LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) was well-represented at the 2025 Midwest Division III (MDIII) Athletic Communicators Workshop earlier this week.
Eleven communications professionals from the MIAC were among the more than 60 participants at the professional development event, which was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on July 27-29. The MIAC contingent was joined by conference and institution colleagues from the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), the Midwest Conference, the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC), the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
The MIAC and UMAC co-hosted the first-ever MDIII Athletic Communicators Workshop at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in 2015 as a way to provide a regional, cost-effective, and Division III-specific professional development opportunity for sports information directors to connect with nearby colleagues, share best practices, and discuss issues of interest and importance to the profession. Wisconsin Lutheran College (NACC) hosted the second MDIII Athletic Communicators Workshop in 2018.
This year’s event featured a day-and-a-half of educational programming. Among the topics discussed were video streaming, coach and conference relations, social media strategies, traditional media engagement, and statistics best practices, along with other items. Communications professionals from around the region shared their expertise as panelists for the event, with the list of presenters including the MIAC’s Don Stoner (Augsburg), Matt McLagan (Macalester), Dan Genzler (Saint Benedict), Jacob Oyler (St. Scholastica), and BJ Pickard (MIAC Office).
Other notable speakers included Kwik Trip VP of External Relations, John McHugh; College Sports Communicators Associate Executive Director, Will Roleson; Mayo Clinic Health System physician, Dr. Andrew Jagim; and former Minnesota Star Tribune digital sports editor and current Macalester College senior instructor, Howard Sinker. Representatives from Hudl, Genius Sports, Sidearm Sports, and Fanword also provided presentations and sponsorship throughout the event.
The MIAC would like to thank the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the Radisson Hotel La Crosse for their hospitality in hosting, and extends particular appreciation to David Johnson, Eric Kunick, and Keara Chaperon of UW-La Crosse Athletics, as well as Adam Heinzen of Wisconsin Lutheran College, for their efforts in planning and organizing the seven-conference event.