Gray's commentary centers around the role - and lack of respect - he sees for those sports information directors at HBCU's and writes about the great legacy of SIDs in historically black
colleges and universities. He centers his discussion around the fact that Tennessee State Associate Director of Media Relations
Wallace Dooley, Jr. (right) - who received his 25-Year Award at the 2010 CoSIDA Convention - is no longer in that position as of a few weeks ago.
Dooley has a rich and varied history in athletic media relations. having worked at Alabama A&M, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Virginia State among others while serving as a consultant with pro and amateur sports organizations.
Read online:
"Gray Matters” - Quality Sports Information Directors become HBCU’s endangered species, by Mark F. Gray, Heritage Sports Radio Network.
Once again the HBCU sports world is in mourning. This time it is not because of the senseless acts of violence that cost the lives of students at either Bowie State or Florida A&M. Instead it is because of the short sightedness of the university or athletic administration at Tennessee State.
One of the great sports information directors in the business, Wallace Dooley, was unceremoniously dismissed from his position because the university thought it was time for a change. Dooley’s dismissal is just the latest in an alarming trend of misguided decisions made by school’s who continue to dismiss the significance of sports information professionals who do more for their institutions than the hand picked flacks who look for media availability for boring presidential innuendo.
Athletic directors and presidents continue to cut corners in athletic departments by not investing in compliance and sports information. With athletics being the best public relations and marketing tool that any university has it would reflect a certain degree of intelligence to staff those positions with the best and the brightest people they can find. However, it seems that most universities and conferences are reluctant to make the necessary investment to hire, compensate, and retain true professionals that are an asset to the program.
The saga in Nashville is the latest in a troubling trend which is not healthy for the future of HBCU sports. Despite the proliferation of new media - which has changed the game of HBCU sports coverage - the need for internal dissemination of quality information continues to be vital to the growth and exposure of the product. It seems that the expertise of true experienced professionals in sports information has been diminished in significance by those who want hide behind the almighty dollar.
All schools are facing a financial crisis these days. However, it is quite ironic that Tennessee State just built a $14 million indoor practice facility for the football team but they couldn’t pay for Dooley to attend the college sports information directors’ association convention last summer. If the university was going to make a change wouldn’t the most prudent decision have been to do it during the off season not before the second week of the regular season?
Where’s the wisdom regarding the timing of this decision?
Admittedly, I am an old school HBCU sports journalist who has spent time on staff at the worldwide leader in sports. My career has spanned working at Black newspapers and websites through ESPN and on to satellite radio. Were it not for the likes of the late Collie J. Nicholson at Grambling, John Holley at Norfolk State, Alvin Hollins at Florida A&M or my current colleagues at HSRN - LeCounte Conaway or J. Michael Wilson - Black college sports would still be back page news in mainstream media.
The sad part of what’s happening in sports information at HBCU’s is that the talent pool has dipped like the quality of athlete since integration. There are some in the game who were schooled by the legends of the business and they perform at a high level. However, there are other places where resilience has given way to complacency and some SID’s make reporters and broadcasters feel as though they it is a pain for them to deal with media preparing for the game. What’s sad is that seems like its sanctioned by the institutions.
Gentlemen like Hollins, Holley, Nicholson, Conaway, and Dooley did more with less than many of their contemporaries and helped to grow the presence of HBCU sports in the mainstream media. In the end, however, they were underappreciated and dismissed leaving the games facing a crisis of credibility.
In an era where image is everything this is not a good look for Black College Sports. So the next time a president sits in the largest booth in the press box, entertaining his or her friends with a menu of chicken tenders and cold cuts then wonders why the athletic program doesn’t get adequate attention, here’s food for thought!