College Sports Information Directors of America

AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: Random Thoughts on Being A Proactive SID

Thoughts from a small Division I office working with a 35-sport athletic program

1. Cover Your Back Side

1. Have coaches or superiors sign off on projects when it is possible
2. If it is your decision, make sure you can back up the process
   • selecting scholar-athlete candidates
   • choosing cover art for publications
   • staying home vs. traveling with a team
3. Good daily planner is a must
   • Franklin Covey has a great system
   • Palm pilots can be as valuable if you can see an entire month at a time
4. Make “To-Do Lists” for each sport covered by your staff
   • web update, hotline, emails, phone calls, AP story, opponent stats
   • post these lists at your desk, tape to game folders, leave one at home
5. Know or have readily available your school’s policies that pertain to things that you might see
   • getting to know the school P.R. Director can be a big help
6. Be well aware of athletic department, school, league and NCAA rules and procedures
   • having to search for these each time can really bog you down
   • compliance issues are tough to keep straight so find your contact for these issues
7. Interview AD to make sure you know exactly what is expected of you and learn their preferences
   • - also do this with as many coaches as possible
8. Purchase an extra power cord for your laptop computer
   • always keep one in your briefcase
9. Charts and lists of how your office works
   • brochure and game programs (pages, due dates, printers)
   • responsibility breakdown for everyone on staff
   • plan the seasonal transition in coverage of sports

2. No Place Like Home

1. See if your department will pay for high-speed on-line service at home
2. Keep extra set of your media guides and other helpful information on hand
3. Coordinate calendar with spouse/family ahead of time

3. General Tips (things you knew but may have not thought about)

1. It’s ok to have opinions about the effectiveness of your coaches and athletes, but be careful who you share them with and don’t let it effect your professionalism
2. Do not let wins or losses determine how you do your job
3. Be honest with both the professional and student media
   • you need cooperation from your coaches (see back)

4. Troubles I’ve Seen and How I would Now Prevent

• Coach wanting a brochure re-printed because he did not like a sentence… Know “who” you are dealing with and explain things to new coaches before I have them sign off
• Boss questioning amount of work time… Department heads should know how/when/where we get our work done (home office)
• Not getting brochures done by start of team’s season… establish plan with deadlines that is presented to everyone in the department

Calendar

Important Dates