CoSIDA E-Digest March 2013 • 1

3. You’re the president of the D2SIDA. What has
the organization been working on and what’s on the
horizon for Division II SIDs?
The main focus is to continue to push for our Strategic
Communicators Document, which the Chancellors/
Presidents and ADs approved, to become a reality for all
schools that operate with one person (such as myself).
Former D2SIDA President Rich Herman, NCAA Division
II Vice President Mike Racy and others worked hard on
this model and it needs to be more than just a document
on someone’s desk gathering dust without taking any
action at some point in the very near future. Many of us are
overwhelmed and asked to do things that have nothing to
do with our job description. With overlapping seasons, it is
difficult at best to manage an office, especially if you’re a
one-person shop. We also need to be better compensated
for what we do. We understand that working evenings,
weekends and holidays are the nature of college athletics.
However, we work far more than 40 hours per work and
need to be compensated like some head coaches, in my
opinion.
4. We’re having a hard time finding people who
understand how you can manage to be a full-time SID
and still serve as a college and high school basketball
official. Don’t you receive enough abuse as an SID?
It’s really not difficult at all. I’ve been really blessed to work
under athletic directors who understand that both can be
managed. As long as I fulfill my responsibilities in terms
of sports information first, all is well. Gone are the days
where we (SIDs) have to travel to every game, thanks to
the age of technology. As for why I continue to serve as a
basketball official … it’s my therapy, as I like to call it, plus
I’m a basketball junkie. Blowing that whistle allows me to
blow off any frustration I may have, which I’m sure you’ll
agree can be a lot. In terms of (verbal) abuse from coaches
and fans, I never take it personal and really don’t care who
wins or loses a game. My goal is to work the game without
injury to any player, my partners or myself and to get home
safely.
5. What do you like best about being at Bowie State?
I like Bowie State because I’m back home in the
Washington, D.C. area and because I work with an
outstanding athletic director. Sports information can be
a tough profession but our department is so laid back,
everyone is left alone to do their respective jobs and we are
not being micro-managed.
CoSIDA
Jay Monsen, long-time
Sports Information
Director at his alma
mater Brigham Young
University, passed away
on February 10 after
battling cancer.
CoSIDA E-Digest March 2013 • 54
Former BYU Sports
Information Director and
Hall of Famer
JAY MONSEN
Passes Away
From 1972 to 1984
he worked for BYU
Broadcast Services
and became the “Voice
of Cougar Sports”
for KBYU and also
served as the KBYU Radio/TV News Director and later
as Assistant Director of Broadcast Services. His career
at BYU continued when he joined the athletic department
as the Electronic Media Relations Director in 1984 and
remained with the Sports Information Office until his
retirement in 1998.
Prior to arriving at BYU, he was the press secretary for
Utah Congressman Gunn McKay for two years. Jay also
worked at KSUB Radio in Cedar City, where he was the
news and sports director and the play-by-play announcer
for high school and Southern Utah University sports. In
1971 he received the Sports Magazine Service Award
for developing and helping with the growth of athletics in
Southern Utah.
In 1999, Monsen received a “25-Year Service Award” from
CoSIDA in recognition of his quarter-century of service in
sports communications. In 2010, Monsen was enshrined
into two Hall of Fames - the BYU Hall of Fame and the
Utah Sports Hall of Fame.
Monsen is survived by seven children, 36 grandchildren
and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife of 55 years, Lauretta
Young Monsen, preceeded him in death.