Interview with SXU Sports Information Director Rob Huizenga

By Mark Siefert

For any of you who had the opportunity to go to the Claddaugh Foundation's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament this past weekend, I'm sure you had the joy to see some truly amazing things. Here are some pictures taken for those of you who didn't have a chance to go. Rumor has it that somewhere between 300 and 400 people were in attendance, which is just truly awesome.

This week I am going back to my old style, and am going to share my interview with one of the most important people in the SXU Athletic Department. Rob Huizenga is the backbone of the Sports Information Department here. Never mind, he’s the whole skeleton. He’s the lone solider of a one man show, covering all 13 teams and producing so much more sports information than many other NAIA schools.

MS: So Rob, what is your official title here at SXU? Most everyone calls you the stat guy or some other term.

RH: (chuckles) My official title here at SXU is Sports Information Director, but that really encompasses a lot from stats to a whole range of topics, and some that just pop up day to day.

MS: What is your degree in?

RH: I have a Masters degree in Sports Management from ISU and I have two bachelors; one on Psychology and one in Sociology-Anthropology.

MS: What is your previous experience prior to SXU?

RH: I was a graduate assistant at ISU for 2 years, and I was a student assistant at Knox College during my time there.

MS: Discuss some of your daily roles and tasks here at SXU.

RH: There is a laundry list of tasks that occur here on a day to day basis but not all happen everyday. One daily task is keeping all of the SXU athletics websites up to date with all the happenings from the past day. Next is designing and editing each of the sports team’s media guides, which starts taking place months before they are released. Third, I am the head statistician for each team. Lastly, I am the chief liaison between SXU sports and the media.

MS: What was your proudest achievement at SXU?

RH: My top three crowning achievements are the front page tribune article this past winter, interviewing Luke Gregorson at Wrigley Field when the Padres were visiting the Cubs this past summer, and finally nominating former SXU softball player Sam Eyman for the National Student Athlete Giant Steps for Female Courageous Student Award, where Sam won the award and met the likes of some very famous people.

(Mark’s note: For those of you who don't know, Sam was a special talent here at SXU,where she played softball with only one arm.)

MS: What one thing would you like to tell SXU athletes?

RH: First off, thank you. You make coming to work fun each day; I've worked at bigger schools where you barely know the athletes. Here I've had the opportunity to build a personal relationship with most players, the ability to see each athlete progress through their careers, and to feel as part of each team knowing the day to day activities.

Thanks to Rob for sitting down with me, and I'm sure all student athletes would like to say thank you as well for all you do for them.

Stay Classy, Cougars!

Mark Siefert is a senior social science major from Crest Hill. He is a member of the baseball team. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.