By Andrew Pavey
paveyand@grinnell.edu

In a cozy corner of the Charles Benson Bear ’39 Recreation and Athletic Center, Sports Information Director Ted Schultz hits the books, compiling and organizing sports statistics and reporting them for Pioneer fans around the world to enjoy. For twelve years, Schultz has been the voice of Grinnell College athletics on social media, in the press and beyond.

“There’s a lot of interest in athletics. … A third of our students are also student athletes, so [sports reporting] really makes us visible to a lot of people,” said Schultz. “To be able to continually pump out the athletics [content] is huge. We have a multi-tiered approach to that.”

It’s an approach that has evolved considerably over Schultz’s time at Grinnell. He began working at the College when Facebook and other forms of social media were in their infancy, and he was left to lug bulky computers to sports outings.

“That right there,” he said, pointing to a trolley filled with tangled wires and disorganized equipment, “contains webcasting equipment … it’s very disheveled … for both this weekend’s swim meet and basketball game. There’s no way, when I first started here, you could have fit all that equipment on that cart. I used to take two car loads of stuff out to soccer, and give myself a hernia just trying to lift that crap up.”

“I remember that when we first started, too, we’d be like ‘HD? We can’t stream in HD! We don’t have the power.’ … Then we started creating two streams, because not everybody could get an HD feed … it would buffer. It was a nightmare. Back then it was all we knew,” he said, laughing.

Schultz’s twelve-year tenure at the College is impressive, but he’s someone who is used to sticking around. An Iowa native, Schultz has lived in the state his entire life.

“When I first came here, I ended up being the third Sports Information Director in three years, so I think they were looking for a little stability,” he said. “Prior to this, I was in newspapers for a long time. I’ve been a managing editor of a weekly paper in Wilton, Iowa; I was sports editor of a few papers, including the Clinton Herald-Register.”

Schultz cited the region’s simple warmth and down-to-earth character as his reason for remaining in Iowa for his entire life.

“It’s really ‘down-home.’ … It’s a safe area to live. … The temperatures are, well, relatively good,” he said, glancing outside as snow began to drift down from the grey sky. An avid bicyclist, he has completed thirteen Ragbrai bicycle races across the state of Iowa. Schultz’s wife also teaches and coaches volleyball and track at Grinnell High School.

Aside from a personal love of sports, Schultz’s favorite part of the job is developing relationships with student athletes and workers. “I think it’s really a great way to get to know the students outside the classroom. … I’ve really gotten to earn and maintain good relationships with them. I think it’s really exciting to be able to tell a different side of things than academics,” he said.

Schultz’s personal investment in Grinnell athletes is clear — take one look at the Pioneers website, littered with flashy headlines and his dramatic game day write-ups, and you will have all the evidence you need.