Editor’s Note: Jason Corriher, 40, is the assistant athletics director for media relations at Marshall University. Corriher oversees the sports information program within the athletic department and is behind every release that comes from Marshall Athletics. He is an integral part of Marshall Athletics’ day to day operations, especially when it comes to the media, as he acts as the gatekeeper between the student-athletes and the media. Corriher has been at Marshall since 2011, while previously serving in media relations roles at Ohio, Marist, the Bis South Conference and NC State. Corriher graduated from North Carolina State University in 2000 with a bachelor of arts degree in Mass Communication. Corriher and his wife, Kim, have one son, Gaffney. Spencer DuPuis recently interviewed Corriher using the Marcel Proust/Vanity Fair Interview format to reveal the most personal characteristics of the interviewees or rarely revealed side of public figures.

Q: What is your most marked characteristic?

A: Sarcasm, absolutely 100 percent sarcasm. I lay it on thick, at times too thick, and if you just met me for the first time it is off-putting to some. For people who know me they just roll with it a little bit, but that is severe.

Q: What is the quality you most like in a woman?

A: Intelligence, which starts with my wife, who is the most intelligent person I know and have known, and undoubtedly will know. She keeps me together, she is a wonderful wife, a wonderful mother and keeps our train rolling.

Q: What do you most value in your friends?

A: Loyalty, which you know is hard to find.

Q: What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

A: Being overly sensitive, for sure, anybody who’s proud of his or her work will defend the work when in their view they are being unfairly challenged.

Q: What is your favorite occupation?

A: Telling stories. That’s become a big part of what we do, the business has really evolved and changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed, is that we are there to tell stories. We are there to introduce young people to our fanbase, whether its direct through our website or social media accounts or indirect through the media relations that we do with all the media outlets that cover the Thundering Herd. Our has been and will always be to bring those stories to the public.

Q: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

A: Being able to look yourself in the mirror and know that you did everything that you could to accomplish success, that doesn’t mean it is always going to happen. This is an old cliché, but it’s very true, the one thing you can control is the effort, in anything you do whether its work, a relationship, you can always control the effort so if you look yourself in the mirror and know that you’ve done that.

Q: What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

A: I’ve been very fortunate, and I don’t know that I’ve experienced the lowest depth of misery. I’d say the loss of a close loved one.

Q: In which country would you like to live?

A: The United States of America, with the following asterisk: I have visited Canada and been on a cruise to the Bahamas, but I have not been anywhere else.

Q: Who are your favorite writers?

A: I read a lot of sports writers. Wright Thompson, he is a longform writer, and you don’t see a lot longform writing anymore.

Q: Who are your favorite musicians?

A: I’m a scan button guy, so what that means is that when I get in the car, I just hit the scan button until I find a song I like.

Q: What are your favorite names?

A: I’m going to go with Jason, Kimberly, Gaffney, and Corriher, if I get to choose open-ended like that.

Q: What is it that you most dislike?

A: Dishonesty, I would say and that is pretty broad. But you are always striving to seek truth in whatever you’re doing, work, life, whatever it may be.

Q: Which talent would you most like to have?

A: Broadcasting, would love to hone my broadcasting craft. When I came to NC State University, I came there wanting to be Jim Nantz, Al Michaels, pick anyone like that.

Q: How would you like to die?

A: A long time from now, in my sleep. If that’s the most painless option possible.

Q: What is your current state of mind?

A: Good, positive, I think it’s always tough this time of year as we are entering November, which is the fall-winter overlap, so there’s a lot to be done, there’s a lot to keep organized. But having been here for the last seven years, the game plan still stays the same, you just kind of add bits and pieces every year so you can make sure you’re still moving your product forward.

Q: What is your motto?

A: I’m glad I did this interview, because its raised questions I’ve never really asked myself, to be honest with you. I don’t have a motto, but if I should have a motto going forward it would be establish your value. No one more then you knows your value whether it’s your value to your friends, your value to your employer, your value to your family. You’re always going to have people from the outside who ascribe a certain value to you.

Spencer DuPuis can be contacted at [email protected].