you don’t know them or know someone who does. Take the leap. I always tell students, SEND THEM AN EMAIL! If you want to be an AD, ask an AD. The worst that will happen is you don’t receive a response or they tell you no. You will be amazed how many people in the collegiate athletics industry want to help others. I am still often amazed when I send an email to someone I admire and I not only get a response but I get the opportunity to have a conversation with that person. SEND THE EMAIL!

I am fortunate to serve our Region (NJCAA Region 1) as the Men’s Assistant Region Director. I am responsible for working with the other Region Directors on administering all Region business and events. We serve as the primary liaisons between the Region membership and the NJCAA. We are the points of contact for all post-season play in the Region. We serve on NJCAA national committees and work with the NJCAA Board of Regents on NJCAA bylaws and policies. We help support our Region membership with communications from the NJCAA and serve as the local contacts when members have questions or concerns about what is going on nationally and how it will impact us locally. 

NATYCAA is one of the greatest things I have experienced in my career. To be able to connect and collaborate with athletics administrators from across the country is a huge asset to me personally, to my career and most importantly to the work I do at my current College. As an affiliate of NACDA, NATYCAA has provided the opportunity for me to meet other leaders in the industry, at all levels. Being able to do so helps inform my work in a way that would not have happened if I didn’t have the opportunity to join their platform. I am fortunate that my team at PVCC is comprised of amazing individuals that are experts at what they do. I am able to dive into my own professional and personal development because I know the team has things handled at home. As leaders, we are all on call all the time. The only way to handle everything that is on our plates is to be as organized as much as possible. There is never a “good time” to be away from the office but it is necessary if we hope to grow. When I am working with NATYCAA I am still doing work back home, that is a given. But it is necessary for me to manage all of it so that I can take advantage of every growth opportunity.  

Obviously our priorities are going to shift a bit given the current state of affairs in the world and athletics. Now possibly more than ever the work we do will influence the industry and hopefully help support the administrators doing the day-to-day.  

NATYCAA is always looking to grow its membership. We lean on the current membership to help us spread the word about NATYCAA, explain the benefits to colleagues and invite people to join us at the annual convention.  

We are determined to represent the three national organizations our membership represents; NJCAA, California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). We think it’s important for all three organizations to work together in this space and NATYCAA provides the perfect platform to help manifest that work.  

That is always the million-dollar question. I’m naturally a workaholic, thanks to my parents and the work ethic they instilled in me. As a woman in sports, I’ve had to work harder and longer to get to where I am today. Needless to say, I’m terrible at balancing my personal and professional life. However, it is something I am continually working on and trying to learn to do better. Over the past few years I have tried to make it a point not to miss out on family events, holidays, moments that in the past for which I was reluctant to leave work. For me, it takes work to relax and disconnect. That said, I’ve found the importance and necessity in doing just that. If I can’t find the time to enjoy my life, I’m not going to be of any use to anyone, personally or professionally. Most importantly, I am a work in progress and I continually focus on the work it takes to make my life fulfilling on all levels.