Beretta Father-Daughter Duo: Insights on College Sports Comms, Leadership | CSC Voices, Beyond the Scoreboard

Beyond the Scoreboard Podcast with the Father-Daughter Duo of Bob Beretta (St. Bonaventure) and Julia Beretta (Penn State)

Host: Trip Durham, Founder, 2D Consulting, LLC

In this episode of the Beyond the Scoreboard podcast, host Trip Durham sits down with a father-daughter duo currently working in NCAA Division I athletics: Bob Beretta, a CSC Hall of Fame inductee in 2020 who has his roots in athletic communications/sports information and is now the St. Bonaventure University Vice President and Director of Athletics, and his daughter, Julia, a rising athletic communications leader currently in her third year as Penn State’s assistant director for strategic communications. As an undergraduate at Sacred Heart University (in Connecticut), Julia was a varsity cross country/track and field student-athlete and was a two-time captain of the Sacred Heart club softball team.

In this in-depth conversation, they discuss their careers in college athletics, today’s challenges, the importance of storytelling, and so much more. Julia, inspired by both of her parents, pursued a career in the field after internships at Syracuse and Penn State. Bob emphasizes the importance of storytelling and adapting to new media platforms. Both highlight the value of hard work, building relationships, and being present in their roles. They also discuss the challenges and opportunities in college sports, including the impact of social media and the evolving landscape of athletic communications.

In this podcast, you will hear about:

• Julia's journey as a college student-athlete moving into a college athletics communications career, and when and how she was inspired to pursue this career (after attending an Army-Navy game with her dad)
• Bob’s perspective on Julia’s career choice, and, as AD, he shares the importance and value of athletic communications 
• both then discuss the influence and power of social media, the generational differences in social media use, and what platforms play an important role in telling your organization’s stories today
• both discuss the role - and misconceptions - of athletic communications today
• a discussion on mentoring and career development
• the challenges, opportunities and optimism in college sports today; Bob expresses concerns about the seismic shifts in college sports; Julia talks about the increased awareness and interest in women’s sports, and both agree on the importance of preserving the student-athlete experience and the role of athletic communications in telling compelling stories
• in their final reflections, Julie asks her father about the one thing Bob wishes he knew at her age or what advice he would give her now, and his advice to be present where she is, work hard, and build strong relationships, emphasizing that opportunities will arise if she focuses on her daily efforts, is applicable for all in the industry;  Julia shares her "why" for working in athletic communications, highlighting the critical importance of building relationships