Written by: Chip Whipple – Kent State University, Assistant Director, Communications and Annual Giving, Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement (former Senior Assoc. Director of Athletic Communications at W&L)

GREENWOOD, Ind. --- College Sport Communicators honored former Director of Athletic Communications, Brian Laubscher with a Lifetime Achievement Award and will be recognized this summer at the CSC Convention in Orlando, Fla. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have served at least 25 years in the athletics communications profession who are retiring or leaving the profession. 

Laubscher transitioned to Washington and Lee University's Director of Internal Communications role in the summer of 2022. The feature below was written by long-time Associate Athletics Communications Director Chip Whipple, who now serves as the Assistant Director, Communications and Annual Giving, Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement  at Kent State. 
 

Brian Laubscher's career in athletic communications spanned parts of four decades, and even as the job changed drastically from fax machines and media guides to social media and live streaming, his work ethic, his desire for producing the best quality content and his devotion to lifting up those who worked for and around him is nearly unmatched not only in this profession but all career fields.

Laubscher learned about the business as an undergrad at Slippery Rock University when CSC Hall of Famer John Carpenter first introduced him to sports information and where he would serve as a student assistant. Following graduation, Laubscher started his career in 1995 as a graduate assistant at California University of Pennsylvania. He then spent a year as a sports media relations intern at James Madison University and another as an Athletic Communications Assistant at Lafayette College.

"Bruce Wald, former sports information director at California (Pa.), really gave me my start when I was woefully underqualified," explained Laubscher. "Without Bruce, my career never would have gotten a start."

While with the Vulcans, Laubscher worked as a part-time stringer at the Valley Independent under sports editor Brian Herman. It was here Laubscher would learn AP style and the finer points of athletics writing. Laubscher then credits Gary Michael, a former sports media relations director at James Madison, and Curt Dudley, a former assistant director at James Madison, for elevating his skills to another level.

In July of 1998, Laubscher was named the Director of Athletic Communications at Washington and Lee University, a position he would go on to hold for over 20 years. It was at W&L where Laubscher truly shined and made his mark in the profession. With a chance to run his own office, Laubscher elevated Washington and Lee's athletic communications office to one that was known for a quality of work that was admired by other schools in the conference.

"I was always impressed with the work that Brian did at Washington and Lee and the leadership he showed within the Old Dominion Athletic Conference," said Scott Musa, recently named Wilkes University Director of Athletics, and currently serves as Shenandoah University's Associate AD/Athletic Communications Director. "His office set the standard for the rest of us in the league and we are all better for it."

An office that consisted of the SID and an intern when he arrived, Laubscher's unending drive to showcase the best of what W&L student-athletes had to offer proved to the university the importance of what athletic communications could provide the campus. With Laubscher as an example of what the right resources could produce, the University elevated the intern to full-time and went on to add two more full-time positions to his staff by the time he stepped aside in 2022.

"Working in sports, we are all familiar with the term 'coaching tree' and I think the same concept can apply to college sports communicators as well," stated Laubscher. "More than anything else, I am incredibly proud of what the members of my tree have gone on to do. I'm proud that I've been able to play a small part in giving many of them a professional start and beyond that, they've turned into fantastic citizens, friends, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers."

These assistants have gone on to various careers, including heads of athletic communications offices at other universities, athletic directors, college professors and public relations professionals. Almost universally, each one would give you a variation of the same message when asked about what Laubscher has meant to them.

"Brian is a rare combination of trusted mentor and friend-turned-family," explained Austin Stair Calhoun, Saint Paul College Vice President of Advancement & Communications. "The things he cares about - his family, his work, his friends - he cares about with his whole heart. The two stints I spent working for Brian were some of the most exhausting and exciting times in my career. I would not be where I am today if I hadn't been given the opportunity to work a random baseball game in 2001. For that chance and many more, I'm grateful that I learned from a true legend."

An individual who was frequently one of the last in the building most nights, Laubscher's day-to-day changed in 2008 when he met his future wife, Mindy. His first son Parker was born in 2011 and they completed their family when son Preston followed two years later.

After spending over a decade juggling his career and family responsibilities and more than 25 years in athletic communications, Laubscher made the decision to step away from the only profession he'd ever known, accepting the role of director of internal communications at W&L in the summer of 2022.

"My sons are now 11 and 9 years old, both are extremely active in sports and other activities, and I was keenly aware of how much I couldn't attend," said Laubscher. "Because of this fact, I chose my family over my career. I now get to see all of my sons' events (yes, games included) and I've even been doing some coaching too. I knew I couldn't get this time back and I didn't want to look back with regret."

In my near decade working side by side at Washington and Lee with Laubs, as he was affectionately known by most of his closest colleagues and friends, I witnessed an individual that consistently sacrificed his own personal well-being for his family and the student-athletes at W&L.

I'm positive many who worked with him will have a different core memory of what they remember when thinking of Laubscher. Whether it be late nights in a shared office of the Warner Center, COSIDA/CSC conventions, ODAC Tournaments, his booming voice echoing through Lexington letting everyone in Rockbridge County know there are only two minutes remaining in a men's lacrosse game.

Or, maybe we'll all just think of a man who cared more about the people he worked with and the quality of the work produced than any attention, honors or accolades he could ever receive.

While it is easy to understand the reasons for why Laubscher decided to step away from the profession, those of us who know him best realize the athletic communications world is not quite the same without him.

"Brian is a dear friend and colleague," said Richie Waggoner, Hollins Director of Athletic Communications. "He is truly elite in the field and a shining example of what athletic communications is all about. He will be sorely missed in this ever-changing and growing profession, and we should all take note of not only his abilities and professionalism but his dedication to his family and friends which makes Brian one of a kind. Love you brother!"