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Eric Trainer – University of Tennessee, Associate Director of Media Relations
CSC 25-Year Award
by Kobe Mosley – College Sports Communicators Intern
Humble. That is an easy way to describe
Eric Trainer, the associate director of media relations and primary media contact for women’s basketball at the University of Tennessee.
From working with Hall of Fame coaches, witnessing historic seasons from the scorer’s table, and recently being awarded a CSC 25-Year Award for a quarter century of service to the profession, Trainer’s focus remains on those around him.
Of all the things that Trainer has accomplished in his career, he cherishes the people and relationships the most.
“Being able to help other people and [building] relationships with people that last long after the time that they're here on campus, when they go on in life, and they end up coming back to campus and you meet them down the road as adults and many times with families … that to me is very rewarding,” Trainer said.
Eric Trainer with son Griffin, wife Laura and son Cameron at Lombard Street in San Francisco in July of 2021.
Though working in sports and getting a chance to make these relationships is a no-brainer today, Trainer did not know right off the bat that this was his calling. Starting out as a business major at Missouri Western State University, he soon realized he didn’t enjoy what he was doing.
After receiving some advice from a professor, Trainer found that he enjoyed journalism. And when he moved to the University of Arkansas, he got involved with the school newspaper and the sports information office. Trainer suggests that getting that kind of experience at an early stage of your career can be incredibly influential.
“Advancement in this field is based upon experiences that you've had, and people that you've met along the way,” Trainer noted. “And oftentimes, those contacts that you make along the way help you perhaps down the road, maybe to get another job. Starting and building those experiences and skills, and then the relationships as well, that's critical to start as soon as possible.”
After his undergraduate years, Trainer was still debating whether he wanted to pursue the journalism or college sports route. Going to the 1988 CoSIDA convention in Kansas City, Missouri helped him make his decision. While at the convention, Trainer met Debbie Jennings, former longtime associate athletics director of media relations at Tennessee and CSC Hall of Famer. Jennings offered him an opportunity to be a graduate assistant at Tennessee — one that would eventually pan out to change more than just Trainer’s career.
“It turned into a big, big decision for me,” Trainer said. “Not only did I make this my career, but I met my wife [Laura] here and my family is all based around that decision. So that was a huge decision that I made, at the time I had no idea how much of an impact it would have.”
As a graduate assistant, Trainer recalls that Jennings did much more than just offer him a job.
“Debbie taught me, taught all of us, how to how to handle this job,” Trainer said. “How to pursue the job every day, the professionalism, the passion, the details, being able to think on your feet, think of things before other people think of them, and be ready to go and be proactive.”
After earning his master’s degree in sports administration, Trainer didn’t have to go far for his first job out of college. For six years, he was the director of media relations and marketing at Carson-Newman University. He says that when he took the job in 1991, he had no idea how big of an impact his time there would have on him, both professionally and personally.
“Being at a smaller school like that, I had such a broad range of experiences that I probably wouldn't have had until later in my career,” Trainer said. “I had no idea I was going to end up going to Carson-Newman, but when that happened, it was such a blessing to be able to go there and learn from so many people and interact with some great coaches.”
One of those great coaches he worked with at Carson-Newman was the late Ken Sparks who ran a highly successful football program that sent several players to the NFL. On top of all the responsibilities that come with being a SID at the Division II level, Trainer also played a part in the production of the Ken Sparks TV Show and Eagle Radio Network, among other things. With all the different responsibilities he held, Trainer credited his colleagues as being instrumental in his success.
“I was really fortunate to have a great student staff, and then an intern a couple different times, who really helped me get the job done because I don't think any of us can do this job solo,” Trainer said.
Trainer would get the chance to work with another Hall of Fame coaching icon in his next role, as he returned to the University of Tennessee in 1997 as the assistant director of media relations. In his first season working with the Lady Vols, the late Pat Summitt coached her team to a perfect 39-0 championship season.
“To be part of something historic like that, to see it happen, it's amazing. But to look back on it all these years later, you just reflect on it. You remember moments of … what had to happen for that to go right, and some moments where it looked like it might not happen at all,” Trainer recalled.
Working alongside a legendary figure in all of sports, Trainer says that Summitt had the capability of bringing the best out of people.
“The way she went about her work, the passion she had, the expectation of excellence … it wasn't just for others, it was for herself,” Trainer said. “You would see that on a daily basis, she pushed herself so hard to be to try to be the best and to try to pursue excellence - and that rubs off.”
Taking a look at the work that he has done and continues to do, it is evident that Summitt’s pursuit of excellence has become a part of Trainer’s mantra as well. When asked what makes a good SID, he described them as a “behind-the-scenes person who tries their best on a daily basis to shine a light on the players and coaches.”
Eric Trainer fits that mold perfectly, but he’d be too humble to admit it.
Gallery: (5-18-2023) Eric Trainer, 25-Year Award