Longtime Western Kentucky University Sports Information Director Paul Just will be among seven people inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame this summer.
Among those joining him will be , Senior Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations at the University of Louisville Kenny Klein.
Just and Klein will be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame on June 15 in Orlando, Fla., as part of the annual convention. The CoSIDA Hall of Fame honor is presented to members of the organization who have made outstanding contributions to the field of college athletic communications. The vote was done by more than 70 CoSIDA Hall of Famers.
"It is a tremendous honor to be selected by your peers in this manner,” Just said. "To say I was shocked when I got the call is certainly an understatement. I was fortunate to find this very special place to spend my professional life. Needless to say, like virtually everything related to college athletics, this sort of recognition is a ‘team award.’ I have been lucky to have worked with wonderful university and athletic administrators, great coaches and literally thousands of individuals who have worn the red and white. Add to that scores of outstanding students, graduate assistants, interns and staffers in sports information. And, our great fans and media representatives!"
“Paul Just has been a truly important piece of the fabric of WKU Athletics and Western Kentucky University as a whole,” WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said. “His dedication to our student-athletes, coaches and teams throughout his 50 years on The Hill is something to be admired, and I know how much his passion and efforts have meant to those he has impacted. He is a wealth of knowledge about all things Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers, and he uses that knowledge to bring a little piece of WKU to everyone he encounters. WKU Athletics is better because of the numerous contributions of Paul Just, and I am thrilled that he is being honored in this most prestigious way."
Since 1966, Just has been involved in sports information and media relations at WKU, including working as Sports Information Director from 1978 until 2002. Even after stepping away from full-time duties in 2002, Just has remained active in the WKU Athletic Department, working part-time in the athletic media relations office and serving on the Board of Directors for the Alumni W-Club.
Just has helped promote the accomplishments of thousands of WKU student-athletes, coaches and staff members during his career and has been on the on the scene for numerous historic moments in Hilltopper and Lady Topper history.
Countless professionals in the field have learned and studied under Just's guidance through the years, and many of his protégés have gone on to leadership positions in athletic departments around the nation.
A wealth of university and athletic department knowledge, Just has spearheaded many projects, including the new "Hilltopper Halls of History" exhibit on the Ed Stansbury Concourse in E.A. Diddle Arena. (Brent Price worked closely with him on this project.)
The media room in E.A. Diddle Arena was christened the Paul Just Media Center in his honor during WKU’s “50 Seasons of Diddle Arena” celebration in the 2012-13 basketball season.
A native of Louisville, Just grew up in nearby Greenville. He earned his bachelors degree from WKU in 1969 and added a masters in 1972.
Just’s mentor and predecessor in the SID position at WKU, Ed Given, was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1998.
Joining Just and Klein as members of the 2015 Hall of Fame class are Larry Dougherty, CoSIDA past president and Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications at Temple University; Anne Abicht, Sports Information Director at St. Cloud State University; Bob Nygaard, Sports Information Director at University of Minnesota Duluth; and Sheila Stevenson, Sports Information Director at Rowan University.
George Gallet, the late and former longtime Director of Sports Information at the University of Miami, was selected as a member of the 2015 Hall of Fame class by the Veterans Selection Committee.
CoSIDA is comprised of more than 3,100 intercollegiate athletic communications and media relations professionals from colleges, universities and athletic conferences at all divisions of competition in the United States and Canada.