With the new year came a new hire for the Covenant College Athletic Department as we welcome new Sports Information Director (SID) Nate Swanson.
Swanson grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When searching for a college he said he “wanted a small Christian college,” and he eventually decided Covenant was the place God was calling him to. Swanson majored in accounting and lived in Andreas during his time at Covenant; he said his experience on the mountain was “the best four years of my life.”
During his time as an undergraduate at Covenant, Swanson worked extensively with the athletic department in gameday broadcasting and other behind the scenes work. These experiences prepared him for his current position as Covenant’s Sports Information Director. When Swanson discovered that the SID job had come open, he said it was, “an easy decision … this place has poured into me and I want to pour back into it.”
For those that may not know, the SID is the head of Athletic Communications. The SID, as Nate Swanson put it, is “The bridge between the public and athletic departments.” It is responsible for gameday operations, social media, stat tracking and managing game broadcasts as well. The SID is responsible for many of the behind-the-scenes things that go on in the athletic department.
Many people might not realize that Athletic Communications is a career path that is available, “A lot of people don’t know this job exists because we’re so behind the scenes,” said Swanson. His advice for anyone interested in this kind of career, “Get involved in working in it … find someone in the industry to mentor you .… If you love stats, and what goes on behind the scenes, this job is worth looking at.”
Swanson is looking forward to working with the athletic community on the mountain, when asked about which events he’s looking forward to working he responded, “All of them … I would love to go to a track meet. I’m also excited to finish up basketball season and get started with baseball and softball season.”
Covenant is blessed to have staff who are passionate about their line of work. Swanson is just one example of the incredible members of our athletic department. Whenever you see a gameday post on social media or are looking up a friend’s stats on the athletic department website be sure to remember the behind the scenes work that Swanson and many others are doing to bring an amazing athletics experience to Covenant College.