Making the Sports Information jump

After watching everyone lose their job / the entire world economy flip over on it's back - I've been thinking. Maybe I'll make the jump into the Sports Information world. Same basic idea, watch game, report on what happens. Only now, I'd have to line up interviews and make media guides.

Has anyone done that? Is it hard to wake up everyday knowing you a huge homer? I don't mean to offend, someone once told me that's what it feels like...

Thoughts?

 

It is not easy to do as you have to find someone willing to hire you and right now, nobody is hiring.

 

I can't imagine it's that simple for a reporter to all of a sudden end up as a sports information director at a decent-sized university.

I always think back to those interns sitting in the office when I was in college making photocopies and drooling over the football players in between laying out pages on their men's tennis media guide.

Wouldn't anyone making that career change have to "train" as an intern, so to speak?

 

Either that or maybe working for a junior college of D2 of D3 school in the middle of nowhere.

It's such a popular field that the hiring managers can afford to be very choosy and only take people who have been interns or otherwise worked in the field before. I tried going this route after four years as a sports reporter and applied to dozens of schools, some for posted positions, some for positions I heard about through the grapevine, others cold. The ones that called me back all gave me the same answer - get back to us when you have experience in a college sports PR environment.

 

Any sports writer who has been in the business for any length of time will probably have seen the kind of work an SID does, and it's very similar. If I was hiring for an SID/assistant SID position I would certainly look at someone who's been a writer. The other stuff -- StatCrew, Web updating, things like that -- can be taught fairly quickly.

And yes, some places are hiring.

http://www.cosida.com/jobs.aspx

http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/search/results/?job_category=11104&ss=0&sec=browse

 

Of course, Moddy hasn't given you the full breakdown of what your new job entails.

 

Moddy, if it makes you feel better, maybe we can start a thread where you just bash your teams.

What's the worst that could happen?

 

I've thought about it, too, but then I see the ads and they're only looking for someone with "x years experience in a college SID office." I've covered plenty of college sports and have over 20 years experience as a writer, but apparently I'm disqualified because I never spent time as an SID.

(I considered making the jump about 10 years ago to an assistant slot at a CAA school, but changed my mind when I saw the pay.)

I remember when many SIDs were former newspapermen.

My wife, who works in features at my paper, applied for an assistant public relations position at a local D-II sized college. Ad made it look like she would be perfect for the job. She went in for an interview and the first question from the "search committee" (which included the school's SID), was "what is your media plan?" My wife was stumped, and it went downhill from there.

Obviously they were looking for a flack and not a writer. But, as has been said before, with the job market they could afford to be very, very picky.

 

That's a costume?
Unpossible!