AUBURN, Ala. – In a career that spans nearly 40 college football seasons, Shelly Poe has fielded thousands of calls from reporters, producers and broadcasters, and promoted hundreds of student-athletes for awards.
This time, Poe wasn't promoting others for an award. She was the recipient.
Football Writers Association of America executive director Steve Richardson called to congratulate Poe on receiving the association's 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, the first woman to be so honored.
The award goes to a FWAA member or someone close to the organization who has contributed greatly to either college football, the writing profession or the FWAA during his or her career. The fourth recipient in the sports information field, Poe is considered a trailblazer as a female football SID.
"A great honor," said Poe, Auburn's assistant athletic director for communications. "It's nice for an SID to get recognized because it shows there are people out there who depend on our work and appreciate what we're able to contribute. That's always good when people find value in our role."
Poe's profession has undergone several name changes during her career, from sports information to media relations to athletics communications. The role continuously evolves, but at its core, it involves promoting student-athletes and helping media members accurately tell their stories.
At Auburn, as in her previous positions at West Virginia and Ohio State, Poe prioritizes helping students learn the profession.
"Being on a campus, we have a great opportunity to bring new people into a profession that we've gotten great value out of," she said. "We've introduced a lot of kids to this, and they've gone on to do great in other things. They still learned work ethic, time management, responsibility and dependability: skills that are important for a productive life."
At Ohio State in 2007, Poe mentored a graduate student named Kendra Willard, who now works across the hall from Poe at Auburn.
"Shelly has been a wonderful colleague, mentor and friend to me," said Willard, an associate director who works with Poe on Auburn football communications, along with equestrian and gymnastics. "At Ohio State, I had the privilege to watch her handle herself with professionalism, excellence and poise in a world dominated by men.
"I'm so thankful that our paths once again crossed at Auburn. My career wouldn't be the same without her encouragement and support and I'm so thankful for the hours spent not only mentoring me in this business, but many the other women who look up to her. She's a valuable colleague and even more a treasured friend."
In March, Poe will celebrate her 10th anniversary at Auburn, a decade in the SEC after earlier career stops at West Virginia as an independent and Big East member, and in the Big Ten at Ohio State.
"The SEC is very different," she said. "The resources, emotions and the constant, year-round scope of it. It's very magnified. So many great people in our profession are in the SEC. It's been neat to get to know them better as colleagues."
A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, Poe sees similarities between her hometown and her home on the Plains.
"It has that same homey feel to me," she said. "It's not just a slogan. There is a family spirit about Auburn, and that's been good.
"The people who work in Athletics, people on campus, and certainly the student-athletes, we just have really great people.
"To borrow from my Ohio State days, Woody Hayes said, 'You win with people,' and he was exactly right. The day you forget that is the day you go downhill. And Auburn has great people. That's what's going to set us apart."
In its release, the FWAA noted that Poe was the only female head SID at a Division I football school when she was named West Virginia's (her alma mater) in 1988 after holding an assistant's post at the same school for three years. She also was the youngest Division I head SID at that time at 23 years of age.
"I was very fortunate to have been one of the first women to make a career in football, and I was able to do that because a number of smart, tough, persistent women paved the way for those my age to choose the career path," Poe told the FWAA. "There were often challenges and resistance, but I quickly learned that the winners in athletics judged people based on how their talents can benefit the program.
"I worked hard to gain that trust and advocates stepped up from the most surprising quarters whenever biases made things difficult. Along the way, I've built so many lifelong relationships with friends who were first introduced to me as players, coaches, co-workers and media colleagues, and that is the real dividend."
"Shelly has been a staple in the college sports information field for more than three decades," said Richardson, the FWAA's leader. "It is one thing to have longevity in the field, but she has been a strong advocate for the media among her peers and those she has worked for at three FBS institutions. She also has been a tireless worker for CoSIDA."
Besides her tenure at Auburn for the past decade, Poe also was director of football communications at Ohio State from 2007-12 following 20 years at West Virginia. An ex-officio member of the FWAA Board from 2013-18, Poe is a 2006 member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame, the 2013-14 CoSIDA President, the recipient of the 2012 CoSIDA Trailblazer Award and she was part of a CoSIDA-FWAA task force to determine media services adjustments at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in the summer of 2020.
"I was blessed to work for many years for one of the finest gentlemen ever in this game, Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen, who would do an extra interview or make time for a guest, 'because I think it's good for the game,'" Poe recalled in the FWAA announcement. "Those words have been a standard for me, and I hope I've made the game better by assisting so many talented people in telling its stories.
"My best friend, the late coach Dave Adolph, was known for asking, 'Do you love football?' I do love it, and I love the positive impact it's had on so many lives, especially mine."
The FWAA started naming a Lifetime Achievement Award winner nearly a decade ago. Art Spander of the San Francisco Examiner was the first recipient in 2013, followed by Bill Little (University of Texas) in 2014, Irv Moss (Denver Post) in 2015, OK (Buddy) Davis (Ruston Daily Leader) in 2016, Mike Finn (ACC) in 2017, Dave Plati (University of Colorado) in 2018, Wright Waters (Football Bowl Association) and Paul Hoolahan (Sugar Bowl) in 2019 and Sid Hartman (Minneapolis Star Tribune) posthumously in 2020.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and game day operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer