ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

The Office of Athletic Communications at St. Thomas Aquinas College serves the needs of the media, coaches, student-athletes, supporters and fans. The staff facilitates a diverse number of goals including aiding all media requests for St. Thomas Aquinas College's 22 NCAA Division II programs, varsity and club sports teams, maintaining the official Department of Athletics website STACAthletics.com, creating online and print publications including game programs and media guides in addition to maintaining biographical and historical information and stat keeping.

The Office of Athletic Communications is also responsible for implementing multimedia and social media initiatives, such as creating content for the Spartan Sports Network and managing live webcasts for STAC's home NCAA, varsity and club sports events.

St. Thomas Aquinas College welcomes your interest in the College and its athletics program. For information, photographs, and interview and credential requests, please call e-mail Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications.

 

Mailing Address

St. Thomas Aquinas College

125 Route 340

Sparkill, NY 10776

 

Brad Sarno - Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications 

Contact for All Sports

Phone: 845-398-4153

Email: bsarno@stac.edu

 

ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS POLICIES

Interview Policy

All interviews with St. Thomas Aquinas College athletes, coaches and administrators must be arranged through the Office of Athletic Communications. In order to avoid any deadline conflicts, please call at least two days in advance. After athletic contests, locker rooms are off limits. Player and Coach interviews can be conducted outside locker rooms or on the playing surface after a 10-minute cooling off period. Please note that athlete telephone numbers will not be given out under any circumstances.

 

Practices

Practice policies vary per sport, but are generally open to the media. Prior knowledge of attendance is required and appreciated.

 

Game Day Coverage

Members of the media wishing to attend a St. Thomas Aquinas College athletic contest should notify the Office of Athletic Communications at least 72 hours in advance. We will provide you with a seat in the press box at Clover Stadium, Torne Valley or the media table at Aquinas Hall, as well as internet access, power for electronic devices, and any other needs you may require. Accommodations at the Riley Family Tennis Courts, Sport-O-Rama Ice Rinks and Spartan Field are limited, but we will set you up as best as we can to fulfill your needs. We cannot guarantee that requests made less than 72 hours in advance will be handled, but will do what we can to accomodate you.

 

Photography

Only photographers that are contracted through the Department of Athletics or those with media credentials will be allowed on playing surfaces at St. Thomas Aquinas College athletic events. Photographers should remain on the sidelines and not interfere with the progress of any athletic contest. Fans are allowed to take pictures from their seats, but are not allowed on the surface of play.

Members of the media reporting on St. Thomas Aquinas College Athletics can request photos of STAC athletes or coaches by contacting Brad Sarno at 845-398-4153 or bsarno@stac.edu. In the email, please include your name, affiliation, what the photo will be used for, the size needed, color or black & white and the file format desired.

 

Video

Members of the media reporting on St. Thomas Aquinas College Athletics can request video of STAC athletes or coaches by contacting Brad Sarno at 845-398-4153 or bsarno@stac.edu. In the email, please include your name, affiliation, what the video will be used for and the file format desired.

 

Radio

Visiting Radio is always welcome at STAC. Please notify the Office of Sports Information no later than 48 hours prior to arrival. Seating will be reserved for you at any of our athletic facilities. Please note that wireless Internet is only available at Aquinas Hall Gym, Spartan Field, Riley Family Tennis Courts and Clover Stadium. Please note that portable Internet devices will be required at Sport-O-Rama Ice Rinks and Torne Valley Sports Complex, as there is no wired or wireless Internet available on site.

 

Wireless Internet Connection

Wireless Internet service is available in Aquinas Hall Gymnasium, Spartan Field, Riley Family Tennis Courts and Clover Stadium. Any media member wishing to use the wireless Internet service can connect to the STAC-wireless network. Please note that portable Internet devices will be required at Sport-O-Rama Ice Rinks and Torne Valley Sports Complex, as there is no wired or wireless Internet available on site.

 

Statistics Policy

The home Sports Information Director's (SID) statistics are the only official statistics.

Once a game is completed and statistics are sent to the away team, the conference and the media, they are official and pending any major errors, will not be changed.

Major errors are considered based upon the home SID's descretion. Video replay may be used to verify/change in-game statistical discrepancies.

At away contests, after the official statistics have been created by the home SID, they cannot be altered or changed in any way.

For any questions concerning the statistics policy, please contact the Office of Athletic Communications.

 

Pregame/Warmup Music Policy

In an effort to enhance the student‐athlete experience and provide enjoyable game day environment for those spectators in attendance, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Department of Athletics has adopted a policy regarding music that is played prior to each team’s contest. The policy/guidelines stated below are made in accordance with NCAA Game Environment guidelines for Division II contests.

Pre-game music is NOT solely for the enjoyment of the team. It is also to enhance the game day entertainment experience of those people in attendance. Student‐athletes must consider their audience when selecting music. Please use variety of music, and not just one genre.  While teams enjoy having music played prior to their games, student‐athletes also need to realize that families attend your events; often with young children. This following should be read by all student‐athletes prior to submitting any pre-game music for consideration.

With that in mind, please note the following policies: 

1. Music must be submitted on flash drive for review to Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications at 10 days prior to the start of your season. Music must be accompanied by a playlist that includes the title of each song and the artist. Teams should submit a minimum of 60 minutes of music.

2. Any changes to a team playlist must occur on a non game day. Song additions must be accompanied by a playlist that includes the title of each song and the artist.

3. CDs, Flash Drives, Phones, iPods, Laptops delivered to the scorer’s table, press box, or other areas where a sound system is located on a game day, will not be used (THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS!).

4. Any song that includes language or subject matter inappropriate for public broadcasting in a family environment will be eliminated. Inappropriate subject matter includes (but is not limited to) overt references to sex, violence, drug use, alcohol use, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. “Edited” or “clean” songs are highly recommended, but a “clean” song can still be eliminated due to inappropriate subject matter. The Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications will make the final determination on any song. If it’s questionable, please don’t include it in the screening process. 

5.  If the Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications eliminates more than three songs from a playlist, none of the songs will be used. It will be returned to the team with an explanation of the problems. The team will have an additional opportunity to submit a new playlist. If the new playlist contains more than three inappropriate tracks the team will lose the privilege of submitting pre‐game music for the remainder of the season. 

6. All music will be played off of a laptop. 

7. Music will be played in the order submitted on the playlist. Any comments directed at members of game operations staff deemed to be derogatory or deemed as excessive – i.e. – “Turn it up, change the song, play our music, etc…” will result in game operations staff taking control of ALL music played at the venue for the remainder of that day and may result in loss of all music privileges for the offending team(s). 

8. All in‐game music will be at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications.

9. Music will begin prior to a contest as listed below:

  • Baseball/softball: 90 minutes prior to game time or as close to the start of scheduled pre‐game batting practice as possible. Once infield/outfield is completed, the music selection reverts to the in-game playlist.
  • "Walk‐up” or pitching songs in baseball or softball will be allowed, but must be submitted one week before the start of the season and be deemed appropriate by the Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications.
  • Basketball: A maximum of 60 minutes prior to tip-off
  • Volleyball: A maximum of 60 minutes prior to first serve
  • Lacrosse:  A maximum of 60 minutes prior to first faceoff/draw
  • Field Hockey: A maximum of 60 minutes prior to first faceoff
  • Soccer: A maximum of 60 minutes prior to kickoff
  • Sprint Football: A maximum of 90 minutes prior to opening kickoff
  • Ice Hockey: A maximum of 60 minutes prior to opening faceoff
  • NOTE – With outdoor sports, weather conditions may dictate the elimination of music being played if deemed unsafe for equipment.  Also, please keep in mind that certain facilities are not equipped to provide any pre-game music.

10. Goal horns/songs for Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Soccer and Ice Hockey will be selected by the Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications with input from that specific team's captains. Individual player goal songs will no longer be permitted.

 

Logos

To download a file, right click on the link and select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As".

Spartan Head Logo          .jpeg          .eps          .png

Spartan Athletics Banner Logo          .jpeg          .png

 

STAC Athletics Media Distribution List

Please Email All Rosters and Game Files To:

Brad Sarno - All Sports  - bsarno@stac.edu

Nikki Philpot - All Sports - nphilpot@eccsports.org (Game Files ONLY)

 

The following is a list of media outlets that handle press coverage for St. Thomas Aquinas College Athletics.

Print

Associated Press NY

Journal News/lohud.com

Bergen Record 

 

Television

News12 Hudson Valley/Westchester