Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com
By: Ana Kieu
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Longtime San Jose State University Athletics Media Relations Director Lawrence Fan has been promoted to Associate Athletics Director for Football Communications and Special Projects, per Director of Athletics Marie Tuite.
“During my time at San Jose State, Lawrence has become an integral part of my team and is the person I turn to often for guidance and advice. I look forward to working with him, not only during the football season, but working directly with him on special projects and initiatives that will move our athletics program forward,” said Tuite. “In addition, he will continue his day-to-day interaction with our student-athletes who admire and value their relationship with him.”
In his new role, Fan will coordinate and oversee all San Jose State football media relations, including interacting with all local, regional and national media members who cover Spartan football. He will also work on special projects for the department and serve as historian for all relevant projects.
“Thank you to Marie Tuite for the opportunity to venture into new frontiers for San Jose State University Athletics,” said Fan. “In the big picture, what is best for San Jose State University, its athletics department, and those with any connection to the program? Information is collected, shared and archived in a much more dynamic, social and digital way today. The San Jose State’s athletics media relations area is growing. This move is a positive and the right step for all that follow, support, and are interested in the program.”
Fan has been an integral part of the Spartan Athletics Department since the Fall of 1980. He has served the Bay Area media in many capacities, including arranging interviews for all Spartan athletes as well as the spokesman for San Jose State Athletics. He has been the primary contact for football and men’s basketball as well as many of the other Spartan sports during his tenure. He coordinated the Heisman Trophy campaign for former Spartan quarterback Mike Perez during the 1987 season. He also coordinated all publicity for the three women’s golf NCAA Championships (1987, 1989, 1992). He handled all the publicity for the 1996 men’s basketball team that won the Big West Tournament and played top-seeded Kentucky in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Respected and revered around the country, Fan has received a long list of awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He received the 2017 President’s Award at the annual convention. In 2012, he was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame. That same year, he received the prestigious Arch Ward Award that goes to a CoSIDA member who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of college sports information, and who by his or her activities, has brought dignity and prestige to the profession. In 2013, he was honored with the Trailblazer Award, presented annually to an individual who is a pioneer in the profession and who has mentored and helped improve the level of ethnic and gender diversity within CoSIDA.
Fan is a founder of the Job Seekers Committee for CoSIDA and served as the chair from 1994-2017. With the assistance of a diverse group of committee members, he organized and managed job fair activities at the annual convention. He started and managed what’s now the CoSIDA Career Center email blast about job vacancies and movement within the profession.
In his 39th year at San Jose State, Fan has served the Bay Area media in many capacities and is the spokesman for the Athletics Department. He currently handles the publicity efforts for the Spartan football, men’s golf, track and field, women’s water polo and women’s tennis teams. Fan, know for his “Fan Cake,” has also been the men’s basketball and women’s golf team contacts during his tenure, traveling to national tournaments and championships with the teams.
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