Over the past three years, I have covered a wide variety of Wisconsin sports. Although covering revenue sports has its perks, nonrevenue sports are just as exciting to report on.
For instance, interviewing the Wisconsin men's basketball players and coaches is not very personal. That's not because of the program, but the way the media is forced to interact with them. After games and practices, the media gather around the players and coaches, all taking turns to fire questions. This limits the opportunities for one-on-one interviews, and reporters struggle to have real, personal conversations with the subjects they are interviewing.
One of my favorite athletes to interview is former UW basketball star and current Phoenix Suns forward Alando Tucker. He has a great personality and was very easy to talk to; however, every interview I had with him included five other reporters from different publications, each with their own agenda and set of questions to ask. It was difficult to focus on one specific topic with Tucker because he had to juggle questions from each reporter.
Popular athletes of revenue sports are difficult to pull aside for interviews. But let's consider UW junior men's tennis phenomenon Moritz Baumann. I had the opportunity to speak with him after a match earlier this year when I was training a new sportswriter. Baumann only has one loss this entire season as a No. 1 singles player and has a very bright future ahead of him. Because he plays for a less popular UW sport, it is easy to lead a one-on-one interview and narrow in on his personality to discover what makes him tick as a player. This is an athlete who is just as talented in his sport as someone who has gone professional in a sport like basketball, yet it is the players of the more popular sports who receive most of the media attention.
When covering a sport like men's tennis, women's soccer or softball, reporters are allowed to engage in a more personal interaction with the athletes and coaches. These programs show respect for reporters and often emphasize their appreciation for attending the event.
Players and coaches of revenue sports are very respectful, but they are also less candid. Sometimes when speaking with them I feel as though all their responses are thought out ahead of time. They usually sound intelligent–don't get me wrong–but definitely much less realistic.
Women's basketball offers a mix of both personal and impersonal interview setups. After games, head coach Lisa Stone and select players address the media. All reporters are allowed to ask questions, but the majority of the responses seem scripted. I'm sure Stone has sat through hundreds of press conferences by this point in her career, thus she knows how to answer each question without much thought.
The players also quickly adapt to the press conference style of media availability. It is obvious that just after a few weeks the players become more comfortable sitting on the stage and taking questions. I still remember the press conference with junior guard Rae Lin D'Alie after her first game as a Badger. She was definitely nervous and tried to keep her answers short and sweet, but something about her candidness made her seem more personable. Sometimes as a reporter it's nice to see that the subjects you are interviewing are real people like you and me.
Of course, as the season progressed D'Alie learned how to answer questions quickly and thoroughly at press conferences. Although the athletes become more comfortable, I feel they are telling us what the program wants us to hear and not what they actually think as individuals. It's either that or the interview setup is just so impersonal that the reporters feel like they are being fed the same scripted lines of information in every press conference.
There is a reason why sports reporters who are just starting their careers usually are sent to cover the nonrevenue sports first. This way, they can personally interact with the athletes and coaches, allowing them to understand the true emotions behind college sports. The revenue sports are what many reporters dream of covering. But sports like UW men's tennis, women's soccer and softball are where real connections between the athletic programs and the media are built. It is at these sporting events where reporters can learn to be more comfortable and learn to dig for stories that are not on the surface. Nonrevenue sports don't get the credit they deserve and should receive a lot more attention from the media and the student body they are representing.
Think nonrevenue sports at UW receive enough credit? Tell Crystal at crowns@wisc.edu.
