Sporting events can create memories that will last a lifetime and statistics that last until they are broken. At Anderson University, Sports Information Director (SID) Aaron Schneider is in charge of taking those stats and helping to preserve that memory. Schneider started as the sports information director at Anderson in Feb. 2019.
Aaron Schneider graduated from Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois in 2015 with a major in mathematics.
While he was a junior in college, Schneider started working in sports information. He said that it gave him the opportunity to work with sports and numbers which are two things that he loved in a composite setting.
As a junior in college, Schneider was a volunteer manager for the track and field team and a super fan of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams on campus.
“I have been known to paint my face for a basketball game,” said Schneider.
Due to his avid fandom, after the women’s basketball season concluded during Schneider’s junior year, the future captains of the women’s basketball team got everyone on board for Schneider to become the manager of the team for Schneider’s senior year of school.
“Working with our SID during that season is what introduced me to the world of sports information,” said Schneider.
However, being an SID isn’t just watching the games and putting in stats.
“There are many components to the job,” said Schneider.
The gameday side of the job includes adding the statistical elements during the game, being in charge of the video broadcast and making sure that there is a trained crew that mostly consists of students to help run the clock and make sure that everything is operating properly.
Postgame, Schneider has to make sure that he sends the stats to the Anderson University Athletics website, the conference website and the NCAA database. On days there are visiting contests for the Ravens, Schneider has to make sure that he gets the stats from the home team’s SID so that he can enter in everything where it needs to be.
In addition to putting in stats after games, Schneider is in charge of writing the press releases for each team on campus and making the postgame graphics that are posted on the social media accounts for the school. These press releases include the final score, the impact players of the game for the Ravens, any interesting stats and possibly even a short quote from the Raven head coach.
Schneider said that his favorite part of being the sports information director at Anderson is “getting to work with the great coaches and people in the department everyday.” He also said that working as the SID at Anderson University has become his dream job.
“I like being able to work with so many sports on a regular basis,” said Schneider.
Schneider enjoys the more personal and tight knit aspect of Anderson that he would not necessarily experience if he was at a big school.
“One of my most favorite memories so far in my time at AU was the first season we had lacrosse,” said Schneider. “I remember when our women’s team was shoveling the field before the game with their lacrosse sticks with the help of another first year program in Bethany.” Schneider said that game sticks out to him because of the time and effort both teams put in to get to play the game.
Schneider expressed that Anderson University has allowed him to grow in his profession, and that he has truly enjoyed his time here.
Said Schneider: “I think that the longevity of me staying here would do more than me trying to go to a bigger school and do less.”