Ventura keeps BSC athletics accesible

You probably don't know his name. He isn't the Athletic Director and he doesn't coach a team. He doesn't host on-campus rallies, and if you saw him walking around campus, you might confuse him for a student.

He's Jeff Ventura, assistant director of Athletics and Sports Information, and he plays a key role in the Buffalo State athletics experience.

Ventura played hockey for the Bengals from 1996-99 and was a three-time SUNYAC All-American Team honoree. When he graduated from Buffalo State in 1999 with a bachelor's in public communication, Ventura wasn't quite sure what career he wanted to get into.

"I knew I loved writing and I loved sports," he said, "but I didn't want to be a sports journalist. I originally wanted to be the director of public relations for the Buffalo Sabres, before I discovered the field of college sports information during my junior year."

After his college career ended, Ventura worked in multiple jobs to get himself acclimated to his future career. He worked as a statistician for ESPN during the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals and for the NCAA Frozen Four, and volunteered as a press row steward for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball First Round Regional.

Ventura didn't stop there, continuing to fill his resume by serving as the director of media for the 2001 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships and was also an intern with the Buffalo Wings Professional Roller Hockey Organization.

Each of these different stops helped Ventura build much-needed experience for his career.

"Working NHL and NCAA games for ESPN was a great experience," he said. "To see how the media works on such a huge production from the inside was an opportunity that not many people get to experience. But all of the other places I've worked with were just as valuable in shaping not just my resume, but also my experiences and network."

Ventura said he believes that the experience of being a student-athlete helped to prepare him for his career.

"I think being a student-athlete helps you prepare for so many things to come in life,"Ventura said. "Most notable are the time-management skills and the lessons that you learn by working as a team. It has also helped because it enables me to relate directly to our current student-athletes, because I was in their shoes and I understand their challenges."

Meg Stevens, assistant director of Athletics and Student Services, agreed.

"Jeff's very student-friendly," she said. "Because he's been an athlete here before, it helps him to have a great rapport with students and he's very helpful with compliance."

As Sports Information director, Ventura's job doesn't just consist of keeping track of statistics and creating game programs. His job is multi-faceted.

"Jeff is critical to the overall operations of the Athletics Department and to the entire campus,"Senior Associate Director of Athletics Tom Koller said.

"He is our chief publicist, our liaison to the media and handles all press releases of our student-athletes and programs, Koller said. "He is also the custodian of the athletics website and serves as our compliance officer with the NCAA."

One of Ventura's best qualities is being able to design things such as media guide covers. His media guide covers for Buffalo State Athletics have been recognized as "Best in the Nation"three times by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), of which he is a member.

Those who have worked with Ventura believe that he is very competent at his job.

"What really sticks out is that Jeff has a ton of commitment," Stevens said. "He's constantly writing stories for game programs, whether he's in the office or at home. He always feels like he has to put out the highest quality work to represent Buff State."

Koller concurred.

"Ventura has many good attributes. He's organized, efficient, accessible, intelligent and very knowledgeable,"Koller said.

Ventura had encouraging words for anyone who wants to get into the sports information field.

"It's a great, but highly competitive field. Take every opportunity to get involved and meet as many people as you can. You just never know what doors a little initiative might open for you,"Ventura said.

• Tony Fiorello can be reached at fiorello.record@live.com.