By James Cox

James Cox has been the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Club Sports at Miami Dade College since 1997, previously serving as Assistant Athletic Director (1987-97) and Sports Information Director (1977-1987) at the nation's largest two-year college. He currently sits on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and is Third Vice-President of the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators. He welcomes any comments or questions regarding this article and can be reached at: jcox@mdc.edu.

As troubled economic times continue, many athletic departments are dealing with decreases in advertising revenue, donations, attendance, and corporate sponsorships. However, other athletic programs have not missed a step and are thriving. How are some schools coming out ahead and others slipping into economic chaos?

Certainly, putting winning teams on the field is key, but another factor is the quality and scope of your public relations program. Making sure the community and the media are connected with your program is one of the most critical ways to keep the public interested in your athletic teams, through good times and bad, which will continue to bring in outside revenue.

Why is a consistent public relations effort so important to maintaining success? Well, just as the pilot of an airplane cruising at 40,000 feet does not cut off an engine when encountering turbulence, neither should we scale back on our public and media relations campaigns just because money is tight. When bad times hit, the first areas considered for cutting are those that don't directly bring in revenue. But the indirect impact of public relations, even though it may not always be quantifiable, is critical.

Good public relations are not expensive and without them we lose any momentum we are gaining. If they are neglected, it further pushes a program out of the public eye and will require its leaders to rebuild the relationships that had been built prior to the cutbacks. A formal and fully supported public relations plan, with solid strategies and objectives, should be a priority of every athletic director.

TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION
The first things that may come to mind when you hear "public relations program" are press releases and positive spins. And it's easy to assume your sports information department and campus-wide public relations office will take care of it. As athletic director, you don't need one more area of operations to think about.

But effective public relations actually encompass a lot more. The goal of any program is to build and maintain relationships with the publics that you serve through mutually beneficial two-way communication that helps develop trust. And that can't be done by one person in the sports information office. It needs to be a department-wide initiative, with plans and goals behind it.

Like any other relationship, your program's relationship with the public needs to be sustained--seven days a week, 12 months a year--through good times and bad. You need to communicate with constituents even when you have bad news. And you cannot ignore any negative feedback you receive from your various publics.

In fact, acting on negative comments can do more to increase support from your campus, community, and media than a truckload of positive notes that may come your way. Do not dismiss or ignore any complaints, advice, or opinions that you receive from your audiences, as careful consideration of them demonstrates you want to please constituents. Such action can often also improve your program in a substantial way.

Overall, there are three types of public relations to be concerned with: internal, external, and media. You'll want to have specific strategies for dealing with each one.

INSIDE JOB
Internal public relations can be easily overlooked, as these constituents are so close at hand. But they are a critical piece of the puzzle. They include students, faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as your on-campus media.

To start, some of the most important media outlets you can cultivate are your school newspaper and campus television and radio stations. These media sources must be serviced at the same level as the local papers and TV stations. In fact, they can be your greatest allies, as they tend to be interested in publishing positive articles, which will then be read or seen by your key internal constituents.

Since these outlets are staffed by students, reaching out to them sometimes takes a different approach. It often works well to schedule a regular time (usually weekly) when a reporter or editor can meet with the sports information director to get the news of the past week as well as ideas for feature pieces. Ideally, the sports information director should mentor these students and support them in any way he or she can. Providing positive feedback on a well done article or new ideas for stories can help develop a great working relationship, which will lead to good press for your program.

Making coaches accessible is also very important. When coaches are busy, responding to a student newspaper request may get buried at the bottom of their to-do list--but it shouldn't. In addition, coaches should understand that students often work on their media projects during off hours and need to conduct interviews in the evenings or even late at night.

Student staffers at campus media outlets are learning their craft, just like student-athletes are learning their sports, and coaches need to be patient and helpful. They should also realize that the more supportive and accessible they are with student reporters, the more likely they are to get great coverage.

Another key is working with the campus public relations department. Instead of sports information and institutional PR being totally separate units, consider having them work collaboratively. You can start by offering the services of your sports information staff to write articles for use by the PR office. It should be easy for them to take their best sports articles and tweak them for a more general audience.

In addition, sports info should continually offer news and feature stories to the campus PR department for placement on the main college Web page or newsletters. Make sure that athletics gets its share of coverage along with the other college activities. At the same time, be careful not to be pushy or flood the PR department. The more professionally your staff presents the info, the better chance it has of being published.

You PR efforts should also be focused on keeping key campus leaders informed. For example, do not be shy about constantly sending out positive news about your student-athletes and athletic program to the school president and board of trustees. And feed them some facts they won't see in the media--maybe your program is among the conference's best in team grade point average or a squad has achieved its first national ranking. Do they know the number of community members served by camps and clinics your department conducts?

All of the above tactics ensure that those closest to the action know about the great things the athletic department is doing. And that is critical for gaining student fan support, resources for your programs, and faculty buy-in of athletics.

REACHING OUT
External public relations focus on those people not connected with your school as an employee or student, such as loyal spectators, sponsors, corporate donors, alumni, and friends of the program. A constant connection with these external publics is essential during both good times and bad. I have found that by developing sincere relationships with these constituencies, they will have empathy and continue to provide support during any tough stretches.

The key to making meaningful relationships with these groups is to take the time to speak with them. Sit and talk with long-time fans at games whenever you can, continually ask your sponsors what you can do for them, and find as many ways as possible to involve alumni in your events. Then, listen to them openly and honestly and take action on their requests or complaints.

Another way to get meaningful feedback is through a formal group. At Miami Dade College, we have an advisory board made up of community members, which is very helpful in providing me with honest input on the perception of the athletic program. I have learned many eye-opening things from these people, and often times I am amazed at just how much our constituents know about the athletic program.

It's also important to make yourself, as athletic director, very visible in the community. Be involved in at least one service organization (such as a Kiwanis or Lions Club) and try to connect with a few local youth leagues or school programs. Let speakers' bureaus know you are available and make sure to attend important campus and community events.

Similarly, your coaches should have a presence in the public eye. In fact, you can even make it part of their job description. However, since all coaches are different, give them flexibility in how they will engage others. If a coach balks at public speaking, he or she may opt instead to organize a youth clinic. If a coach is not comfortable even with small groups, the athletic director can accompany him or her to an event, or the coach can bring along some student-athletes.

You can also reach out to the community simply by making your teams more accessible. If you are a small school, play up the fact that fans at your games can get close to the action and receive special attention from the coaches and student-athletes. People like to be part of an "inner circle" and the more access you can give them to the stars of the game, the more likely they are to continue to support your teams.

We have found a lot of success inviting specific groups to our games--people are more likely to attend events if they know friends or colleagues will be there. These groups have included folks from the nearby retirement home and various on-campus student clubs.

You can also welcome community events in your athletic facilities to further strengthen community ties. Another idea is to invite local politicians to get involved in your program--ask them to throw out the first pitch at baseball and softball games, for example.

Finally, don't neglect social media in linking with constituencies, since it is now the name of the game. Set up Facebook and Twitter pages to provide another way for the public to gain access to and develop a sense of familiarity with your program.

GOOD PRESS
Media relations involves developing strong connections with the different outside media sources that cover your program. You want to build a mutually beneficial relationship with them, which may take some work. Unlike your internal and external constituents, the media are not an easy ally. But they are critical in reaching your other publics.

The best way to get on the right foot with the media is to simply help them do their jobs. Always respond to requests for information and don't ignore them when negative news happens. Understand that their objectives will sometimes conflict with yours. While you want all positive coverage, the media will not hesitate to investigate a negative situation. Also realize that they are beholden to deadlines and don't always work the same hours you do.

To start, a good idea is to invite local sportswriters or editors to come in and chat with your sports information staff. Each side should discuss how they can best help the other. In addition, your staff can find out how each outlet wants to receive news and press releases, game scores, and feature story ideas.

Coaches must also be on board. They need to always report all of their game scores, win or lose. Often, coaches tend to "forget" to call the media when they lose, but want front-page headlines when they win. This practice is not acceptable to the media and will eventually backfire. Coaches also need to be respectful to the media, even if a journalist publishes a negative story.

As athletic director, you should be developing personal relationships with key writers and editors at local media outlets. The best strategy is to be open, honest, and fair. You don't want to be a "friend" to the media and provide information that could end up portraying your program negatively. But you do want them to trust you and turn to you for help with their stories.

In your discussions with reporters and editors, provide them with a true sense of the challenges and obstacles in running an athletic program. Give them interesting quotes and insight into what you do. And if you don't have an immediate answer to a question, get back to them as soon as possible.

If there is more than one media outlet in the area that covers your program, do not show favoritism or give "scoops" to one source over the other. While you may like some reporters more than others, an athletic director must treat all members of the media alike without favoring anyone.

Great relationships with the media not only helps publicize the good things about your program, they will pay dividends when the inevitable bad news hits. The more honest and helpful you are to the media every day of the year, the more understanding and trusting they will be when the day comes that you have to announce a student-athlete discipline problem, a rules violation in your program, or questionable conduct by one of your coaches.

And make sure you have a plan in place to handle the day when a crisis comes. You want to keep the loyalty of the institution at the forefront of your decisions in dealing with the media--without putting up any smoke screens or avoiding tough questions. Of course the media wants you to tell them everything right away, but that may not be best for the student-athletes, coaches, or overall program. Release information only if you are confident it is accurate and will withstand the scrutiny of the press.

Whether you are furthering relations with internal, external, or media constituents, remember that the job is never done. Just as a marriage or business partnership takes constant communication, feedback, and adapting to the situation at hand, so does public relations. The ability to project a positive image to your internal and external audiences and to your media targets will enable you to not only survive, but thrive during these challenging economic times.

Sidebar: COACH SPEAK
For years, University of North Dakota coaches had been speaking to public groups, but Max Huber, Director of In-Game Management, Creative Services, and Group Sales, described it as more of a good ol' boys' network. Coaches would receive speaking requests from people they already knew and none of it went through the athletic department. While that was fine, Huber believed the department's public relations could be furthered greatly by organizing these efforts into a formal speakers' bureau.

"We didn't really have control over who was requesting our coaches or what our coaches were doing," says Huber. "We wanted to make sure we were in compliance with the NCAA in terms of quiet and non-contact periods. We also wanted more control for marketing and ticket sales purposes."

Since the program started in July, people can make requests through a standard form on the university's Web site, or call or e-mail Huber directly. The form asks for information about the person or organization seeking a speaker, the date desired, length of speech, and their top four choices for a speaker. Huber then contacts the requested coaches or administrators to arrange a date and time.

"We have gotten more requests from people farther away and I have seen a much greater range of types of groups showing interest," says Huber. "We know it's good for our brand if we can get our coaches out there."

It has also allowed more UND coaches to be in the public eye. "Some people only want the head hockey coach, but he is very busy and might not be able to speak," says Huber. "So it's about reaching an understanding with the group that is requesting a speaker and finding the right speaker who is available at the right time."

The engagements are free for civic, professional, and educational entities while for-profit organizations can negotiate a fee. UND is already seeing the idea pay off.

"Our volleyball coach made a speech and I sent some flyers with him and it turned into ticket sales," says Huber. "We hadn't seen an attendance of over 300 all year for volleyball. Then he started going out and speaking and we had over 1,000 people at our last game. It could be due to the team winning, but we would like to think that some of it was due to the speakers' bureau."

Most groups want coaches to speak about motivation and leadership, while some want them to discuss their teams. Whatever the topic, Huber says UND coaches have been happy to tackle it.

"They are very educated people and they are very good at what they do," says Huber. "So speaking is kind of second nature to them."

Huber publicized the program by calling local civil groups, as well as providing a brochure insert to the chamber of commerce. The athletic department Web site features a link to the sign-up form and Huber hopes to promote the bureau more over the summer through social media outlets. "It's a great avenue not only for getting the word of the coaches out there," says Huber, "but also for selling tickets and getting people interested in and excited about our teams."

-- Kyle Garratt