Going from a sports department at a paper to being a Sports Information Director

I did this on a part-time basis for two colleges. I loved the job but I also enjoy sports writing.

I think if you are at a Division I program where there are criminal problems, there might be a problem with spin or feeling like a flack. But I don't think that is the case at most Division I colleges and when you get below that, usually SIDs are begging for coverage.

Also, the worst thing any PR person can do is lie to the media. That's not to say you would always tell the whole truth and some questions you shouldn't answer, but never lie to the press is the number one rule of any GOOD PR person. I capitalized "good" for a reason.

The best thing about it is working with young athletes and being around a college campus. The only way it can be a bad job is if you work with really, really difficult people.

 

When I was an SID at a mid-major D1, I enrolled in grad school and ended up paying less than $1,000 for my master's. That degree led to my current job, which is teaching at a major school. Children of faculty and staff where I am now can go to school for free. If tuition keeps going up like it has been, by the time my two young 'uns reach college age, if they both get just a bachelor's that's about a half-million dollar benefit.

And I loved my job as an SID. Yes, there were long hours (I remember a few 20-hour days, but those were few and far between). The flexibility of my non-game days more than made up for the late nights. And your experience as a reporter will definitely come in handy, being that you know what the media needs and how to provide it. And the stat programs are easy to learn.

 

I'm really curious about these people I see posting on here claiming to work these 15-hour days, and making 12 hours out of a single game. I cover a major college beat, and I rarely hit 10 hours in a single day.

My guess is that some of these long days are products of doing things that don't need to be done, like showing up 2.5 hours before a game and reading every line in the game notes and laboring over every word in your notebook.

PS. I realize many people now are expected to do podcasts and blogs and whatnot, but still.

 

Maybe people want to be prepared before they're covering a major Division I college game. Maybe.

 

As I wrote earlier in the thread, in my situation, I was at a mid-size daily. Even on days when we covered events, we were usually expected to come back to the office and do layout, pagination and editing, among other things.

It wasn't a situation of 12 hours for a single game. There were a lot of other expectations. Believe me, I would have preferred being strictly a beat guy, but that wasn't the way it worked there. It was frustrating.

 

On my beat, if you show up less than 2.5 hours before the game, you're in a line 90,000 people/30,000 cars long to get into the stadium ...

 

I worked far longer as an SID than I have since as a writer. I can't imagine anyone thinking SIDs have it easier. I quit my SID job because of the stress. I wish I had been somewhere that was 9-5. I was always in DI, though at schools of different sizes. I never had June or July off, either. There was no off time at the schools where I worked. If it wasn't a season, it was media guide season.

 

But the worst part about SID work is that you have about 18 people (head coaches of each sport) who think you work exclusively for them. And these are rabid egomaniacs.

 

Bingo on the "no offseason." You put one sport to bed, you're working on the guide for the next. When you're covering a beat, at least you can see an offseason as the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was covering a D-I private school a few years back when the AD approached me about the SID spot that had just opened. It was a little weird, obviously, but I went home and thought about it.

Two things: 1) They couldn't pay me near what I was making. 2) It wouldn't have solved my problem of wanting to cut out some nights and weekends. In fact, it would have added up to more.

I'm sure it might have involved some lower stress levels, but .....

 

Glad to see you have that open mind that basic journalism teaches you to have on a subject. I'm sure that really helps you out on the job.

As for the real topic at hand, I can't imagine another profession to work in than this one. To be able to work with student-athletes every day is a great assignment. They continually amaze me with what they are able to accomplish, both on the field and in the classroom, and watching them grow into adults is wonderful to watch.

If -- like Monday -- you want to focus on all of the crap that makes up maybe one-percent of athletics, than you won't be able to see all of the good stuff.

Sure the hours suck some times, but that will happen with any profession, and the pay isn't the best -- though the benefits are awesome -- but I see an awful lot of people who absolutely hate going to work each day. I could get away with working less, but I prefer to do a good job.

As far as coaches are concerned, I have never let any of them think that I work for them, because I don't. I work with them. Once those ground rules are set, there won't be a problem. Like anything, if show somebody professional respect, then they will give it back.

 

Sure the hours suck some times, but that will happen with any profession, and the pay isn't the best -- though the benefits are awesome -- but I see an awful lot of people who absolutely hate going to work each day. I could get away with working less, but I prefer to do a good job.

What he said. I wake up every day and enjoy going in to work. This has not always been the case for me.