ORLANDO, Fla. - Carol R. Hudson, Jr., has been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Hudson, who will retire from Old Dominion University at the end of June, was honored by CoSIDA at its annual convention on June 17 for his body of work, spanning 31 years as assistant athletic director and sports information director.
Hudson has been a virtual fixture at ODU for over 43 years, beginning as a student manager for the Monarchs' baseball and basketball teams from 1972-76. He was a graduate intern in the sports information office under the late Joe Law, the university's first full-time SID from 1976-78. As the SID, he has served as the primary media liaison for men's basketball, men's soccer, men's and women's golf and baseball, while providing oversight and leadership for the public relations needs of all 18 intercollegiate sports.
"ODU will forever be indebted to Carol Hudson and his tireless work and commitment on behalf of thousands of ODU coaches, student-athletes, and teams these last four decades," says Selig. "Carol is the gold standard by which other media relations directors will be measured in the future. A distinguished CoSIDA Hall of Fame member, Carol leaves a legacy that few within the industry are fortunate enough to establish over their professional careers."
Hudson was named Sports Information Director at ODU in 1984 following a three-year stint as SID at Hampton University, and promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in 2011. He was enshrined in the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2010, and recognized with a Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia SID (VaSID) organization in 2013. That same year, the media room in the Ted Constant Convocation Center was named in his honor.
"You can't stay some place as long as "Huddy" and not have a few stories enhance your legacy," says Debbie White, Sr. Associate A.D at ODU and Hudson's colleague for the past 31 years. "Carol moved slowly to the technology age, still utilizing a Smith Corona typewriter in his office.
"You knew you were special when you received a typed yellow sticky pad note from Huddy," White adds. "Just how he got those things to fit in that typewriter, none of us will ever know."
He was a member of the CoSIDA board of directors for six years, and played a key role in the start-up of the Virginia SID organization, twice serving as president. Under the umbrella of VaSID, Carol has coordinated the annual Virginia Division I institution all sport competition for the past 31 years, which recognizes the state university with the highest win-loss percentage. Thanks to Carol's diligence, the all-sport winner is now recognized annually by the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Hudson served twice as the president of the Black College Sports Information Directors. He chairs the CoSIDA Scholarship Committee and was recognized for 25 years of service by COSIDA in 2009. A member of the ODU Sports Hall of Fame Committee, Carol has also been active with the department's Monarch Reach Out community service program.
"The coaches and student-athletes at Old Dominion have reaped the most benefit from Carol's dedication to service over the years," says White.
"His love and loyalty for ODU goes way beyond his work description. Whether he was pitching feature stories on player accomplishments or coaching milestones, tallying stats, breaking news stories, or driving coaches and athletes to speaking engagements throughout Hampton Roads, Carol has been the quiet advocate in the background, always promoting and publicizing ODU."
Hudson, in a recent Q&A with ODUAlumni.org discussing his time at ODU and his impending retirement, was asked his advice for current students or young professionals who want to pursue a career in communications and/or athletics.
"Of course networking and communicating with people, having good communication skills, is important," Hudson noted. "Having good writing skills is also important. The main thing is having a passion for it. The job requires long hours and a lot of work, so having a passion for what you do is important."
Hudson also talked about what he considered his proudest moments in a long illustrious career and what he planned to do in retirement.
"I feel very fortunate that I was able to work at my alma mater and that I've had the opportunity to work with outstanding people every day," he said. "And, working with students keeps you young. In retirement, I plan to relax! I will be staying in the area and plan to attend a lot of games."