Worst access?

I would say the ability to talk to who you want to talk to at some point during the course of a week and at least occasionally under the circumstances that you would prefer i.e. one-on-one.

 

Reading all of this is why I enjoy covering an FCS (I-AA) school. If I need the coach, I call the office and he either takes the call or calls me back that day. If I need players, just call the SID and I have them that night or the next night (but only if it's early in the week, which I can live with).

This season, I wanted to talk to the star running back before media day. Got a one-on-one for 30 minutes.

A few weeks ago, wanted to do a story on the defense. Was able to watch practice, then talked to the D-coordinator and four players. All of them thanked me for coming.

The quarterback is a redshirt freshman. He's come to every post-game press conference when he's been requested.

I filled in on our D-I beat for the Tuesday press conference _ 30 minutes with the coach, including the post-press conference press conference with the beat writers. Got a few players, but nothing special (freshmen and redshirt freshmen are off limits). Oh, and the quarterback who hasn't had a class commitment all season on Tuesdays suddenly had one and wouldn't be available until 2:05, five minutes after all of us who also cover basketball had to go over to the arena for the basketball press conference.

 

Penn State's sports info office is a bunch of asshole douchebag paranoid fuckheads.

I once did a long-ish takeout on a Penn State senior who was about to get drafted. Got his cell from his mom, set up the interview, drove out to State College, spent the day with him. When we were done, he drove me back to whatever the new football building is called and somebody from the sports info office saw us -- figured out I was scribe from my sharp wardrobe and steno pad -- and told me I couldn't do the interview because it wasn't arranged through sports info. I ignored him - we were done anyway - but the kid, feeling free after four years of supression (and done with his eligibility), told the guy to go to hell, he was going to talk to whoever he wanted to. Was pretty cool.

I've hated PSU since.

 

Most of this is football-related. Anyone care to comment on the basketball side?

 

You can watch DI women's basketball practice certain days and have access to players on one or two days the SID/coach says you can talk to them. You have to give SID list of who you want 24 hours in advance. Monday pressers are streamed live on the Web, so forget about asking questions you'd use in a story, since everyone and their mother will read/hear comments on the athletic department site.

I'm not sure about the men's side, but from what little I do know, practice is closed except for one (two?) days per week. Maybe one day open and reporters can't request who they want. SID and coach dictate who comes out.

So Norman what's been your experience?

 

No votes for Al Groh yet?

 

I've been requesting a certain football All-American for the last three weeks and haven't gotten him. The coach I cover is is available for one presser per week, plus two teleconferences and postgame. It adds up to a little less than an hour per week, which is more than enough, really. The problem is that he doesn't do one-on-ones, which sucks, because when I've spent a bunch of time working on a story of my own, it would be awfully nice to get 5 minutes alone with the coach just to ask him the stuff I don't want to ask in front of 35 people.

I'd say my access is OK. We get practices a handful of times per year, and usually get to interview the guys we request, but not if there is anything remotely controversial about the player.

The basketball team I cover at the same university is like a completely different world. Boggles the mind.

 

I dunno. Hasn't he mellowed a bit ... as long as you don't ask stupid questions?

 

I cover a top-25 men's team and I couldn't ask for anything more as far as access goes.

I guess I've been lucky. Aside from a blowup or two, the coach gives me just about anything/everything I request and more.

The coach also knows how the game is played, that more often than not such access is a benefit his program.

 

I was still in school and covering the men's hoops team for the local paper. they were in the midst of the longest winning streak in the nation.
I used to hang out in the gym during practices, shooting free throws on a side goal while they ran practice. One day the coach just blows up.
"Fuck this shit! Practice is fucking over! Get off the goddamn court!" And off he storms back to his smoke-filled office to start in on another pack of cigarettes.
I cowered as he walked by. A couple of minutes later, I walked down the hall. I meekly peeked into his office.
"Coach, you OK?"
"Yeah," he said. "they didn't want to practice. I didn't want to see that shit either. So what's up. What do you want to talk about today?"
Years later, I used to do the weekly radio show with one of his successors as coach. if you listened closely, you could hear him pouring me another cold one from another pitcher of beer he ordered during the show.
Those were the days of just great access. Loved it.