The University of Nebraska's nationally recognized athletic program is continually in the news and the Husker Media Relations Office is responsible for meeting the demands of not only the media, but those of the Department's patrons, fans and other interested publics.
Step into the Spotlight
Interest in all 23 of Nebraska's athletic teams is high, but the bulk of the requests that Director Keith Mann and the Media Relations Office receive deal with the Huskers' legendary football program. Media Relations personnel field numerous inquiries each day for player and coach interviews, and there never seems to be an "off-season" when it comes to interest in NU football.
Media Relations staff members arrange interview requests from across the nation. Members of the media must make their interview requests known to Media Relations Director Keith Mann or one of his assistants at least 24 hours in advance to avoid conflicts with a student-athlete's class, team meetings or free time.
During the football season, "There Is No Place Like Nebraska" when it comes to coverage of the Huskers' gridiron exploits. National print publications such as USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Football News and The Sporting News regularly cover the Huskers. Local and regional media members also follow the team's progress on a daily basis.
Nebraska football is also a regular on national television. Over the last nine seasons, Nebraska has averaged more than 10 television appearances per year.
Along football's presence on national or regional television, the men's and women's basketball programs and the baseball team benefit from Big 12 Conference television contracts with ABC, ESPN, Fox Sports Net, Versus and others. Nearly all of Nebraska's sports gain additional exposure from appearances from Fox Sports Net, College Sports Television and Nebraska Educational Television.
The Huskers have also been on the cutting edge with video-streaming technology on the premium website of Nebraska Athletics - HuskersNside. An annual subscription gains diehard Husker fans access to home event in men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball, along with other special features covering all of Nebraska's teams.
Media Demands for all Teams
While a great deal of the Media Relations Office's time is spent working with the football team, Keith Mann and his staff continually promote the positive aspects of NU's 22 other athletic teams.
The Nebraska Media Relations Office is responsible for producing media guides, posters, schedule cards, game day programs and news releases for all Husker teams. The Media Relations Office also provides game-day management and statistical services, compiles historical records for each team by collecting results, photos, newspaper clippings and video tape. It also works closely with the Big 12 Conference, NCAA and the sport's governing organizations to gain further recognition for Husker student-athletes and coaches.
The Media Relations Office is also responsible for providing weekly releases and notes packages to media outlets around the nation. During the football season, the Media Relations Office will e-mail some 2,000 releases to media outlets, around 700 during the men's basketball season and nearly 200 for each of the Huskers' Olympic sports.
The Nation's Best Publications
One of the biggest areas of responsibility for the Media Relations Office comes through the media and recruiting guides for each sport and other printed publications. Over the past six years, Nebraska has been one of the nation's leaders in this department, winning more than 100 Awards of Excellence from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
All of NU's athletic publications are created in house and printed on the University of Nebraska campus.
Like the athletic teams their brochures represent, publications produced by the Nebraska Media Relations Office have earned national acclaim. In 2008-09, the Nebraska Media Relations Office earned several prestigious publication awards from CoSIDA for its media guides and posters. Over the last nine years, NU has earned nearly 175 publication awards from CoSIDA.
2008-09 Nebraska Award-Winning Publications
- Football Poster - Best in the Nation (Annie Wood, Scott Bruhn, Keith Mann)
- Baseball Poster - Best in the Nation (Annie Wood, Scott Bruhn, Shamus McKnight)
Sporting Hosts
With outstanding athletic facilities, the Nebraska Athletic Department is often called on to host many major sporting events. The Media Relations Office is responsible for providing game management, statistical services, dissemination of information to media in attendance and reporting events to the media following each home event.
During the 2008-09 academic year, Nebraska hosted more than 300 home athletic events, including numerous multi-team athletic competitions. The Huskers also played host to several NCAA Tournament events, including the 2008 NCAA Women's Volleyball Semifinals and Final at the Qwest Center in Omaha and the 2009 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.
Nebraska will also be playing host to the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
Award Hype
Nebraska's nationally renowned athletic program annually produces student-athletes who contend for some of the nation's top individual honors. The NU Media Relations Office assists Husker student-athletes in receive national recognition.
The Media Relations Office promotes Husker All-America candidates by featuring award contenders prominently every week on Huskers.com and in e-mail news releases, while also promoting student-athletes personally or over the phone to members of the media across the nation. Over the last eight years, Nebraska's 23 teams have produced an average of more than 30 All-Americans per year. Nebraska also leads the nation with 269 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 16 NCAA Today's Top Eight award winners across all sports. Nebraska also leads the nation in the number of football Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winners. Nebraska has also featured three Heisman Trophy winners since 1972.
In 2006-07, Nebraska also enjoyed a first in program history when volleyball player Sarah Pavan became the most decorated athlete in the illustrious history of the program. Pavan became Nebraska's first winner of the Honda-Broderick Cup awarded to the nation's Female Athlete of the Year across all sports. A three-time All-American entering her senior year, Pavan was also honored as the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year across all sports. She was also the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year.
Your Internet Home for Nebraska Athletics - Huskers.com
Another function of the Husker Media Relations Office is to produce content for the Athletic Department's Internet site. Mann and his staff are responsible for updating the site for each team, and keeping the homepage current. The Athletic Department's home page can be contacted at Huskers.com. Under its working agreement with the Husker Sports Network, the radio rights holder to NU athletics, live and delayed play-by-play of Husker games is available on the Internet.
The Husker Sports Network
The Husker Sports Network, a part of IMG Collegiate which is a subsidiary of IMG Worldwide, enters its 14th year of producing live broadcasts of the University of Nebraska sporting events. The Husker Sports Network was first awarded the rights on Feb. 9, 1996. The network's contract has been renewed through 2011.
Nebraska's contract with the Husker Sports Network gives Nebraska one of the most lucrative and extensive radio networks in the nation. The contract includes exclusive radio broadcast rights to Nebraska football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. The games can also be heard live on the Internet at Huskers.com.
In addition to broadcasting Nebraska's games and matches, the Husker Sports Network also provides a daily, live call-in show focusing on NU athletics and other area sports.
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
