Speaking of media days ...

How about a summary of what the conferences do in terms of formats, accessibility, media guides? Who does it well, who doesn't, and what's the best format out there?

 

I'm a big fan of the ACC media days, likely because it was so personal. A year after going to the SEC cattle herd, ACC seemed so easy. Small tables for coaches and players, and plenty of access.

 

SEC media days are great. They provide you with every school's media guide. (heavy, yes). The access is to coaches and players is in a group setting, but there are plenty of chances to ask questions. Also, if you hang around down stairs in the lobby, where the sports talk radio shows are, you can get extra access to coaches. In 2004, I talked with a coach right after a radio interview and got to ask a followup question I had asked earlier when he addressed the ball room crowd of reporters.

 

If you think SEC Media Days are great, you obviously haven't been to many media days, including the ACC.
The coaches' appearances are mass-group settings, one mic, 200-300 reporters in the same room.
The players appear for 30 minutes apiece, max, and there's a rushed, herd mentality about most of them (and the real superstars get the same one-mic, 200-300 reporter treatment as coaches).
The ACC and Big 10 both have formats where you can go from table to table and talk to whatever player and coach you'd like. In the ACC, for example, 12 players and six coaches appear on separate days in 90-minute blocks. When the first 90 minutes is over, the other 12 players and six coaches you didn't have already come in.
Sure, there are crowds around the tables, but if you hang around long enough, you can ask any follow-up question you want - and get plenty of other material in the process.
If I had to drive 4 hours to get to the ACC's media day or walk across the street to the SEC, I'd make the drive in a heartbeat.

 

Buh, buh, buh he got to ask a real live college coach a question and everything!

 

Don't know if it's changed much, but the Big 12 does a pretty nice job. ... Six teams on Day 1, six teams on Day 2. ... Coach does the podium and then two players -- all three people were usually available outside the main ballroom afterward.

 

The Pac-10 is incredibly low key...

One day at a Sheraton by LAX (over by about 2 pm usually) with the coach and one player per team. They usually draw about five or six dozen writers total which does allow for some great one-on-one access.

And you wonder why people dismiss the conference compared to its BCS brethren.

 

Just got back from ACC Kickoff.

Incredibly chill atmosphere. Like other said, tables set up in banquet hall that allow you to roam around and get what you need. I walked away with enough player/coach interview for the preview, the next month of columns and at least half-a-dozen "30-second" stuff we do for the weekly pages.

 

I like how the Big Ten does its media kickoff. There are separate TV and print interviews with the coaches and players, so you can actually get a few decent questions in. The players and coaches are at tables that you just walk to and are fairly accessible. Good stuff, IMHO.

 

The SEC's are typically a pain in the ass, but with 500-plus media folks there -- and that number might be higher this year because of all the Saban hype -- there's probably not an easier way to do it.

 

I'm told 800 credentials have been issued this year.

 

The SEC media days suck for daily stories because everybody gets virtually the same stuff. But I don't see any other way they can do it.
It's a heck of a lot better since it moved from downtown Birmingham.