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.

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.

--
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.

---

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.

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.

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.