NBA Social Media Stir

Sports PR is a field that truly lives up to the saying “everyday is different.” Whether the public relations team is handling a regular game night or taking care of an incident involving a player, things are always interesting.

A prime example is how social media played a large part in free agent DeAndre Jordan’s decision of what step he wanted to take in his professional basketball career. Jordan was torn between re-signing with his current NBA team, the Los Angeles Clippers, or signing to a new team, the Dallas Mavericks.

Jordan’s uncertainty led to a number of players from both teams taking their part in the big decision to Twitter.

Next thing you know, more players started joining the Twitter emoji fun, even some who weren’t directly involved with the signing. Michael Jordan, often noted as the best basketball player ever, simply tweeted a goat emoji referring to himself as the “Greatest of All Time.”

Sports contracts and trade deals may seem irrelevant to those who are not sports fans, but they involve a high amount of business between managers and agents and seriously large amounts of money. Even ten years ago, you would have to stay tuned to the television or radio to hear the latest news. Now, players are announcing their decisions via social media before broadcasters report it.

Social media plays such a large part of a professional sports team off the field. It is not an easy job to monitor what players post about, but this situation definitely raises the question of if it should be allowed to handle business in this manner.  

What’s in a Name? Effects of the Big East Name Change

This year’s March Madness marks the last year that many of the traditional Big East schools will represent their conference in the tournament. Next year, the Big East will be completely made-over, reflecting little of its Eastern history and rivalries. 

The official split of the conference is effective July 1. Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are headed to the ACC and Rutgers is headed to the Big Ten. 

Seven of the league’s Catholic schools are also leaving to form their own basketball-focused league. These seven Catholic schools will take with them the Big East name and the Madison Square Garden location for their post-season tournament. 

Even with all of this movement, there are leftover schools in the Big East for the upcoming year. The schools are: Temple, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, South Florida and Southern Methodist. “America 12” is one of the names being considered for this conference. 

Looking at the Big East’s long history and tradition, being a college basketball fan and being a student at Temple. I couldn’t help but think about the PR implications of this split for the new America 12, the Catholic 7 and Temple (my university). 

• America 12: With many of the Big East powerhouses exiting the league, I’m not sure if the America 12 will be able to uphold the reputation that comes with the Big East name. I believe it will take a while for fans of these schools to get used to the new name and what it means. 
• Catholic 7 (Will take Big East name): Will this league be thought of as a phony Big East? Although the league simply bought the Big East name, the schools involved are all schools in the east with long-standing basketball dominance and tradition. I think the name will still resonate with fans. In respect to name recognition and branding, the Catholic 7 may be the group getting the most out of this deal. 
• Temple: In spring 2012, there was lots of hype around Temple’s move back to the Big East. It seems though, as soon as we sat down at the Big East table, all the major players got up. As a soon-to-be graduate of the university I am sad to say that this may be a setback of the reputation of our athletics but I hope the America 12 name will become as respected as the Big East name. 

Do you have other thoughts regarding the split? Let us know. Enjoy the rest of March Madness! 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kyra Mazurek

The Philadelphia Flyers Offer A Golden Opportunity

It is no surprise that many college students, and even experienced professionals, are eager to break into sports PR. It is an honor to be involved with something that is cherished in the Philadelphia community. Interning with the Philadelphia Flyers this semester has given me a unique experience and many opportunities, and has also made me realize no team is safe against the relentless offensive and defensive lines of the Flyers.

The Philadelphia Flyers are one of six teams added to the National Hockey League during the season of 1976. The two-time Stanley Cup winners are considered the Broad Street Bullies to Philadelphia sports fanatics.

Although the Flyers are brutal and merciless on the ice, they show their sweet side by giving back to the Philadelphia community. The professional sports franchise gives back annually at their Flyers Wives Carnival. The carnival raises more than $23 million for charities in the Philadelphia area and considered one of the most successful by a professional sports team. Interning at this event was a rewarding experience. I learned a lot, had a good time and was a part of giving back to the Philadelphia community all at once.

The Wells Fargo Center is the place where it all goes down. The history of the arena dates back to 1967 when it was called the Spectrum. Since then, the arena has hosted thousands of events from Elvis’ last live performance, NHL and NBA championships, to the World Cup of Hockey and more. It is an amazing opportunity to work in a huge venue with such an incredible history of sportsmanship, teamwork and live performances. There are also other perks that come with working for the Flyers.

Interns are required to attend all home games, ensuring a high energy level workday. Another benefit is having the opportunity to network with other professionals in the industry, members of the media, as well as the players. My supervisor and I work closely with the players by conducting, monitoring and transcribing post-game interviews.

However, being a public relations professional for the Flyers is not an easy feat. Since they work so closely with the team, traveling is a must. It is a job that requires an enormous amount of devoted time and energy.

PR professionals in the world of sports monitor and facilitate the flow of information from the teams to the press. As a result, interning with the Flyers has provided me with an invaluable skill, media relations. Since the growth of modern public relations is a result of the development of mass media, it is important to keep your media relation skills in great shape.

Sports PR involves working closely with journalists, providing them with timely stat reports and accurate transcription of post-game interviews. As public relations professional, creating and maintaining these relationships is key. If working in sports PR is something you are passionate about, send your resume and cover letter now! Visit www.teamworkonline.com for new sport and live event internship and job opportunities.

Do you have what it takes to be successful in the energetic and laborious world of sports PR? Share your tips and advice with us!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Samantha Miller.

Severe Punishments for Bountygate: Crisis Management at its Finest

The “bounty” scandal, or bountygate as it is becoming known, of the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints has been considered by many different sports media outlets, such as ESPN, CBS, and Sports Illustrated, to be one of the worst scandals not only in NFL history, but in all of sports. The “bounty” program refers to a system set up and run by players where cash rewards were paid out to players who successfully injured or “knocked out” other players from a game. However, many consider the worst part of the program to be that Saints management and coaches knew about and encouraged the program. As a result, the league last week handed down draconian punishments that included a one year suspension for Saints head coach Sean Payton, an eight game suspension for General Manager Mickey Loomis, and an indefinite suspension for Gregg Williams, who was the coach that initially instituted the bounty program to the Saints when he was their defensive coordinator.

The significance of this scandal is that it does great damage to the NFL’s recent attempts to revamp its image and stance in regards to safety. Football, by nature, is a physical game with a high injury rate. Traditionally, the NFL has encouraged this physicality and has paid little attention to the overall and long term health of its players. However, recent research about head trauma and a class action lawsuit from retired players about the NFL’s negligence towards player safety have brought the issue to the game’s forefront. In response, the NFL has slowly introduced new tackling and equipment rules to try and protect players. In addition, new procedures have been put into place to ensure that players suffering from concussions are fully healed before they return to playing. The NFL was trying to reinvent itself to show that it cared about safety and this new prioritization was supposed to trickle down to the lower levels so that over time the game would become safer for everyone to play.
Then the bounty scandal happened.

The scandal showed that nothing had changed. The fact that it existed for so long and that coaches and players knew about it and encouraged it set an awful example for the lower levels of the game. The “bounty” system undermined the NFL’s attempts to establish itself as a safety first league.

The NFL, however, recognized the damage the scandal caused to its image and its “role model” status and this is why it punished those involved so hard. The Saints are one of the more popular franchises in the league, Payton is one of the best known and most respected coaches in the NFL, and to top it off, this year’s Super Bowl will be held in New Orleans. The last thing the NFL wanted to do was to hurt the Saints franchise, but it had to prove to all the high school and college players and their parents that the NFL is serious about safety. These harsh and severe punishments can be seen as a PR move by the NFL to respond to the image hit it took as a result of the scandal. They send the message that the NFL holds safety above all else, including the money it makes off the Saints franchise.

Bountygate shows us that when it comes to crisis management, the right decisions are rarely the easy ones. The NFL could have pretended like nothing happened and they would have continued to make heaps of money off the Saints. However, the league knew that its image as a role model for younger players was its top priority and therefore delivered a decision that will help the overall health of the league, even though it may not look that way right now.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Matt Jones.

Social Media Meets March Madness

March Madness has arrived and unlike many years before, this year March Madness has taken over the lives of its fans and also their social media accounts.

Selection Sunday, the day where picked teams and their seeds are announced, started most of the Twitter talk about March Madness. Fans mainly started tweeting two hours leading up to the announcement of which teams would be picked for the tournament. Iona received the most tweets with almost 12,000 mentions in a two hour span of time. Iona was not the only team that was tweeted about. This year, unlike many others, March Madness and social media became much more interactive. Fans created team and player hashtags, tweeted to players and began live tweeting scores and comments during games. Players even tweeted back to fans and thanked them!

For the first time this year, there was also a March Madness social winner. A research group at communications agency Schwartz MSL created a formula to see which school had the most tuned in social media fan. The formula took the combined followers of a school’s team on Facebook and Twitter, and then divided that number by the total student body population. The Kansas Jayhawks were the winners of this bracket. Why did such a smaller school like Kansas, with a little over 20,000 undergrad students, beat out such a large school like Ohio, that has over 43,000 undergrad students? Mostly because when you have such a large school like Ohio it is hard for all students to be as interactive on social media, unlike a smaller school like Kansas.

Interested in knowing which team is being talked about most currently on social media? Mashable.com provides mRank. mRank calculates the amount of buzz that a particular topic has on the social web by analyzing conversations across Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Mashable has dedicated a whole selection to the buzz for March Madness teams here.

Hopefully, your top bracket choice has a lot of buzz! Are you participating in March Madness via your social media accounts? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jackie Grillo.

Breaking into Sports Public Relations: A “Birds Eye View”

Recently I sat down with Ryan Nissan, Football Media Services Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, to see an insiders perspective into the day-to-day operations of a public relations practitioner of America’s most popular and demanding sport: Football.

The biggest take-away I received from Ryan was that if you want to enter the sports industry you are going to have to have prior experience and be able to have a competitive resume, because there are limited jobs and everyone dreams of working for their favorite sports team. The Eagles have a total of three staff members in their Media Relations Department. Before working for the Eagles, Nissan had an internship with HBO Sports in New York City. Through that experience he was able to connect with the Eagles and he began filming press conferences for them three times a week. The Eagles made it to the Super Bowl that year in 2004 (oh how far away that seems to Eagles fans), and Nissan was asked to stay on for the remainder of the playoffs. His hard work paid off as the next year as the Eagles offered him a Graduate Assistant’s position, and finally with some luck, but even more hard work and dedication, Nissan was promoted to the position he holds today.

Nissan told me that the best advice he had for students wanting to get involved in sports PR was to reach out to your universities Sports Information Director (SID) and to become actively involved with them on campus, because the work you will do there is very similar to what your future job could be in professional sports. He also added that SID’s were the first people he reached out to in regards to filling open positions within the organization. Writing for your school newspaper was the second piece of advice Nissan dished out, saying that in his job today he is constantly updating player and coaches bios along with recaps from games. Writing is a constant and inescapable necessity in the world of sports PR. Finally Nissan added to always do your best work and give your finest effort because the NFL is somewhat like a brotherhood saying, while there might not be a job available on your hometown team, there could possibly be an open job on another team and the contacts you make along the way in this business can take you a long way, including a recommendation for an open job somewhere else in the league.

With every job comes some downsides along with some fantastic perks, and Nissan’s job is no different. He said the toughest part about his job was keeping pace with the evolution of the media, especially social media. When he started his job with the Eagles, Facebook was just beginning to come alive and Twitter was not even in the picture. Now players can instantly be accessible for all fans across the country with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. It is an around the clock job and Nissan loves the fast paced environment that is always keeping him on his toes. He said the best part about his job though were the relationships he has established with the players, coaches and media, adding that’s his main job is to have the players, coaches and media trust him. The three make up two huge distinct groups and his role is to play the middleman between the two.

“I have never dreaded coming to work,” Nissan said. “Every day I wake up and am excited and looking forward to either getting into the office or arriving at the stadium for game day.” This is a great piece of wisdom I took away from Nissan that applies to everyone, not just those interested in sports PR. You never want to put yourself in a position to detest the place where you go to work. So go out and dream big, it wouldn’t be considered a dream job if at one point in your life your dream did not seem impossible. Never set limits for yourself, in the words of many football coaches, “Always keep running, never stop until you reach that end zone for the touchdown.” And when you get there, keep dreaming.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Andy Esworthy.

Why the Sports Industry Dominates Twitter

With the recent emergence of social media, it seems that every business and corporation now has a Twitter. The sports industry was one of the first major corporations to catch on to this trend and they are calling the shots on how to run a successful social media platform.

Professional sports are a business, but the two are often very confused when thought of as partners. Fans want to believe that their favorite athletes play for the love of the game and the pursuit of childhood dreams, while the owners and some players try and cash in on every money-making opportunity they can that involves their team. Sports and business both often create controversy. However, the one way sports do not create controversy is the Twitter strategies and the lessons many businesses could learn from by modeling after the sports industry’s twitter approach. Businesses could learn from the sports industry’s Twitter strategy by following these tactics:

Exclusive Access- Twitter allows fans to have access to their beloved teams that they would never have had to chance to before. All of the behind the scenes work that a professional team goes through can now be made available in small tidbits to the public. Whether it is snapping a photo of merely a coach’s meeting or relaying information straight from the team’s head spokesperson. This access allows fans to feel closer to the teams they follow even more and gives more meaning to the fans to follow their teams on Twitter.

Fan Interaction- Ever go to the ballpark or stadium early, hoping to sneak down to the closest possible seats to the field hoping to talk to, shake the hand or even ask for an autograph from your favorite player? With Twitter, fans have access to their favorite players at their finger tips, or rather their Twitter handles. Many athletes will take advantage of the easy interaction Twitter allows professional athletes and fans to have, because it allows them to become closer to the fan base that supports them on a daily basis. This then enhances the fan experience, which will only build positive brand recognition for the fan of the player and/or team that he or she plays on.

Live Updates- Not able to sneak away from all of that grueling work at your job and check on your local team’s scores? Twitter grants a solution to that problem. Most, if not all teams will be updating their Twitter feeds at a very rapid pace throughout the game, keeping all of their fans that are not able to attend or view the game filled in on what’s happening during the game. This allows fans to stay connected no matter where they are, yet they still will feel the comforts of being home following their beloved franchises.

Contests and Giveaways- The sports industry more than any other industry has many contests and giveaways strictly for their Twitter followers only. The only way to win the contest is to follow the team or player on Twitter. This gives the team or player a chance to shape the conversation and take advantage of the use of hashtags such as #superbowl2012 or #postseason. In return, it keeps fans glued to the games and team twitter feeds and keeps the interactions continuous between the team and fans.

So, the ball is in your court. Maybe staying late after work to watch some hoops and twitter feeds with your co-workers isn’t such a bad idea after all. If you want your business’ social media platforms to succeed, all you have to do is get in the game!

Agree/Disagree? Let us know what you think about this proposed plan of action. We are all ears!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Andy Esworthy.

Sports: best on the sidelines or in front of the TV?

I’ve never understood the pull of sports PR for individuals. There are so many people and players to have to worry about and at any moment your whole team can go down the drain. The Penn State and Syracuse scandals in one year are enough for anyone. Maybe you’re hoping to set up a press conference for Michael Vick so he can invite you to a huge mansion party. You never know, you may get a Christmas present from Ryan Howard too! All right, maybe you aren’t in it to hang out with a player and become his BFF, but the glamorous invite of the sports industry can cause daydreaming that is difficult to keep at bay.

But before we start inviting anyone to dinner, ehow.com offers some solid beginning tips:

• Write to all your area teams; college, NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.

• Volunteer to work on game days. Working on game days is the best way to get your foot in the door with a sports team and get your first public relations experience on your resume.

• Get a long-term internship with the team or college you've been working with.

• Colleges in particular have a lot of work that needs to be done, as most have several sports, some with 20 or even 30+ teams that need to be covered. College PR departments tend to be underfunded, so they will generally allow interns to cover one of their lower-end sports to gain experience and save money on staff.

Like many entertainment PR fields, the most important step is putting your foot in the door and making a name for yourself. Trying out the college level and professional level positions could help hone you in on what kind of sports PR you really want to do. It is rumored that college level is more rewarding than professional, but this all depends on the person. If this particular field interests you start Googling, start writing, and start introducing yourself.

Why do you think sports PR is so popular? Or is there a more popular field in PR? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Katherine Carpenter.

The NFL Drops the Ball

The Super Bowl is one of the largest sports spectacles in the world. Around 111 million television viewers looked on as the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers battled for football glory. An additional 103,219 spectators saw the game live from Cowboys Stadium in North Texas. But due to poor planning, the stadium was not able to accommodate 400 fans who showed up to the game with their tickets in hand.

Due to a lack of space, the stadium’s maximum capacity was exceeded. In order to allow additional seating, temporary sections were built, but construction was not completed by Super Bowl Sunday. As a result, 400 fans were removed from the stadium and denied re-entry. The NFL failed to take proper action and is facing public scrutiny because of it.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys Stadium owner Jerry Jones were both in attendance, but did not apologize for their mistake face-to-face to those impacted. After reports surfaced about the ticket debacle, the NFL took action in efforts to compensate the fans that were not allowed to see the game and to save face in the public sphere. What unfolded achieved neither.

The NFL presented the 400 fans with two options. First, each fan would receive a free ticket to next year’s Super Bowl along with $2,400, a figure three times the amount of this year’s tickets face value. The second offered fans one free ticket to a future Super Bowl of that fan’s choice. This option also included round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations. Fans immediately rejected the initial offers. The NFL neglected to assess how much those 400 fans had spent on travel arrangements. They also forgot to account for the inflated cost of tickets when sold by third parties. Under the two options, fans’ expenses were still far from reimbursed. The NFL failed to properly assess the extent of monetary losses experienced by the fans. In doing so they made the organization appear stingy and unattached from their fans. This mishap and the failed attempt to solve it could not have come at a worse time for NFL executives and owners.

With the uncertain status of the new collective bargaining agreement and the looming potential of a player lockout, the NFL finds itself reliant on the support of its fans and will need some public sentiment. They may have lost all hope of that with their Super Bowl mistakes. Typical NFL fans have a hard time relating to rich athletes, which may ultimately lead them to side against players, blaming a potential lockout on their selfish demands. But, your typical NFL aficionado can relate to an ordinary fan being denied entrance in a game that he or she has paid for. The mistake, along with the obvious mishandling of the solution, reflects negatively on the operations of the NFL, which in turn may lead the fans to conclude that the NFL is responsible for the potential lockout, not the players.

A lockout will tarnish the reputation of the NFL. Executives and owners will take the brunt of the blame because of their failure to exhibit foresight and fairness with their largest profitable entity, their fans.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.

Jets' Virtual Facebook Application

Products are not the only thing considered a brand. Companies, people and even teams are brands as well. In the next couple of weeks, millions of people will be watching NFL teams race to the Super Bowl. Conversations will revolve around the individual teams in the playoffs. Since playoffs are on everyone's mind, let us consider how professional athletic teams approach branding.

The use of social media is one modern method teams can utilize to create an image. The New York Jets have pioneered the use of social media within the NFL. With a team Twitter profile, over 20 players with a personal account, a Facebook fan page and a virtual Facebook application, the Jets are creating an image of innovators.

The virtual Facebook application, "Ultimate Fan", has allowed the New York Jets to place themselves directly in front of their viewers. The author of an article on Examiner.com was able to speak with Matt Higgins, the Executive Vice President of Operations for the Jets. Read the article to find out how Higgins believes the use of social media, especially the "Ultimate Fan" application has successfully connected them with fans.

What is your opinion of this virtual Facebook application? According to a Jets representative, the Jets are proud to own the "1st revenue generating Facebook application to be backed by a sports team." Should other athletic teams follow?

Michael Vick's Endorsement Redemption

NFL quarterback Michael Vick once endorsed big name products such as Nike and Coca-Cola. After his arrest in 2007 for his involvement in dog fighting, he lost all endorsements. A few weeks ago, Vick appeared in an advertisement for the first time since his arrest and his return to the field as the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback.

Vick's first new client is Woodbury Nissan, a New Jersey car dealership. While certainly a lot smaller scale than his former clients, it's a start. The dealership's executive manager said the response from their customer base has been mostly positive, but still negative from animal activists.

Vick's recent performances on the football field and seemingly good behavior off the football field have helped improve his image with many people. However, many people still feel that his involvement in dog fighting is unforgivable and should not be overlooked.

The ice is now broken for Vick to begin endorsing products again. It is likely that more companies will now begin considering Vick for marketing deals. Do you think Vick has redeemed himself enough with the public to begin representing brands again or will his past have a negative impact on the brands' images?

To read more about Vick's endorsement deal, check out the article on Philly.com.

Thrash is Free!

The NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, in hopes of drawing more attention to their team’s recent success, launched an over-the-top campaign to boost ticket sales. The team’s mascot, Thrash (after Georgia’s state bird “Thrasher”) stole a Zamboni, drove it along the Georgia interstate, was arrested for doing so and thrown in jail. His bail was put at 5,000 tickets being sold to upcoming Thrasher games.

The public relations stunt involved promotions on the team’s website, which included news videos and updates on Thrash’s fate. The stunt was also publicized on the team’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Thrash was behind bars for four days, from Dec. 15 to Dec. 18, until Thrasher fans came through and purchased the court-mandated 5,000 tickets necessary to free him from jail.

I thought this was a fun and creative publicity stunt to get Thrasher fans excited about their team and increase ticket sales. What did you think of it?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Trish Wyatt.

LeBron James: All-Star or Villain?

With the boom of social networking sites and different creative media outlets, being in the public eye does not hold the same appeal it once did. Our culture’s unhealthy fixation with stars and athletes creates a love-hate relationship. We love them when they do well and hate them when they don’t do what we expect from them.

Lately, All-Star NBA player LeBron James has not made himself as easy to love as before. Over this past summer he delivered a killing blow to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ fans with the announcement that he would not be returning to the franchise in which many could argue he made popular. On July 8, 2010 James shocked the nation on an ESPN special titled “The Decision.” The spectacle of a news conference not only announced that he would play the upcoming season with the Miami Heat but it also gained the Cleveland native much criticism and many disgruntled fans. Soon after the special, James was viewed and labeled by many as a “villain” or a “ring chaser” for abandoning his hometown in hopes of winning a championship.

As a defense, James used Twitter to get back at all his critics dubbing the day “Hater Day.” He addressed all criticisms and even made it a point to re-tweet several hateful, nasty and even racist tweets directed toward him. After “Hater Day,” James explained why he used Twitter as an outlet of his frustration. “I just want you guys to sometimes see it also, to see what type of words are said towards me and towards us as professional athletes,” he said. “Everybody thinks it's a bed of roses when it's really not. For me, I have enough motivation. But it's always good to have a little bit more.”

After receiving much backlash for all of these media stunts, James was scrutinized for his new team’s lack of competitiveness. However, he soon struck gold in the media with his new Nike Rise commercial. In the commercial, James repetitively asks the question “What should I do?” as to inquire about how he should move on with his career in an accepted manner. He tries to gain fans’ approval by taking suggestions about how to clean up his image. The commercial concludes with him dunking a ball, signaling the one thing he should do: play basketball.

James is one of many athletes who have faced issues with the media. It seems that if these athletes are able to perform well in their respected sport, we eventually forgive them because their talent supersedes their public faults. Whether you love him or hate him, think he’s right, wrong, or are indifferent, LeBron James’ efforts and attempts to be a positive role model have been honorable.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kyle Smith.

How Did Field Hockey Help My PR Career?

It is undoubtedly helpful to join organizations that are related to your desired career, such as PRSSA or PRowl Public Relations. Don't be deterred, however, from joining another organization or participating in an activity because you don't think it will help your career in communications.

I began playing field hockey when I was in fifth grade. When I learned Temple had a club field hockey team, I signed up to play as fast as I could. I became a dedicated player and involved myself with the running of the club. I was elected the president of the club team my sophomore year. What does playing a sport have to do with public relations? Plenty!

I was able to hone my organizational and leadership skills while enjoying the sport I love. Here are some of the tips I have gathered over the past two years as president of the Temple Club Field Hockey Team that I can now apply to my future career in public relations:

- Create a binder: Create a binder with any and all useful information for your position. I kept player contact information, the sports club handbook, our constitution, and other information that I may need on hand at any field hockey practice, game or tournament. I just passed this binder on to the new president of the team. Having a binder with useful information about the position is beneficial for transitioning other people into the position you just left.

- Create a "one sheet" for each event: Create a document for each event that has all useful information you may need for an individual event. For each game I created a document that listed game information, game location and directions, opponent's contact information, list of players attending and not attending the game, etc. Instead of trying to remember details at a moment's notice I had a document in front of me for each game with everything I needed.

- Delegate work: When I first became president as a sophomore, the president had little help from the other elected officers. I spent most of my sophomore year and part of my junior year doing everything for the club. This was partly because I wanted to do it all and partly because the other officers rarely helped. I realized that I cannot run a whole field hockey team myself, so I started to delegate work to the other officers. I created new positions, such as Recruitment Coordinator and Fundraising/Social Coordinator, in order to make sure everything was done for the club. I was constantly checking in with the other officers to make sure their work was being completed on time. This was the true position of the president, and I learned the club ran more smoothly with the diligent help of others.

These are just a few major tips I learned during my two years as president of the Temple Club Field Hockey team. Join another organization that piques your interest and get involved right away. The more effort you put in, the more experience you will get out of your participation that will help you in your communications career.