Colleges and universities are a magnet for crises. And, the majority of crises in higher education involve intercollegiate sports.
“Every day newspapers across the U.S. report at one or more crises involving college sports. Each incident is given an inordinate amount of media exposure while most other university crises will be reported only locally or regionally,” says Rene A. Henry, author of Communicating In A Crisis. “This is why every athletic department must have its own crisis team and crisis management and communications plan in place to complement the parent institution‘s team and plan.”
Henry, who began his career as an SID and has 10 years of experience in higher education, cites the following crises that SIDs and athletic directors need to be prepared to deal with:
· One or more athletes are arrested for assault, selling or using drugs, rape, fighting in a bar, driving under the influence, shoplifting, or any other charge.
· A team traveling to or from a road game is involved in a serious accident in a vehicle or airplane. One or more student athletes are killed and several others who are seriously injured are taken to various hospitals in the area.
· The university violates one or more of the myriad of NCAA rules, regulations, or political correctness initiatives.
· A coach breaches his contract to accept a higher paying job at another institution.
· An athlete dies of a heart attack or stroke during practice in football, soccer, basketball or another sport. Even worse, the death occurs during a game.
· Exuberant fans, excited over a home team win, rush on to the playing field at the close of a game. There is a physical altercation with a coach, player or official from the visiting team.
· A coach or member of the athletic department is arrested for a DUI.
· A score of athletes violate the university’s honor code and cheat on an exam.
· During a nationally-televised football game, a band member or someone participating in the halftime ceremony has a seizure or stroke at midfield.
· A male or female coach or member of the department has an extra-marital affair with a member of the staff or a student athlete. Even worse, the woman becomes pregnant.
· A coach dies having sex with a prostitute in a downtown hotel.
· A coach sues for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, or discrimination.
· A fan dies in the stands during a game.
These are only a few crises that have happened and most likely will happen again in college sports. With its own crisis team in place, the athletic department can “What if” any other possible crises specific to a college or university. With no plan in place, the crisis will only exacerbate, impacting the image, credibility and reputation of the institution.
Henry also says that five generic crises need to be in a crisis plan: terrorism; acts of Mother Nature including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tornados; sexual harassment and discrimination; violence in the workplace; and environmental pollution. Ecoterrorists have demonstrated and threatened the expansion of athletic facilities at several institutions and every year weather causes the postponement, delay or cancellation of games. He says that management and response plans for some or all of these generic crises could be included in the university’s overall crisis plan and may only need to be referenced in the athletic department’s plan.
When there is a crisis, the first person a reporter will call will be the SID, the AD or a coach. Then the head of university relations will become involved, roll on the SID and take responsibility, even though it is the SID who has the personal and professional relationship with the media. It is important for the SID to establish a close working and professional relationship with the head of university relations and for members of his staff to do so as well.
The SID should work with the athletic director and the head of university relations to establish a team, develop a plan, and outline a working relationship between the two offices.
In Communicating In A Crisis, Henry tells how to organize a crisis team and develop a plan, 10 steps to take to resolve a crisis and prevent it from exacerbating, the importance of selecting and training the right spokesperson, and how to manage communications in a crisis. Scores of anecdotes and case histories from actual crises highlight his recommended dos and don’ts. In-depth chapters are devoted to higher education, sports and events, and the workplace. Another chapter tells the reader how and when to fight back and win in situations where misinformation has been reported or the college has been wronged or maligned. “A no-response is the same as giving implied consent to what was written or said,” Henry adds.
His book outlines working relationships between lawyers and the public relations department during crises and cites polls that show lawyers are the least trusted spokespersons. “Too often lawyers, because they usually have no understanding of the role of public relations in a crisis, look to legal solutions rather than winning in the court of public opinion,” says Henry.
A chapter on customer service emphasizes its importance in preventing crises. “ADs, SIDs, coaches and every member of the athletic department, especially those involved in fundraising and development, must treat students, their parents, alumni, the entire university community, and donors and potential donors as customers,” Henry adds. “Every phone call, e-mail, letter and fax needs to be answered. A department needs a personal communications policy that sets time limits, such as 24 or 48 hours, for the response. If the SID or AD cannot answer an e-mail or letter, his secretary should tell the sender he has forwarded it to “x” in the department who will answer.
“If a phone call cannot be promptly returned by the individual, the call should be given to another person in the department for follow through. Out-of-office voice messages and e-mails are important to post,” he continues. “You never know when the person calling or writing may be your next big donor, or that someone you ignore could create your next crisis. Personal communications skills are essential to good customer service. Always responding is not only the right thing to do, but the smart and profitable thing to do.
“Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team as well as other interests, promptly responds to every e-mail or letter sent him. Maybe that’s why he’s worth $2.8 billion,” Henry adds. “When Col. F. Don Miller headed the U.S. Olympic Committee, he personally answered every letter – many with a handwritten note – or had a senior member of his staff respond. President George Herbert Walker Bush was also strong on personal communications and often communicated with handwritten notes.”
In 2000, Henry authored You’d Better Have A Hose If You Want to Put Out the Fire, which became one of the best-selling books on the subject of crisis management and communications. His current 326-page book retails for $34.95 in paperback (ISBN 978-0-9674535-2-1) and is available from Amazon.com and book stores.
He was sports information director at The College of William & Mary and West Virginia University, and was assigned to the athletic department at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point during his active military service. From 1991-1996 he was executive director of university relations at Texas A&M University and one of six members of the president’s executive cabinet. He directed the international media campaign that led to the selection of Los Angeles as the site of the 1984 Olympic Games, served as assistant to the president and a member of several committees for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and for several decades was very involved with international and Olympic sports.
Communicating In A Crisis is the seventh book for this Seattle-based author who is a past chair of the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America, and a member of both the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. His website www.renehenry.com includes a number of his widely published commentaries and op/eds on international and Olympic sports, crisis, and customer service.