Best way to pursue a job in a Sports Information Department?

Re: Best way to break into a SID?

Nah, use this:



Lockpick kit in a business card-sized frame.

 

First, kiss your spouse and kids goodbye. You'll never see them again.

Next, pack a travel bag and don't plan to unpack it for a year.

Then load up the iPod with several hours worth of music for the long bus rides.

Get ready to scale back your cost of living. And cancel your cable, because you'll never be home to watch it.

The only job where the hours and pay are worse than in sports journalism? Sports information. Especially at the DII, DIII and NAIA levels.

 

The hours may be worse, depending on the situation. The pay is not, at least not for the jobs I've looked at.

 

May help to join CoSIDA, their national organization, and attend their convention. Coming up soon in Orlando.

http://www.cosida.com/

 

Damn. I'm gonna be in Orlando from the 10th-16th. Just missed this. That would have been cool.

 

Can you write? If so, you're overqualified.

 

That's not nice. I've seen a lot of good features written by SID departments.

The one cool thing about my SID experience was that the athletic department became extended family. We'd work a football game or tournament, then go over to the AD's house, or a booster's house, and the food and fellowship [spouses and children were invited] was amazing.

It's also rewarding to help students learn the trade... and smart as well. By senior year, you can give them volleyball, baseball, softball and all those sports and free up more time to do football and basketball right.

 

Sorry Dan, but I'll stand by that.

For my purposes, I don't care about features. Ninety percent of what I need from SID offices are advance material and the bare bones of what happened. Most of the stories written after games (matches, races, etc.) that I see are so overwritten, you've got to tear them down and start over. Useless on deadline.

Just a little dash of AP style and AP approach ... get the important stuff at the top, for instance, would be a big help.

 

Good idea. I have three D-I schools within an hour of me. The SID in my town is a former beat writer. The beat writers an hour to my east and an hour to my west are both former SIDs. I've had young SIDs inquire about work at my paper and I've had interns at our paper ask about SID jobs.