casey's Blog
What I Do.
I work in Sports Information. That can also be called Media Relations, Athletic Communications, and any sort of combination of those words. Essentially, we do PR for the athletic department. But even that doesn't encapsulate all that we do. The basics include dealing with the media, doing statistics for the team, game management, media guides, and website writing. We're also archivists for the athletic departments, keepers of all records, photographs, and info that relates to everything since the beginning of time. We nominate athletes for awards, we report to conferences, and we (sometimes) travel with the teams.One way I like to explain it is this - when you watch an NCAA basketball game, you know all those people sitting in front of laptops on the court? Those are my people. I do that. That usually seems to get across to people.
What we do on a daily basis changes constantly though. We updated bios for websites, we stat games, we pitch stories to media, and then of course, we deal with anything that comes up. Sometimes it's the kid of an alum, looking for a picture of their dad, who played tennis here in the 1940's. Sometimes, it's that there was an issue at another school, or another athletic department, and we need to prepare our AD or coaches to field questions on the subject. We do programs for Hall of Fame inductions, and put together slideshows to honor athletes at the end of the year. We put together lists of students to be nominated for awards, and write press releases when they win them. We schedule photographers to take pictures at games, and then once we get those CDs, we sort through them, name them by player, and load them on to the website.
Not sure if you get my point yet, but basically, no two days are the same. And we're almost always swamped. But I wouldn't want to do anything else.
For example, as I write this, I'm sitting in the softball press box, on a sunny (but granted, windy) Monday afternoon, ready to watch a doubleheader. I'll do stats, make sure the walk-up music is right, and keep an eye on the student who's working the scoreboard. And while I'll be doing a million things at once, and trying to write today's story in my head at the same time, I'm being paid to watch sports. And I have to remind myself that there are a lot of people who would kill to do what I do.
Sports information is a little-known field, and we're some of the hardest working people in sports. We don't get a lot of vacation. We work nights and weekends, and have to show up at 9 am on Monday, just like everyone else. Don't expect to have a Friday or Saturday night free during basketball season, or weekends free once the spring sports. Oh yeah, and football? Forget your Saturdays. All fall.
And don't think that we get rewarded for our hard work. Once, I broke down what I earned if I would get paid hourly, at the rate I get as a salaried employee. It was about $1.33 an hour. Of course, if I did work as an hourly employee, I would get overtime, and in that case, I would rake it in.
Money isn't why we're here, though, and that's important to remember in this profession. It's the chance to be a part of a team, to follow a group of kids through their collegiate careers. It's a chance to work in athletics, with passionate, competitive people, who realize that they have some of the best jobs on earth. And because I work in the Ivy League, I get the privilege to say I'm working with kids who are here because they love the game, not because they got a full ride. They may not be going to the NBA or the NFL when they graduate. But they do go to med school, to the Peace Corps, or to any number of amazing things after graduation that I was never smart enough to do. Some of these athletes I watch will be saving lives some day, building cities, and most definitely changing the world.
But for now, they're here to play their hearts out for the love of the game. And I'll be there the whole time, to stat their every move and make sure they get the media coverage they deserve.
Posted: May 6, 2009