Do High School Recruits Need Publicists?

If you have been paying attention to college recruiting, then chances are, you have heard of Terrelle Pryor. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound dual-threat quarterback is widely regarded as the nation’s top football prospect. On February 6th, many high school football recruits officially committed to offers from college programs across the nation. Pryor, however, opted to not commit and announced his decision at a press conference.

That’s right, a high school senior football player had a press conference with representatives present from Fox Sports Network, CSTV and CBS to name a few. Though this type of national attention to a high school recruit may raise your eyebrow, press conferences for recruits are by no means a rare occurrence.

This leaves me wondering: Do high school recruits need publicists?

Walking around Eugene this past week I have been surrounded by conversations about Pryor. Everyone at the University of Oregon seems to want to know when he is coming and what the school is doing to make his visit commitment worthy.

In my four years as a Duck, I have never heard so much buzz around national signing day. Perhaps the commotion has been caused by the numerous newspaper articles, magazine articles, Facebook groups and youtube posts.

If you were to watch Pryor’s press conference you would notice that his statement is well prepared and well spoken. Though Pryor did graduate with a 3.4 grade point average and is capable of preparing a statement, it is obvious that he had some help.

Parents, coaches, and mentors are expected to fill the roles of a publicist. Arranging press conferences, selecting schools for official visits and making the final commitment are all collective decisions because many of these recruits are under 18 and need their parents signature on the commitment papers.

High school recruits are essentially free agents looking for a four or five year contract worth around $100,000. This is a big money industry and professionals are already making a profit from athletic teenagers.

I think it is necessary for parents of student-athletes to seek professional advice about the college recruiting process, but whom do you trust with your kid’s future?

The NBA Knows Crisis Communication

“You cannot manage a crisis, but you can manage the perceptions the crisis creates.” I stumbled upon this quote after following links on my public relations teacher’s blog. Shel Holtz, Principal of Holtz Communication & Technology’s post on crisis communication fundamentals is where this statement came from.

When I think of crisis communication success stories I think of the NBA.

On July 20, 2007, the New York Post came out with a story that claimed the FBI was investigating an NBA referee who was betting on basketball games – including ones he was officiating during the past two seasons.

This guy was fixing games and making money – does anyone remember or care?

This huge scandal has been erased from the minds of many NBA fans because of a phenomenal job of crisis communication.

Instead of slamming the NBA for letting an officiating disaster happen, the media simply reported on the situation when details came out and concluded that the official was removed from his position and would no longer fix games.

The NBA media relations communicated information to the media before they could make allegations.

This leads me to believe that it is better to put it all out on the table than skew it in a way that can come back to bite you in the end.

If only baseball had done the same.

GQ Status = Brady Bandwagon?

Tom Brady is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of his era. With three Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl MVP’s, four Pro Bowl invites, and the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season, it is no wonder that the Pat’s are getting attention from a Brady fan base that has developed over the past few years.

Record breaking stats and a winning record equal huge fan base – right?

In the case of Tom Brady the answer may be a big fat NO. If you are not a sports fan, you would still probably be aware that Tom Brady is a prominent football player. Magazine covers at the checkout stands of convenient stores and grocery stores make it hard to ignore the new face of Stetson cologne and boyfriend of Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

My girl friends that don’t know a football from a baseball describe him as hot and are now acclaimed Patriot’s fans even after Brady’s former girlfriend and actress Bridget Moyanahan confirmed to People magazine that she was pregnant with Brady’s child though they were no longer dating.

So my question to you is this: Do you think that New England has bandwagon fans because they are a great football team (even though they lost the Super Bowl this year) or because their quarterback is GQ material?

I think both, but my roots are in Saugs, Mass and no, I am not on the Brady bandwagon in case you were wondering.

Welcome to my sports media relations blog!

I am interested in the relationships between professional and collegiate athletics, the media and its public. This blog will discuss examples of media relations and public relations in the sports world. Because sports are a form of entertainment and professional and collegiate athletes are given media attention that parallels celebrities, public relations professionals have a difficult time managing public opinion.Media relations and public relations are critical to professional and collegiate athletics, because public opinion is directly related to public support. Fan support can be a vital to a team’s success, because they determine ticket and merchandise sales. I will discuss sports related events that are covered in the media and the impact media coverage has on the public.Though I do not have any prior blogging experience, I have been involved in the University of Oregon Department of Intercollegiate Athletics for three years in the football department and have a background as a competitive athlete in soccer, softball, and cross country.