SID Network helps in Crisis Communications

I've often compared facets of the athletics communications profession to that of a lawyer. That is never more true than when managing crisis communications.

Our effectivness as a communications professional almost always depends on our past experience in dealing with a situation. We are more effective when we are able to relate the crisis we are facing with one we have dealt with in the past, and then reflect on the successes and the failures of that communications plan to help direct us in how to handle our current situation.

But the thing is (and this is a good thing), we likely haven't dealt with every crisis out there, or one similar enough to draw knowledge for our current crisis. I was speaking with a friend and colleague this evening about how to handle somewhat of a crisis situation he was facing.

After being briefed on the situation, I offered my advice and then was quick to say "But, you know who would know ..." and quickly rattled off the name of an SID at a fellow BCS school who had faced a similar situation that I had read about on the NCAA.org Web site.

As fellow athletics communicators, we are all in this thing together. While we may not have the experience of facing a certain crisis, I guarantee you there is an athletics communications director who has faced an identical situation or, at least one that is comparable. That's the power of the athletics communication network.

Keep up with crises that occur in collegiate athletics at schools across the country. One of the best ways to maintain your mental database of crises in college athletics is to read up daily on NCAA.org to see what schools have been penalized, reprimanded, etc., and also keep up with the stories in the daily newspapers and Web sites.

Know the crises that happen in college athletics to build your mental library. Just like a lawyer - they may not know all the facts of the previous case (often ones that set precedents) or its decision, but they know the cases exist and where to find them in their legal books. You know the past crisis and have a general understanding of how it relates to your crisis, and you know where to look (meaning who to call who went through a similar situation).

When you keep up with current crises in sports, make sure you're aware of who the "SID on record" is, meaning that you know who the athletics communications director was for that particular crisis and know who to call, even when that person has moved onto another job and another school.

For instance - if you want to find out how to handle a situation where your coach has committed recruiting violations, call JD Campbell of Indiana. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a player dies and you have players harming fellow teammates, call Scott Stricklin who was at Baylor during a terribly difficult time for that school. If you want to find out how to handle a situation where a coach is suddenly terminated for violating university policies, contact Brian Miller who was at LSU when Pokey Chatman was fired. If you want to find out how to handle an athletics program that is going through a natural disaster, contact Donna Turner, who was at Tulane during the Hurricane Katrina crisis ... and the list goes on and on.

More than likely, a fellow athletics communications director will be willing to help you out. And if you're in the situation where you can help someone out with a crisis you have gone through, please be willing to do so. Remember, they didn't have to have handled the situation perfectly to be of help to you. If they can do an honest evalutation, they can mention their mistakes in the similiar crisis that will help you not to make them in your situation - you're benefitting from their experience.

Remember to keep tabs on crisis communications in college athletics and be willing to reach out and ask for advice. In crisis situations, experience really is the key, whether it's your experience or an experience that was shared with you.

Athletics Communications Opportunities with Kindle

So you think they've come up with every possible means to promoting our programs through athletics communications? After all, we're Twittering, Facebooking, blogging, Covering it Live and much more.

I think there's another medium we're not taking advantage of that could spread the word about our programs and also potentially generate a new revenue stream.

Looking at the holiday issues of the Sports Business Journal, one of the main questions that was asked of major executives in the sporting industry was what they were hoping to receive for Christmas. An overwhelming number of executives mentioned that they were really looking forward to receiving a Kindle, the wireless reading device that can download books and subscription-based newspapers and magazines through WiFi or a non-wireless-based 3G network.

What a great invention - especially for frequent travelers like me who read quickly, but can't lug a sackful of books onto a plane (I have to carry too many pounds of media guides to worry about adding to my load with books to read for pleasure). Although, I do fear that this is getting us one step closer to doing away with printed books.

Scary stuff, considering that I love being able to read books and newspapers without having to be on my computer screen. I'm on a computer enough as it is and it's tiring to the eyes. I like hard copies and I don't want them to go anywhere. There's something soothing about looking through a book store. There's a certain aura and a certain smell that is sterilized by the Kindle and its brethren. My philosophy on all of the new inventions - I think they're tremendous, but I don't think any of them should replace the old methods, especially when it comes to the printed piece. But that's another story for another day.

Bottom line is, sports executives (and presumably sports fans, who often have at least some amount of disposable income) are using Kindles in their daily lives, but not getting the sports fix they could with regard to their favorite teams.

The sports world needs to reach out to the Kindle to promote its programs. More and more teams are relying on their own athletics communications office to serve as its news outlet. Essentially, teams are "breaking" their own news on their own Web sites. A lot of schools have hired bloggers and commentators, more news-reporter based than public-relations based, to to write for their own athletics Web sites.

Have your athletics communications department create subscription-based content, similar to ESPN.com's insider, that is directed solely at the Kindle. Maybe you have your free blog on your athletics department Web site with special "Insider" content to subscribers of the subscription-based Kindle component.

Here's another thought - many of you, like me, probably receive the Sporting News Today e-mails or view the online edition. It's essentially a national newspaper sports section that's completely online. Maybe you produce one of these daily for your athletics department. Your athletics communications directors are the beat writers. Essentially, it is a more "fluffy" re-write of their standard game recap or advance, your blogger is your columnist and your student assistants are your feature writers (great experience for them). This "newspaper" is produced completely by your athletics communications department for subscribers to receieve exclusively on their Kindles or similar devices.

Does your department produce its own monthly magazine? When I was at UCF, our athletics communications office, in conjunction with ISP Sports, produced KnightVision, a monthly subscription-based magazine that featured magazine-length writing, features, creative elements and much more directed at the fanbase. Put your monthly magazine on Kindle and offer a discount for this subscription, as compared to having a paper subscription (but never do away with the printed option). It makes sense, after all, it costs you less (both money + labor/time) to submit the copy electronically than to mail, meter and process the magazine.

Cover It Live fits perfectly with Kindle. Look at the orientation of the Kindle device and the orientation of the Cover It Live module. The shape and size is almost identical. Maybe you have a subscription-based way to access Cover It Live from your Kindle. Maybe you have premium chats. I.E. - Your chat with your tennis star is covered live for free on your Web site, but think of the revenue you could generate with a subscription-based live chat via Kindle with fans communicating with that Heisman-winning standout quarterback who is on ESPN on a daily basis.

Just because you're Twittering and Facebooking doesn't mean you're doing everything you can to promote your program. There's always something more that can be done.

Now, here's the clincher, though - we need to fight for these things to become a reality. The apathy in this profession needs to go away. We need to fight for these positions. Every athletics communications department needs at least one person whose entire job is devoted to social media/new media.

Let's be strategic about this - telling your athletics director that you need this position isn't often going to get you very far. Remember what I have been emphasizing - make this a science, make it strategic. Do your research using PRSA and other outlets - come up with a well-researched strategic plan for why these positions need to be created and how they can contribute to your bottom line. Maybe it doesn't change anything, especially if the money's just not there, but maybe it does.

Continue to promote your champions like a champion. There are always new and innovative ways out there, this is just an example of one untapped resource for athletics communications promotion.

Why Don't We Discuss Goals?

"What are your goals and how can we help you achieve them?"

How often have your leaders asked you that question and how often do you direct that question to those you lead? Chances are, not often.

It seems simple enough - everyone operates based on motivation. Motivation can come from any number of sources or ideas - maybe your motivation is that you want to become the best softball athletics communications director of all time. Maybe your motivation is that you want to get in and get out of work as quick as possible to pursue your on-the-side musical career. Motivations come in many forms and fashions.

The form of motivation that is most powerful is goals-based motivation. Essentially, this means that every decision you make is based on the goals you have set for yourself. Goals-based motivation drives the most successful of people to reach the highest levels of the areas in which they want to achieve.

So, why are we so afraid to talk about goals? From the standpoint of the individual, maybe you are just plodding along and don't have any specific goals, maybe you have incredibly large goals and are embarassed that others will find them laughable.

For employers, some are afraid of hearing an employee's goals. Your goals give you power. They set a clear course for something to achieve and, if you are dedicated enough, make you unstoppable. If your goals are loftier than your current position, then they're often afraid you will leave to go somewhere else, and then there's a position to fill. If they're hiring you and you have lofty goals, that becomes a problem because a lot of leaders just want the golf contact to do golf - anyone who is hired who aspires to the CoSIDA board, aspires to create change and innovation, improve the program, etc., then becomes a problem. Just doing golf turns into doing golf and trying to reform the whole office and the profession. For some leaders, that then becomes a headache they aren't willing to deal with.

Research has proven that leaders who both give their employees the opportunity to express and vocalize their goals, and allow them the opportunity to work towards those goals are more likely to retain their employees than those who don't.

I think it's so easy for us as athletics communications professionals to get off track from our goals, or not even consider them. The work-load is so sizeable and the hours are so irregular that task-based motivation often takes the place of goal-based motivation.

One would logically think that task-based motivation, while not allowing us to focus on our long-term goals, would at least be more effective in the present. After all, it allows us to complete the tasks at hand, meeting their approaching deadlines. But, actually, in addition to hurting our long-term goals, it compromises the effectiveness of the project at hand. If we fail to consider the long-term goals of the particular project or our four-year plan for that specific sport or athletics department, the task loses focus and isn't as good as it could be. Just like you aren't as good at your job as you could be if you operated on goal-based motivation, the job itself isn't as good if it isn't driven by goal-based motivation.

I'm sure this sounds like a situation that many of you have encountered. Here's what you need to do to get started on the process to realizing your goals:

* Write down your goals. These are going to be different for everyone. Some may be professional goals, some may be personal goals. It's great to have long-term goals and I think everyone should have these to strive for. The best thing you can do is create a four-year plan for your career. It may not even be the positions/jobs you want to have, maybe it's a list of skills you'd like to acquire by then or experiences you would like to have. Print it out. Keep a copy in your briefcase.

* Work on verbalizing these goals. Read them in front of the mirror - maybe you do it on a daily basis. Read them to family members and close friends - get their reactions. Maybe there's something here or there that you need or want to tweak that they can help you with.

* When the opportunity presents itself, discuss the goals with your leader. Perhaps that opportunity comes during your annual evaluation. Let them know what your goals are, where you believe yourself to be in achieving those goals and where you see yourself progressing in the future. If they are interested in your development, you will have their attention.

* Don't fear discussing goals in job interviews: Don't fear discussing your goals in job interviews. Bring them up when asked, even discuss your four-year plan. If the employer is threatened by those goals or don't appreciate you discussing them, you know the job's not for you anyway.

There is nothing more powerful than you making goals-based decisions in pursuit of your goals. That drive, that determination is unmatched. With no goals or no clear course in mind to achieve those goals, it's hard to get where you want to be.

Set your goals, verbalize them, look at them daily and use those goals as the basis for your decision-making. I think once you do that, you'll realize how powerful goals can really be and how they get you where you want to go.

Critical Need for CoSIDA Accreditation

I spent a thought-provoking hour this afternoon listening to an online open house (free Webinar) about the Public Relations Society of America's APR (Accreditation in Public Relations). It was incredibly informative and increased my belief (which I briefly mentioned in an earlier post) that CoSIDA desperately needs to offer professional athletics communications accreditation.

One of the key quotes that really stood out to me today on the Power Point slides that really applies to the field of athletics communications is a quote they showed by APR Kelly Groehler - “Anyone can walk off the street and start ‘practicing public relations.’ Accreditation is what sets apart those who are providing counsel that is strategic, managing relationships with constituents through good and bad times, and contributing to the success of the business. It's sorely needed in our industry, more than ever.”

How true is that for CoSIDA? That statement for public relations could be interchangable for athletics communications. Let's be honest, nearly anyone who comes into the office, agrees to work for free and is dependable and professional is immediately a member of the athletics communications department.

Believe me, I am not discounting that. That's how we all got our starts and I think it's one of the truly great things about this business - if you volunteer, work hard, demonstrate passion and continue to sharpen your skill set, you have a bright future. Personally, if Santa Fe CC athletics director Jim Keites hadn't taken a chance on allowing me to work in his sports information department as a 16-year-old high school student he'd never met, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today. The experience learned there was absolutely invaluable and I am so thankful for it.

That said, how do we set apart those those experienced and highly-skilled athletics communicators who are providing strategic council to leadership and positively impacting the bottom line of their athletics department? The only answer is accreditation.

For a full understanding of the APR process from PRSA, click to: http://www.praccreditation.org/

That accreditation really has nothing to do with how long someone has worked in athletics communications or how skilled they are at some of the technical aspects. It's all about providing a level of recognition and credibility to those people who understand and take pride in the "science" (another APR term) of athletics communications and have a clear view of its role as a leadership function.

Another key point I took with me from today's Webinar was the fact that the accreditation gives credibility to an often misunderstood profession. Boy, if there were ever a more misunderstood profession than athletics communications! How many people do you know that think all you do is hang out with athletes and coaches and they're all your best friends and you just watch games?

Credibility is key. I think if we, as athletics communicators, want more people to understand that what we do is a leadership function, we could use something that adds credibility to and legitimizes our profession. I can't imagine who wouldn't want that. Your Name, ACoSIDA - instant credibility.

So, how do we go about doing this? CoSIDA would have to establish an accreditation board. Ideally, in the future, the accreditation board is made up of elected senior ACoSIDAs with regional accreditation officers (like the local PR chapter ones) throughout the various regions of the country. These would be fellow ACoSIDAs, current athletics communications professionals, who help administer the readiness review and exam, etc.

It's going to be impossible to start this way. I think what needs to happen initially is for the CoSIDA board to appoint an accreditation board consisting of senior communicators who best understood the process of accreditation and the goals of what was trying to be accomplished. If any current CoSIDA senior communicators have gone through the APR process (not many have I am certain, but I know people like past-president Charles Bloom have been heavily involved in PRSA activities), those people should definitely be on the board. Make it a panel of maybe eight people.

Initially, the readiness review would take place once per year at the annual CoSIDA convention. Maybe the accreditation board and candidates come to the convention site two days early to conduct those activities before the convention, because you wouldn't want to hinder their availability to attend the convention sessions that are so instrumental to our professional development.

CoSIDA could then establish a relationship with the Prometric Testing Centers for purpose of the final examination, where athletics communicators could schedule and take the exams in their own cities, to be evaluated by the accreditation board.

Here are the key topics I would make sure are covered on the examination and review.
* Definitions and Functions of Athletics Communications
* NCAA Compliance
* Crisis Communication Leadership
* Leadership Skills and Issues
* Ethics and Law (CoSIDA Code of Ethics, PRSA Code of Ethics, Mass Media Law)
* CoSIDA Strategic Plan
* Research, Planning, Implementing and Evaluation
* Business Literacy
* Media Relations
* Information Technology and New/Social Media
* History of and Current Issues in Athletics Communications

For the readiness review, we are going to need an answer for what is an acceptable portfolio and plan. I don't know the answer right now. I am still trying to figure out how we can take what we do on a daily basis and make a strategic and comprehensive plan out of it. In a way, the all-consuming combination of a 24/7 mass media news cycle and big-business collegiate athletics does a disservice to us in this regard.

We are so focused on the idea of "get it done." There are so many pressures and demands on us that we get the job done. A lot of times, the approach is strategic in our minds, but almost never does an athletics communications professional compile a strategic plan for their "campaign" or season. This puts us at a real disadvantage when trying to quantify what we do to other (non-athletics) communications professionals.

Don't get me wrong - I don't do this written strategic planning process either. I need to learn how to do this as well and I've started on trying to figure out a way to do so. I don't have the answers when it comes to this - I just know it needs to be done.

How do we come up with a portfolio for our ACoSIDA readiness review? I don't know the answer to that, but I think it should be consistent with the APR standards, with an athletics communications twist. An athletics communicator should be able to leave his/her ACoSIDA process and then successfully complete the APR process.

I think if we can figure out the process, that will make each of us more organized and more strategic in our approach. That's what a number of APRs have said their experience in the accreditation process has done for them. That is a skill that will really validate the legitimacy of what we do. If anyone has any suggestions on this portfolio/campaign plan idea, please let me know - I think it may be the key to elevating athletics communicators to a higher level of respect and leadership. When we promote our programs, we make extra efforts to quantify what we're promoting about our teams or athletes - that's what we should be doing with our own communications efforts.

The candidate would then need to defend that plan/campaign in front of the accreditation board at the readiness interview. They would also need to discuss how the key topics bulleted above factored into their plan, especially research and evaluation.

As the APR study guide says, the readiness review is an opportunity to "demonstrate your professionalism. Treat it as if you are selling your credentials to a prospective client." The candidate will have to answer questions about how the plan/campaign was presented to decision makers, what the key audiences were, what strategies had to be modified during the course of the campaign and potential crises that would have made success in the plan impossible.

The computer-based examination would merely be multiple choice and essay questions that would test the candidate's knowledge in the key areas identified in the bullet points above.

I hope those of you reading this will join with me to try to help make this a reality. It's critical for the credibility of our profession and ourselves as professionals. One of the main principles in the CoSIDA strategic plan is to "Seek to identify and/or develop methods of evaluation and analysis that will enable the profession and its professionals to more effectively establish its role and value as a critical component of organizational success within the collegiate athletics community."

This is the way we do that. It's time we make this a reality.

Losing Teams Sharpen SID Skill Set

Say you're an athletics communications professional who has a great idea of the bigger picture and the reason why we do what we do. But you feel like your technical skills of the profession might be weak and want to find a way to sharpen those skills. What should you do?

Go work for a losing team.

That sounds crazy, right? You're thinking: Wouldn't it be a better experience for me to work with a national championship caliber program? Wouldn't I make more contacts? Wouldn't I learn how to do things on a big stage in front of national media at NCAA Tournaments and working with ESPN?

All of that stuff is true, but that's not what we're talking about here. Those are all big-picture abilities. If you want to focus on building a solid foundation, it comes down to two things: (1) Strong athletics communications skill set and (2) A lesson in how to handle adversity and difficult situations. To do that, you want to work for a BCS-caliber losing program.

You've heard the expression "Winning solves all problems." It often does, including deficiencies in your skill sets as athletics communicators. Sure, your volume of workload is going to increase with a winning team, but your ability is really going to be tested when your team is losing. I say a BCS-caliber program because, in order to really learn how to handle this adversity, there is going to need to be significant interest in your losing program. If there is very little fan or media interest, odds are, it doesn't really affect your job as publicist whether your team is winning or losing.

Here are the some of the situations that working with a losing team is going to expose you to and allow you to improve. But, remember, you can't let yourself get frustrated by the whole situation. You have to know that all of the adversity is going to make you better at what you do.

*Sharpens Writing Skills: There is nothing like working with a losing team to sharpen your public relations writing abilities. Now, granted, if you don't care and write brief releases that are more AP-like stylistically, then you're not going to learn anything. But, if you take the time to craft your releases to display your program in the most positive light possible, you're going to become a heck of a writer. The point is, if you can make your fanbase and media feel like you are winning, even when you're on a 10-game losing sreak, then you have become a great public relations writer. If you can do this, you have directed the mood and attitude towards your program away from the negative things (losses) and on to the positive (i.e. - Susie Smith ranks No. 2 in the nation in rebounding or your coach earned his 500th career win.)

*Accountability: You have to run your athletics communications operation the same when you win and when you lose. That's integrity and knowing how to lose. Can you as a professional do that? Working with a losing team is going to teach you accountability. As an athletics communicator, you are going to have to show that your team is just as accountable for its losses as it is for your wins. You need to make sure your coach and players attend to all of their press obligations whether you have lost 10 in a row or won 10 in a row. That's going to test you professionally, because as a communications advisor, you are going to have to convince your student-athletes and coaches that those interviews are in the best interest of the program. They're not always going to want to do the interviews and it isn't always going to be easy.

Here's why it's harder - Very often, a media outlet isn't going to be too worried if player X misses his or her interview after a win, as long as there are an adequate number of players to fulfill their needs for quotes. Here's when it's noticed: When they player misses two free throws and your team loses the game - and that player doesn't do their interviews - then it looks bad for your program. They are failing to hold themselves accountable for their performance and you, in turn, are failing to hold them accountable to their press obligations.

*Is It In The Best Interest of the Program?: Losing will also teach you how to approve and deny interview requests based on the goal of keeping the best interest of your program in mind. Remember, the best interest of your program and athletics department should always be your main priority as an athletics communicator. When you're winning, nearly all of the coverage is positive and whatever negative coverage you receive is probably overlooked.

Throughout the course of your athletics communications career, there are likely going to be times when you have to decline interview requests. It doesn't feel good. One of my favorite things about my job is the opportunity to work with and form relationships with members of the media. I have tremendous respect for what they do and always do my best to help them with their jobs, keeping in mind, however, that is consistent with the best interest of the organization.

With a losing team, you are going to have to evaluate interview requests and whether they are in the best interest of your organization. Is that article about your star center about how she broke the school's all-time single-season rebounds record or is it about how she has missed 22 consecutive free-throws including two instances when that decided the game for your team? You are going to learn to evaluate these situations. You may get it wrong; we all do from time to time. What you learn from making those mistakes helps you get better, as well.

*Coaching Staff: Depending on who your coaches are and what their personalities are like, their attitudes may be significantly dependent on whether your team wins or loses. How do you handle that? You need to remain the same whether your team wins or loses - same demeanor, same objectives, same professionalism. Your tactics to accomplish those things may change, but your focus cannot change.

Say your team goes 7-22 during a season you work with it and your coach is in a sour mood the whole time. Say they take out their frustrations on everyone, including and perhaps especially you. What a learning experience that is for you! If you get through a season where you get dressed down on a multi-daily basis and are still able to maintain your composure and professionalism in completing the responsibilities of your job, you are going to be so, so much better at your job.

*Generating Publicity: Maybe your problem is not trying to prevent negative media coverage, maybe it's trying to get any media coverage at all. You will learn how to effectively promote specific segments of your program positively to try to generate coverage. Maybe it's also how you cover your own team. If you don't have a beat writer, become your own beat writer. Do a blog, write feature stories, do daily notebooks, make videos of your coaches and student-athletes. Keep the positive energy flowing! These are all skills that are going to make you better at what you do.

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I'm not saying that you have to work with a losing team to be good at what you do, but I am saying it helps you sharpen your skill set and your effectiveness. When you are working with those national championship teams or programs that garner a large amount of media coverage, you're going to be better at that because you can fall back on what you learned from working with those losing teams to help get you through.

It's kind of like how it's also beneficial to have experiences at other levels than Division I. How many big-time Division I SIDs out there freeze up when something goes wrong? They have to call over the IT guy or the phone tech or some other specialist. People who have worked at small schools are absolute masters at how to Win with Plan A, Plan B and 911 (see previous post) and can sometimes think more outside the box than those who haven't been forced into those situations.

It's all about building a solid foundation to solidify your career.

Five Success Tips for Communications Student Assistants

If you're a student assistant in your athletics communications office and you're reading this blog, first of all, welcome. I hope that the things here on the blog have been helpful to you so far. This morning's post is completely directed towards you.

Let's face it - there are a lot of people out there who want to enter this profession. Some people want to enter the field because they're huge sports fanatics, but have no knowledge of the business of sports. Some people (of either gender) want to enter this field because they are so-called "jersey chasers." Some people want to enter this field because they think it will make them a celebrity or they will be able to mingle with celebrities.

How do you differentiate yourself from these people to best position yourself for experience and future jobs? And, I'm not saying this is what everyone wants. If you're volunteering in your school's athletics communications office just because it's something cool to do but you don't have any interest in pursuing it as a career, that's fine. I have nothing against those people. That's what college is for - finding out what you like and what you don't. I'm sure your athletics communications office greatly appreciates the time and effort you are able to provide, and the enthusiasm you bring to their operation.

But what if this is what you want to do for a career? Here's my advice - take it for what it's worth. It may not work for you. But I think many of these principles can transcend departments, schools and people - they're universal.

1.) Treat your position (whether it be paid or unpaid) with your athletics communications office like your full-time job. You've heard of the saying "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have." Let's adapt that - and it's even more true in this case "Work like you have the job to which you aspire." I'm not saying to have the EGO that you have an administrative position (definitely not), what I'm saying is to make your DEDICATION to the job equivalent to that of the top person in a job to which you one day aspire. In actuality, that may not be your own supervisor. Identify people across the country in the job to which you aspire that you can look up to.

How do you do this best? Be the person who is there in a time of need. Most students can't be found over Thanksgiving holidays or Christmas holidays. All athletics communications directors are scrambling for workers during events over the holidays. If you're there and none of your peers are, you're going to get something meaningful to do and have your opportunity to shine. You make your own luck happen. Give yourself these opportunities.

Spend most of your time in the office. It's my experience that a student who works on a schedule gets assigned less tasks and given less responsibility. For me, now as a full-time athletics communications professional, it's more work for me to make sure there is something to do for a student who shows up every Monday and Wednesday at 11 a.m. Fact is, students get assigned better jobs when they just happen to be sitting around and get assigned something when the SID is in need. For example, my freshman year I got better assignments while hanging in the office after 6 p.m. then I did during the traditional work-day. This goes back to dedication.

Make your own assignments. See something that could be done better? See something that other schools are doing that your school isn't? Do it and then present it to your supervisor or specific sport contact. They are less likely to say no to a completed project than they are to a suggestion without a finished product. Suggestions are much easier to give up than are concrete completed projects.

Ask your boss if you can attend the athletics communications weekly staff meetings. Maybe you're not sure you have something to contribute, but you can learn a lot (good ideas and bad) from what you hear in those meetings. Beginning with the summer before my junior year of college, I began scheduling my classes around that weekly meeting to make sure I was always able to attend and contribute.

2.) Never ask "Am I good?": If you are a student helping with an athletics event, never leave before the primary contact for that sport leaves. Always ask "What else can I do" and if there is nothing, just hang around until they are done working. It's always nice to have company and it's always nice to have a helping hand there if the primary contact thinks of something they could use assistance with. If all the work from the game is done, but the primary contact is staying around to update his/her notes for the next game, ask "What section do you want me to take?" or "What can I help you update?" If you ask "Am I good," odds are, the athletics communications director is likely going to release you because they don't want to hear you complain about having to be there. Just hang around and show your dedication.

3.) Always Work the "Lesser" Event: Most students, and some full-time staffers, tend to rank events. I'm definitely not saying this is right - every event your athletics department holds is a major event and should be treated as such without rank. But, for the purpose of example, if your school has a conference football game and a women's golf tournament going on at the same time, many are going to view the "women's golf tournament" as a lesser event. Where should you be as a standout student assistant? At the women's golf tournament. You are more valuable to that golf contact who likely has no help and that will reflect your dedication to being a "team player." And, if there's time when golf is over to go help at football, head that way. But don't rush to leave the golf tournament. Always work the so-called "lesser" event if it doesn't conflict with sports that you are either the primary or secondary contact for.

4.) Get to Know Opposing SIDs: At every event, whether it's football, volleyball or tennis, always make it a point to introduce yourself to the visiting SID before the event. This is a great way to make contacts and, as I've found over the years, a great way to make friends. Plus, people are most likely to hire the people they know, rather than people they don't know.

5.) Be Willing To Carry The Heavy Box: This was something I was terrible at when I first started as a freshman. Back then, I thought (completely wrong) if I was writing press releases and coordinating interviews, something most of the other students weren't doing, then why should I have to carry the heavy box? Isn't there someone else that has more time do this? I was completely wrong and am still somewhat embarrased about my behavior in those early days.

Here's why you need to carry the heavy box. First of all, the box needs to be carried. Someone has to carry it ... why not you? Second, it's good practice for your leadership skills. Employees dislike a leader who assigns tasks that he/she is not willing to perform him/herself. They are more willing to carry a box you ask them to if they have seen you do that task previously. Additionally, employees (or your fellow students) aren't going to respect you if you bark orders to carry a box and then walk to the arena with nothing more in your hands than your briefcase. Carry the heavy box.

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Most importantly, always be humble about it. Your goals aren't necessarily the same as those of your peers. That's fine (a lesson I also had to learn). I guarantee you all of your fellow student assistants are just as driven as you - athletics communications may be there hobby, while it's your career path. Maybe they want to become the next great lawyer or professor or museum curator. That's great. Encourage them to pursue their goals, even if they're not the same as yours. I promise you this, your fellow students in the athletics communications office are going to end up being your best friends for life. Don't miss out on that opportunity.

Always be willing to ask for advice or mentoring from professionals in the field. I'm always willing to help, so feel free to send me a note. Best of luck in your career pursuits.

"Winning" with Alternate Plans

In mid-December, I had the great fortune of attending the American Volleyball Coaches Association annual convention in Tampa, Fla. There were a number of terrific presentations, many of which applied to any role in an athletics department, not just coaching. I felt I benefitted greatly from having attended the convention and, at times, felt like it allowed me to see my role of athletics communications director from a different perspective.

By far, the best session that I attended (and maybe the best I have ever attended) was called "Tips and Tools to Maintain Your Passion in Coaching" by legendary former UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist. The lesson that I most took away from her presentation was what she called "Winning with Plan A, Plan B and 911."

This is a lesson that I think many athletics communications professionals could benefit from. Let's be honest, many times our operation is expected to go perfectly in order to give our coaches and staff (and, also the media covering our event) the best opportunity to be successful. Completely understandable.

I'm going to analyze Sue Enquist's philosophy as it, in my opinion, relates to athletics communications. It took Sue's philosophy to get me thinking about this. Most of what I say hereforth are my ideas and interpretation of her lesson as related to my particular job.

Let's look at the various plans:
*Plan A: Everything goes according to plan - the ideal situation
*Plan B: You are forced to go to your back-up plan, but you're already prepared.
*911: More than one thing goes wrong at once and you may or may not be prepared for handling the situation.

For most of the athletics communicators out there, pat yourself on the back. Most of us are masters at thinking on our feet and adapting to things going wrong. We are resourceful, usually find a way to get through any situation and make things work. But are we "winning" at Plan B and 911? We need to be.

What I mean by winning is that we need to be flawless and seemless in operating under any of these three situations. If fans storm the court following a victory, but you need to get that star player to an ESPN interview, you have to find a way to make it work. Maybe this is a 911 situation for you. You weren't expecting to have to deal with a swarm of fans making your post-game operation an unsafe environment. You still have to remain calm and find a way to accomplish the task in a safe and, most importantly, professional manner. That's winning at 911.

A really effective communications professional can respond effectively to any situation, no matter how much of a crisis it appears to be. Thinking on your feet and coming up with a quick (not to be confused with hasty) and effective decision is a key to what we do. Believe me, I'm as guilty as the next person for what I'm about to say. BUT, we can't allow emotion to get the better of us, especially in these times.

So, how do we prepare for each of the situations?

*Plan A: Make sure you actually do have a Plan A. It sounds silly, but most of the time in what we do, we are operating off the cuff and going with what has worked in the past. "Off the cuff" is reserved for 911. Make sure you have a solid Plan A in place to avoid, at all costs, falling to Plan B or 911 (which will happen anyway, but you are trying to reduce the number of times you have to resort to that).

Have that plan written down and follow it. Maybe it's chronicling your gameday operation from the first thing you do pre-game to the last thing you do post-game. It sounds silly, but writing things down keeps it organized. As Sue would emphasize, leaders know how to articulate their vision.

Most importantly, COMMUNICATE that plan. We are communications directors in our jobs, but sometimes we fail to communicate effectively with our staffs and gameday workers because WE know what we mean, shouldn't they? Bad assumption and one I've made in the past. Communicate that plan, get everyone on board, open it up for questions or input and discuss possible improvements.

If that person has been your scoreboard operator for two years, let's say, they are the expert at that position, not you. Just because you are the athletics communications director doesn't make you the expert at everything, even if it's a position you oversee. Ask their opinion - remember, there's no such thing as a monopoly on wisdom. You don't have it and I don't have it.

Here's why you need to communicate Plan A. You don't want to be forced into Plan B or 911 because your staff doesn't understand their roles in Plan A. Plain and simple. It's preventative, it's easier this way and it just makes sense.

*Plan B: You should also have a written Plan B in place that is communicated to each member of your staff. This is your back-up plan. In all honesty, you learn your best back-up plans from experience. Let me give you an example. Say your printer burned up and died during a basketball game and, since you had no back-up plan in place, you were immediately launched into 911 mode. Since that point, you've always had a back-up printer on site in your arena for such an instance. If your printer dies, you go grab that one and you're up and running with no stress.

I am amazed at the athletics communications students at various places who are assigned to transcribe quotes at a press conference and show up with only their recorders. Record the press session and keep shorthand that would allow you to as closely replicate the quotes as possible, if for some reason your batteries die or the sound quality on your recording is poor. Sure, the recorder is your Plan A, but it shouldn't be your only plan. Why are these students being taught not to have a back-up plan?

Let me clarify one point, however, and that's how long you try to ride out Plan A before going to Plan B. Since most athletics communications directors are perfectionists and Type-A Personalities, you're going to want to go with Plan A.

A phrase that a lot of perfectionists - especially myself - mire themselves in is "supposed to." This is how this is "supposed to" work. This is how they were supposed to react. I'm supposed to get that promotion. And the list goes on and on.

I'm not telling you to change how you think or that you shouldn't be a perfectionist, I'm saying that in a situation where you have to make a split-second decision, this is going to work against you in a big way.

Here's my suggestion: the third time's the charm, right? Try Plan A three times and if it doesn't work, abandon it IMMEDIATELY. If you printer jams and you try to print again, don't try it more than three times. You're slowing yourself down. Disconnect that printer and grab your Plan B printer. Now you have a printer that works and you're not stressed.

We want to keep pressing that key or shaking that toner or testing that phone cord. Because it's SUPPOSED to work. But, guess what, it doesn't. Odds are extremely high that if it doesn't work on the third try, it's not going to (at least under the time constraints and under the pressure you are feeling. You don't necessarily have a clear head when Plan A goes awry.)

Again, Plan B should not be stressful. For everything you have listed on your task list for Plan A, you should have a complement in Plan B. You and your staff should be able to easily shift into Plan B for either that component or the entire operation upon your direction. Your staff, if qualified, should be empowered to shift into Plan B mode in his or her task at their discretion. If possible, they would inform you so you can adjust the "big picture" success of your operation.

Say the copier in Plan A is out of staples when making final books, make your copy chief aware of where the copier in Plan B is located and how quickly they can slide from Plan A to Plan B.

Why is it important to have everyone aware of the back-up plan? Because, if you don't, you're likely going to cause panic and jump from Plan A to 911 without ever hitting Plan B. You're going to approach your staff in a panic saying "If this happens, then do this, then do this and try this and try that ..." That's incredibly confusing for them and odds are, you won't win. The job may get done, but you won't win.

If your staff knows what Plan B is, they are empowered to jump to that plan on their own. They don't have to check with you to see "what do I do now?" You're not stressed and they're not stressed. You don't have to make a decision on your feet because you've already made it in your planning and preparation months before that game was even on the schedule.

Remember, you have to articulate that plan to empower your staff. That's what leaders do - they empower their employees to achieve their best. If everyone knows what Plan B looks like and when to slide into it, you're winning. From the outside, one would think you had planned to do things that way all along, because things are running smoothly and efficiently. There is no lapse in performance and no panic in execution.

*911 - Here's where your real skill as a leader is going to come in. Both in how you handle this situation and how your staff responds to your leadership and subsequently performs.

In my personal belief, don't ever let your staff think they are in 911 - maybe call it Plan C. There may not be a clear plan in place, but your global view and their empowerment places your team on a good path for winning, despite the odds.

You as the leader are going to most likely need to make the call in these types of situations but, remember, you don't have a monopoly on wisdom. Quickly ask the person in that role what their suggestion would be and take that under advisement before making your on-your-feet decision.

911 occurs when either both Plan A and Plan B fail, or it was a situation that you didn't forsee and thus don't have a Plan B in place. Try to have as many Plan Bs as possible to reduce the likelihood of 911 status. Maybe both of your copiers in the venue die. Have enough paper, enough ink and a manual stapler in your supply closet readily available so that you can print final books from your courtside printer and can compile them with your manual stapler.

Maybe a critical member of your staff doesn't show up. Always know the strengths of the members of your staff that are there. Maybe Person A, your scoreboard operator, can work the scoreboard and can do the shot clock. Maybe Person B usually answers the ScorePhone but can also handle the scoreboard. Put Person B on the scoreboard and Person A on the shot clock. Sure, these are things you deal with on a daily basis, but you need to have a plan in place to go about it strategically so you can Win and operate with ease.

It's like those GMAT math problems - how many combinations can you put together in what order to make a situation work. To win. Sometimes in 911, you're quickly working your Rubik's Cube, but you'd better be experienced in how to work one and you'd better remain calm. That's really what it's all about. Knowing how to handle even the worst crises with a combination of experience and resourcefulness that make it seem as if that was the way you planned to handle that situation.

I am greatly simplifying the principles - there are far bigger crises in the athletics communications world than a jammed copier, but I have chosen situations that all of you can easily relate to, for the purpose of an example.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned over the past year is how to win in Plan B and 911 (even before I knew what that meant). It has helped my "win total" go up and I hope it will help yours as well.

Change to Communications Much More Than Name Change

I have to admit that when the trend started a few years ago to change the name of sports information to communications, I didn't quite understand it. At the time to me, the term "communications" seemed to more characterize someone who worked with telephones rather than public relations.

(On a side note, I'm very fortunate at Florida because I work with one of the best phone communications specialists out there. He was hired at about the same time as I was and he's really great because - ironically enough - he's a great communicator. He really understands the people he works with, what their cell phone needs are and operates in a really practical manner with regard to his job. Plus, he's extremely helpful and always willing to go the extra mile.)

Over the past couple of years, I've really come to embrace the communications title. By definition, communication is "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs." That's what we as SIDs do. We advise our head coaches, student-athletes and administration in the realm of public relations, we work well with members of the media and use our communications skills to serve as a mediator between all kinds of different parties. On a daily basis, we coordinate an interview time that works with a student-athlete's practice and class schedule, the reporter and ourselves. We do this, generally seamlessly, without even giving it much thought. We are master communicators in doing this and we just regard it as a routine task.

I have to admit, I kind of like the acronym SID. People know what it means, it's easy to say and it covers all of the people in our profession whether their department calls it sports information, media relations, public affairs, public relations, external affairs or communications. We know what it means, and we've been using this term since practically the start of our profession. (Actually, one of the early terms often used in the 1950s and 1960s was sports publicity director.)

Why is the "sports information" label bad for us at times? I think when the people you report to (your administrators and coaches) think "sports information," they think of a person who provides "information about sports." Well, of course, you might be saying. That's common sense. But, we do much more than that. While providing "information about sports" is an important part of our jobs, that's not all we do. A person who provides "information about sports" goes to games, does the stats, sits in their office and pours through research, is a sports fanatic and then goes home. While we do, actually, do all of those things (and enjoy them), I don't think those should be our defining traits. It would be like calling an athletic trainer an "ankle taper." Sure, that's generally what you see, but it takes a highly trained professional who has keen medical insight and a knowledge of preventative care to be an athletic trainer.

One of the common definitions of public relations is "the management function that builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends." I almost completely agree with one caveat.

I strongly dislike the terms "management" or "manager." Why? Management and managers are one-way streets. Management is a hierarchal classification that dictates to non-management what tasks they are to perform, how they are to inform them and in what amount of time they have to complete them. Managers manage their employees. A tyrant (defined: "an absolute ruler") could qualify as a manager. There is no two-way street. You are being managed. There is someone in a position of power and someone who is not. No debating that.

"Leadership" and "leaders" are much, much better words. A leader empowers his or her employees to do their best and exceed the job expectations. Leadership is people-based, not results-based. Sure, someone has to oversee an operation and, ultimately mentor junior (in experience) employees. But it needs to be a two-way street and the leader needs to empower his/her employees, not supress them.

With that, here's why it's important for us to be known as communications professionals. We, as athletics communicators, practice the leadership function that builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an athletics department and its key publics, serving as internal public relations advisors to top administration. That's my definition.

If you're an effective athletics commmunications professional, you read and anticipate trends, issues and questions that will affect the positive public image of your organization and advise that athletics department's leadership how best to handle that situation from a communications standpoint.

That's why I was so pleased to hear of CoSIDA's new rebranding campaign. "Strategic Communicators for College Athletics." That's what we are and that's why the switch to communications is beneficial for all involved.

Again, in my definition, athletics communications is the leadership function that builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an athletics department and its key publics, serving as internal public relations advisors to top administration.

It’s Academic: My Dream for an Athletics Communications Training Ground

For seemingly as long as many can remember (1966, to be exact), Ohio University has set the standard when it comes to sport administration graduate programs. It was the first of its kind and continues to be the best of its kind.

Sure, there are many accredited graduate programs in sport administration and management across the country that are extremely challenging academically and provide excellent training to become a sport administrator at any level.

But, the truth is, Ohio University is where one goes to set him/herself on the fast track to becoming a major Division I collegiate athletics director. Since revered baseball administrator Walter O’Malley began the program from a vision he had in the 1950s, the list of graduates who have become collegiate athletics directors is a Who’s Who of talented administrators who have shaped the college sports landscape. During my career, I’ve had the honor to work under two athletics directors who earned their graduate degrees at Ohio – Mitch Barnhart at Kentucky and Jeremy Foley at Florida.

Walter O’Malley’s biggest concerns centered around the fact that he felt there was a deficiency, even in his own Dodgers organization, of properly-trained administrators in the front-office side of athletics organizations. Look at collegiate athletics during that time – many athletics directors were either the retired or current football coaches of their programs who had little formal training in the areas of business, ticketing, marketing or public relations.

Am I saying those early athletics directors did a bad job? Absolutely not – many were extraordinary leaders and administrators who learned how to manage and run a program based on what they learned on the fly both as a coach and later as an athletics director.

That’s kind of where we are as athletics communications practitioners. At this time in collegiate athletics, our role is almost as important as ever. With the various forms of new and social media, as well as message boards and the traditional media, our respective programs need expertly trained public relations personnel.

There’s a lot of great SIDs out there, who are developing and implementing new and creative ideas every day. But I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say the knowledge they use in their day-to-day activities came primarily from the classroom.

Most of us major in the communications-based disciplines: journalism, public relations, integrated marketing communications or something similar. That’s a good general training ground and I think that should still remain the standard for undergraduate education. It builds a solid foundation for the communicator. Without a solid foundation, the house is going to crumble one of these days.

If you’re like me, you spent most of your undergraduate time dashing back from class to the sports information office. Almost everything we learn about the day-to-day approach to our job – from writing press releases (the athletics way), to transcribing quotes, to gameday management to crisis communications – was learned on the job.

It’s an instinct. It’s developed over time with experience. I compare our instinct and thinking-on-our-feet ability to that of a lawyer. Just like a lawyer refers to previous cases as precedents and looks back on former cases for advice on how to handle current cases and situations, we are the same. What did I (or a colleague) do the last time this happened? Was that a good solution or a bad solution? Often, we call our colleagues at other schools to see how they handled a certain situation that’s confronting us.

How many times does a curious student come to you and ask you to describe your job, what a typical day is like, why you work all those hours or how you learned the craft? How hard is it to answer those questions? I would say most of us have a hard time coming up with answers to those questions.

We need a professional training ground that stems from the classroom. .

My dream is that one day, we will have an athletics communications equivalent to Ohio University’s Sport Administration graduate program. Essentially, if you want to get on the fast track to becoming a leading athletics communicator, you go to the graduate program I am proposing.

It will be a two-year graduate program that admits anywhere from 12-15 top students per year. Students can apply, but the program will also be in touch with SID offices from around the country to target and “recruit” the best undergraduate athletics communications student workers from across the country.

The formula for the ideal student will be simple: A great communicator with a strong academic record, a variety of different volunteer/internship experiences as an undergraduate (with a primary emphasis on his/her own collegiate SID office), a rock-solid work-ethic, a keen instinct and an incredible drive.

The course-work will be similar to that of Ohio University’s sports administration program. In conjunction with the university’s business school, the student will earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in his/her first year. That will be something that sets the communicator apart from his/her peers. How many SIDs do you know that have graduate business degrees? It’s all about acquiring those skills that will set the graduates apart from their peers.

You might say, why would an athletics communicator need a business degree? If you’re going to go to the top of this industry, you’re going to have to handle a budget sooner or later. Not only are you going to have to handle this budget, you’re going to have to be savvy about it.

As a friend and colleague of mine has often told me – there are two main bottom lines to a sports organization. The organization measures its success based on wins and generating revenue. If you can effectively manage and streamline your budget, guess what? You’re helping with its revenue generation and budgeting. You are contributing to the success / bottom line. You’re going to be an effective employee for your organization.

Also, the leadership principles and management techniques taught in business school will be invaluable to your success in any avenue of life.

Let’s be honest, based on the structure of your organization, you may be able to be an effective men’s golf contact without ever knowing or touching the media relations budget for that sport. In fact, in my three-and-a-half years as an undergraduate, I never touched the media relations budgets for my sports.

But, you’re not going to advance very far up the ladder if you don’t have a keen understanding of key business principles and management techniques, odds are (unless you have friends in high places) you’re not going to climb the ladder.

The second year (Master of Athletics Communications – MAC) will focus on classes central to the athletics communications profession. The courses I propose include: Communications Research Principles, Sport and Mass Media, Crisis Communications in Athletics, Social Media for the Athletics Communication, Gameday: How to Plan, Implement and Adapt, and Graphic and Web Design in Athletics Communications. There will also be a solid foundation of typical sport management type classes – Sport Finance, NCAA Compliance and Leadership in Sport and Society.

The gem of the academic program will consist of a Seminar / Topics in Athletics Communications each semester. The idea is for it to be taught by a visiting professor on a variety of special topics. Maybe it’s Bill Hancock spending a semester engaging students in how to run the media relations operation for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and having them mock up media relations operations for something similar. Maybe it’s Langston Rogers talking about promoting Margaret Wade and a Delta State women’s basketball program in a culture that hasn’t yet embraced the sport of women’s basketball to the national level it is today, and how we generate communications plans for the Olympic sports of today. Maybe it’s Indiana’s J.D. Campbell talking about running his SID operation during basketball season while the Kelvin Sampson situation unfolded. There’s many more topics that could comprise a semester-long seminar.

More importantly, the student will be encouraged and provided with contacts to volunteer with sports teams and programs in the area. The student should be engaged in active athletics communications activities the entire time they are in school. Even with my program proposal, there’s no better way to gain experience than doing it first-hand. A relationship with the school’s athletics communications department will be established to ensure quality first-hand professional experience.

Lastly, the students will be required to prepare and turn in a comprehensive portfolio demonstrating their expertise in athletics communications (and its various forms) and business. After reading through PRSAs requirements for its APR, it’s clear to me that we as athletics communicators don’t really do a good job of creating organizational campaigns in a way that demonstrates our abilities to future employers.

Sure, we do a great job of promoting our project and running campaigns. What’s a season of SID work – it may be one of the biggest PR campaigns of all time. It’s what we do and we excel at it. But, do we plan it out on paper, save our supporting materials and build a portfolio demonstrating our research, plan, supporting documents and evaluation? I know I don’t do a good enough job with that. Odds are, you don’t either. The graduates of this program will learn how to do this in a way that effectively promotes their most important brand – themselves.

I hope one day to be involved in the process of making this a reality.

MBA/MAC Graduate Program

First Year – MBA Program
In the first year of the program (Summer 1 through Spring 1), while volunteering in the school’s athletics communications office, students are enrolled in the school’s MBA program. This program will follow the exact curriculum of the school’s typical one-year MBA program.

Second Year – MAC Program

Second Year Summer (12 credit hours)
Introduction to Athletics Communications
Sport Finance
Communications Research Principles
Gameday: How to Plan, Implement and Adapt

Second Year Fall (15 credit hours)
Seminar / Topics in Athletics Communications 1
NCAA Compliance for the Athletics Communicator
Crisis Communications in Athletics
Sport and Mass Media
Practicum in Athletics Communications

Second Year Spring (15 credit hours)
Seminar / Topics in Athletics Communications 2
Social Media for the Athletics Communicator
Graphic and Web Design in Athletics Communications
Leadership in Sport and Society
Practicum in Athletics Communications
*Turn In Portfolio*

Mis-Tweeting Weakens, Rather Than Strengthens Brand

Over the past year, Twitter has proven its worth to the athletics communications world many times over. From reporting scores, to connecting head coaches with fans, to linking news releases, to advertise upcoming promotions and much more, Twitter has established itself as a critical communications platform for collegiate SIDs.

The thing about Twitter, however, is that it's only effective when it's done right. Those professionals who are, what I will call "mis-tweeting," are actually weakening their brand and its credibility instead of strengthening that brand.

In terms of branding, Twitter can be a great tool. It's PERSONAL, it's a way to connect with the fan base and it's a way to allow your fans (& follwers) to get to know about your brand, your university and your head coach (if he/she tweets).

The credibility of tweeting comes back to a philosophy that I believe to be a staple of effective communications. The fact is this: only the truth sounds like the truth.

That's indesputable. How many so-called "spin-doctors" try to pretend like something never happened or try to tone down the extent of what actually happened, when the media and fans ALREADY know what really happened? It NEVER works. Actually, it's worse. That potentially negative story doesn't just make news for one day, it is dragged out over however long it takes for the principal subject to say what really happened. In the mean time, rumors swirl and this negative publicity begins to haunt your organization for an extended period of time.

I'd like to identify below two main instances where mis-tweeting can occur (and should not) in the athletics communications industry.

Is That Really Coach Such-And-Such?
If your fans question whether that is really your head coach, you might as well shut down the Twitter account immediately. You have lost all credibility.

Just like "only the truth sounds like the truth," only your head coach sounds like your head coach. Twitter is too personal. If you, as the athletics communications professional (or your team's director of operations), are tweeting while pretending to be your (assumedly high profile) head coach, STOP now. Shut down the account.

Your head coach needs to send out his/her own tweets. By all means, help them. Especially if they are not technologically saavy. If need be, they can call you and let you know what their tweet is and you can post it, but try to avoid this if you can. It's going to be more personal and more sincere if they type it in.

What can you do to help? Load TwitterBerry or some similar program on their BlackBerrys to allow them to update at any time from any location. Show them examples of what other coaches are doing and provide guidance on what fans are looking for from your coach in terms of their tweets. Help upload their TwitPics and anything that can save them time. But, make sure it comes from them.

To give a personal example, one of my main responsibilities is to serve as the communications director for the University of Florida volleyball team. I approached head coach Mary Wise (pictured tweeting above) early last spring about the benefits of Twitter. She already had set up a Twitter account (@GatorMary), but we talked about the importance of updating on a regular basis and attracting new followers. A master at promoting her own program and the sport of collegiate volleyball, she was immediately on board.

Coach Wise handles all of her own Twitter posts. As her SID, I don't even have her Twitter password. She updates from her BlackBerry whenever she has a free minute. For example, Coach usually updates her Twitter following practices while waiting for the team to finish its stretching regiment, while waiting to board a flight in the airport, before turning off her office computer for the night and when riding the team bus. It takes only a minute, but it also takes your coach buying into the benefit of Twitter - how it allows your coach to connect with your fan base and allow them to communicate the great things about your program.

An SID's news updates on Twitter are great, and needed, but your fans want to hear from your head coach.

To Twitterfeed or Not To Twitterfeed?
Twitterfeed is an RSS-based program that athletics communications professionals use to disseminate their news releases via Twitter.

Essentially, it uses that RSS feed to pull your headline and link to the corresponding press release and sends it out as a tweet from your Twitter account. This can be beneficial for your operation, but most of the time it, again, hurts your brand through Twitter.

Why is Twitterfeed beneficial? If you update your Twitter account manually throughout your game or match (you should), you're also going to want to link your press release / game recap once the contest is over. But, you know as well as I do, that post-game is your busiest time. Especially if you're on the road, the likelihood that you have the time to send out your release, post it on the Web, shorten your URL and send out a Tweet (all before getting on the bus) is pretty slim.

That's where Twitterfeed comes in. Once you post your release on your Web site, Twitterfeed will automatically generate a tweet. That's a link that your fans will want to access and it will save you time.

Why is Twitterfeed a hinderance? A lot of athletics departments feel like they need to have a Twitter account because "everyone else does." So, they go about it the wrong way. They set up an account completely generated by Twitterfeed to "promote" their programs. It doesn't work.

A Twitter account generated completely by Twitterfeed looks more like spam coming through your Twitter application. It's like that e-mail account you've had forever on which you get about 100 spam messages per day, none of which are legitimate. Yes, it's nice to have a link to your post-game recap for followers who want to read it on their computers, or take the time to pull it up on their phone.

But, the majority of Twitter followers to do on their cell phones. They want quick updates that are meaningful and tells them something at a quick glance. That can only be done with the human touch. The other thing to remember - GameTracker, the live statistics program, only has a mobile version for football and that doesn't work on all mobile phones. If you are manually updating your Twitter with score and time updates, fans can keep up with your event, no matter the sport, from anywhere with their phones. Even if they only have a simple cell phone, they can receive those tweets via text message. They don't want a list of tweeted links.

Even worse is when a head coach's account is Twitterfeed driven. Talk about a loss of credibility. How many coaches do you know that would (or, more importantly) have the time to) go to the athletics Web site, copy the link to the release, shorten the URL, recap the headline and post the TinyURL link? That's what I thought. Only your head coach, sounds like your head coach.

Your manual post to Twitterfeed ratio should be somewhere about 4:1 on your SID news account and non-existant on your head coach's account.

In Summary
Remember that Twitter can be a powerful communications tool, but only when it's done properly. Only the truth sounds like the truth and only your head coach sounds like your head coach.

If you, as the communications professional, don't have a head coach willing to Twitter or you aren't willing to put in the time to tweet yourself, then just don't do it. It doesn't mean you aren't great at your job because you don't Twitter. It just means you don't want to Twitter. We all have our different strengths and aspects of our job we enjoy. Make sure if you decide to embark on Twitter, that you fully commit to it and make it your passion.

Credibility, genuinity, personality. That makes a great athletics communications Twitter account and it makes a great addition to your brand.

CoSIDA and PRSA Experiences Mutually Beneficial for SIDs

An important theme that has been prevalent throughout CoSIDA this year has been the importance of the communications professional “having a seat at the table” in the world of intercollegiate athletics.

That theme was best demonstrated by the convention's keynote speaker Kevin Sullivan, former White House Director of Communications, this past June in San Antonio.

Perhaps the most significant stride our organization has made this year towards that end is teaming with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to, as the press release announcing the partnership states, allow "members to interact at one common site and discuss issues and share ideas that may not have previously been discussed by both sides on a national level."

At the time, then-CoSIDA President Nick Joos said “This partnership will afford all CoSIDA members tremendous professional development opportunities while at the same time enhancing CoSIDA’s visibility and brand within the intercollegiate athletics community."

I completely agree and think that all CoSIDA members should applaud and take advantage of this partnership. I will discuss how I think CoSIDA members can and should expand their networks and skill sets through this partnership in a later post.

But, I think there are two main "tables" that athletics communications professionals need a seat at in order to best benefit our organizations and our own professional development.

Certainly the emphasis on public relations as a management function within athletics departments is of extreme importance. However, we also need to have a seat, a voice and influence within the main organization of all communications professionals - the Public Relations Society of America.

Very few SIDs are members of PRSA - a self-defined "community of more than 21,000 public relations and communications professionals across the United States, from recent college graduates to the leaders of the world’s largest multinational firms." But, SIDs themselves are adhering to the principles of PRSA on a daily basis. In fact, most of the principles in the new CoSIDA Strategic Plan, developed by Executive Director John Humenik and others, have been based on PRSA's own principles.

How do we as SIDs shed the misinformed image that we are just stat guys, just sports fans or just press-release writers? I think joining and participating in the activities of PRSA would go a long way in achieving this goal. What I'm saying is, let's not just focus on ourselves as communicators in the athletics world, but as strategic communicators in general.

Not only can you join the national PRSA organization, but also (and maybe more important), I encourage SIDs to get involved with their local PRSA chapters for regular meetings, opportunities to network, professional development and the ability to participate in the APR process.

Perhaps there is no greater professional development accomplishment for a communications professional than the Accredited in Public Relations credential. According to the description on PRSA.org, "Accredited professionals contribute to greater understanding of public relations as a vital management function, and undermine those who would refer to our craft as spin, our professionals as flacks, and our currency as misrepresentation and disinformation." Isn't that what we want as SIDs, too?

I would also argue that CoSIDA should develop a process for accreditation of SIDs. We have Registered Nurses, certified court reporters, certified computer programmers, but no distinction for SIDs that we are trained and have the skill set to excel in our craft.

That is another post for another day.

For now, I strongly suggest that sports communicators involve themselves in their local PRSA chapter, join the PRSA national organization, participate in the free on-demand Webinars and, if you have the experience and are willing to put in the time, invest in APR certification. There is a lot of carry-over from corporate/agency PR to collegiate athletics and I think, if we all work together, the experience can be mutually beneficial.

From the perspective of a SID department head, I would encourage your employees to participate in PRSA. The sharper the skill set and the better "globally" informed your employees are, the more they will be able to bring to your organization, which in turn will benefit as a whole.