A simple tweet couldn’t do justice to describe the impact that Doug Vance has had on my career. I cherish our friendship and value his support.
I had the blessing of working closely with Doug from 2015–2020 during my transformational time as a member of the CoSIDA presidential rotation, which included my term as the second African-American president of our 60-plus year organization during the 2018–19 year. It was an experience and year that I will never ever forget.
Serving the organization was one thing but working closely with Doug was a special experience. One great part about Doug is he lived in Arizona which was time zone friendly especially for me when I was up at 11 p.m. and beyond working on CoSIDA business. He always answered my calls.
Answered my emails — and believe me, there were a lot. Provided professional guidance. Dispensed wisdom about family. Shared tough answers and hard truths when needed.
Doug is one of the best people in college athletics and our profession is so much better for his servant leadership, humility, advocacy, and above all, passion. He demonstrated confidence in my ability to lead CoSIDA when I had tremendous self-doubt. He lifted my spirits when I was rejected for jobs, always assuring the right opportunity was close.
Of course, he proved to be right.
Doug was a beacon of light and picture of stability during the last decade, a tumultuous decade in which the college athletics landscape has shifted crazily with conference realignment, name, image, and likeness, and increased workloads on strategic communicators. Doug spearheaded a review of the profession, which in some cases, led to better pay and working conditions for strategic communicators.
While serving as CoSIDA president, Doug helped me prepare for tough conversations, leading meetings, and interacting with senior level athletics administrators and corporate executives. That was intimidating, but Doug’s steady hand and consistent reassurance made me feel like I could have coffee with anybody in the world.
It was an honor to work closely with Doug and get to know his family, especially his wife, Sue, who was a second executive director to me as well. We all knew this day would occur because Doug has enjoyed a fantastic career that started at Kansas. I always enjoyed listening to his Kansas stories, the good and bad, because they inspired me.
Doug has been a rock of excellence for the last 10 years in serving as the CoSIDA Executive Director. He will be missed for sure, but his legacy on our organization is secure. I had the blessing of working with Doug and I am thankful for that opportunity.
Enjoy your retirement because you deserve it. You are an amazing ambassador and great human being. Thank you for being an example of excellence to emulate.
Job well done.
