SUWANEE, Ga. -- In recognition of Black History month, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference reached out to staff members within the league to allow them to share their experiences and thoughts. This week, the conference office caught up with Bryce Hayes of Texas Lutheran University, who is in his third year overseeing sports information and sports marketing within the athletic department. Hayes shared the impact he has had as a College Sports Communicator in his community.
"As we all know, the job description of what an "SID" or "Sports Communications" person changes as the wind blows, but personally I manage our website (tlubulldogs.com) as well as all of our social media channels, handle administrative duties and all that entails in effort to provide the best experience for our student athletes that I can," said Hayes.
"Along with my staff of student workers and my assistant, Nick Trumble, we manage everything on gameday from the live streams to stats to PA and music to photography and content to try and not only provide the best viewing experience for those that can't make it to Seguin but to try to be the best at what we do - which I think we do a good job at that. Overseeing a student worker staff that's as high as 20 students, I have the privilege of seeing their progress every time we do games is a rewarding experience and I know that some of them will go on after this and give back to the sports world in a myriad of ways. I also have the privilege of working with our student-athletes in certain instances that extend outside of my quote unquote job description passing on the knowledge I have of sports to hopefully make them better athletes, students, and humans and I appreciate those opportunities and those that trust me with that sort of relationship with our student-athletes."
When asked to cite some of the challenges he has faced, Hayes mentioned his move from Memphis as being one the biggest obstacles he has had to overcome.
"I guess the biggest challenge was moving down here away from my family who are nearly 12 hours away for a job that's almost 24/7/365. I moved to Texas from Memphis in the middle of the pandemic and by the mere nature of the job I don't get to see them often - FaceTime is a lovely thing though. The hours can be tough sometimes, but I wouldn't change that for the world because I get to be around sports and our student-athletes all day and for a former four-year college athlete, you can't ask for much more."
"Another obstacle I guess was finding my voice here at TLU, in Texas, and in the SCAC and maneuvering through these different spaces to stay true to myself and where I'm from, bringing a certain level of swag to TLU to place our student-athletes in a positive light while also trying to stay true to our institutional values and managing that thin line. Not everyone will like you or what you do, but all you can do in this role is try to place your student athletes in the best light possible."
All in all, Hayes stressed how fortunate he is to be in his current position and his appreciation for Texas Lutheran in giving him his initial opportunity in the field he loves.
"I'm blessed to be in this position here at TLU and I'm grateful everyday Coach Miller took a chance on a kid from Memphis three years ago. Since I've been here, I've had the privilege to be apart of history, being the first Black SID and administrator in TLU athletics history, hire my assistant Nick, making us one of the few staffs in the country that is completely minority ran, cover history here with Coach Patterson, Coach Johnson and Coach Bryant all bring respective firsts in their roles, and the privilege of working with our students every day. I cannot emphasize enough - I wouldn't trade it for anything."
