I Am UAA: Nate Sagan, UAA Sports Information Director

B.A. Journalism and Public Communications '97
Hometown: Kansas City
Fun Fact: Nate's wife Christine is also a UAA grad ('01 B.S., Nursing; '07, M.S.N, Family Nurse Practitioner)

As UAA's Sports Information Director, Nate Sagan gets the best of both worlds. He's blended two of his strongest passions into one long-lasting career--sports and journalism. Now in his 13th season at UAA, Nate remembers how his affection for sports began.

Nate's interest in athletics was sparked at a young age where he grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence, he explained, was a town with an affinity for college basketball. "I was an avid sports fan, especially of college basketball. It was engrained in me as a young child," Nate said. "I'd always dreamt of one day becoming affiliated with a college basketball program."

In 1989, at age 16, Nate moved to Anchorage where his mother held a position at UAA. "Anchorage was amidst a three-week, subzero cold snap when I moved up here. The cold was a big adjustment for me," he said.

It was his sophomore year when Nate began attending East High School. He remembers his move to Alaska as exciting. "I was a little apprehensive at first, but it was a new adventure for me so I was pretty thrilled."

It wasn't until his junior year at East that Nate would discover another one of his passions. He took a journalism class where he wrote for the high school newspaper, Rolling Thunder. He immediately recognized he had a knack for writing and by his senior year he became the editor.

The summer before his freshman year at the University of Oregon, Nate worked for the Anchorage Times gaining early experience in journalism and copy editing. "At 18, I was getting bylines, and of course I was writing about sports."

While at the University of Oregon, Nate worked in the sports information department. "It was great getting experience in a Division I college athletics department," he said. But it didn't take long to realize the opportunity that awaited at UAA. "My mother worked at UAA, so I was eligible for a tuition waiver. I realized I could still get a quality education here, so I transferred home."

Nate moved back to Anchorage and began attending UAA. As a journalism and public communications major, he found a kinship while working in University Advancement, aiding with UAA's public relations office. After a year with Advancement, Nate moved to the Anchorage Daily News, where he worked as a freelance writer and full-time copy editor.

Nate graduated from UAA in 1997 and went to work as an intern for the University of California Berkeley. In 1999, he heard of an opening at UAA in the sports information office. "When I saw there was an opening at UAA, I jumped on it. There's something different and amazing about working for your alma mater. There's some pride there because you're not only cheering for the university's teams where you work, but also as an alumnus."

After all of his public relations and journalism experience at different universities, it seems fitting that Nate got the job as UAA's sports information director (SID).

Today Nate is the go-to guy for all of your Seawolf sports questions, details and stats. Along with assistant SID Dallas Baldwin - a Kenai native - he is responsible for stories and content on Athletics' GoSeawolves.com website.

Through his years at UAA, Nate's passion for college athletics has grown; Nate's amazed at how fascinated he's become with sports he never followed before. "I enjoy all sports, and there are quite a few sports that I've been impressed with learning about over time. For example, gymnastics was surprising for me once I saw the athleticism it takes to pull off those moves. It's incredible."

Although it looks like Nate has a good gig, he said it can be challenging and emotionally difficult at times. "You have to deal with controversial issues sometimes," he said. "And I wish I could say I take every win and loss in stride, but sometimes it's tougher than if I were just a fan."

As for the last couple of years, and especially the 2010-11 season, UAA Athletics has been seeing more wins than losses. "UAA's athletics program has become a lot more successful over the past few seasons and I've seen significant growth," Nate said. "Going to three basketball 'Elite Eights' in two years was an experience I'll never forget. It's also been fun to witness up close the growing success of our volleyball and track & field programs."

Though Nate admits losing maybe tough, he believes it is part of competition. "Losing is hard, but it makes winning that much sweeter."