University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Collegiate athletics in crisis: a new practical model for crisis communication/management

(USC Thesis Other)

Collegiate athletics in crisis: a new practical model for crisis communication/management

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS IN CRISIS A NEW PRACTICAL MODEL FOR CRISIS COMMUNICATION/MANAGEMENT by ALYSSA STEINMANN Jennifer Floto, Advisor A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Strategic Public Relations University of Southern California Los Angeles, California 17 June 2014 Alyssa Steinmann USC MSPR Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS IN CRISIS – A NEW PRACTICAL MODEL FOR CRISIS COMMUNICATION/MANAGEMENT 1. Preface ............................................................................................. 2 2. Crisis in Sports ................................................................................ 3 a. Public Relations Is… .......................................................... 7 b. Sports Public Relations Is… ................................................ 8 3. What Is A Crisis? ............................................................................ 9 a. Crisis management .............................................................. 11 4. Crisis Management Models ............................................................ 12 a. Gonzales-Herro and Pratt .................................................... 12 b. Fink’s Four-Stage ................................................................ 13 c. Sturges’s Strategy for Organizational Survival .................. 14 d. Pearson and Mitroff’s Five-Stage Model ............................ 15 5. Case Studies .................................................................................... 18 a. Unsuccessful ....................................................................... 18 i. Duke Men’s Lacrosse ............................................. 18 ii. Penn State Football ................................................. 24 b. Successful ........................................................................... 33 i. Montana State University Football ......................... 34 ii. Baylor Men’s Basketball ......................................... 37 6. A New Practical Crisis Communication/Management Model for Collegiate Athletics ................................................................... 43 a. The Plan .............................................................................. 46 7. Conclusion ...................................................................................... 61 8. Works Cited .................................................................................... 68 9. Appendix ......................................................................................... 73 Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 2 PREFACE Crises directly affect the reputation of an organization, and given the potential for a crisis to cause significant damage to an organization, crisis communication planning is essential. However, not much insight has been given as to how collegiate sports departments should prepare for and handle crises in terms of communications and public relations. Many universities have rough plans as to how to handle a crisis operationally, but few possess contingency plans that outline how a university should communicate with its key stakeholders in times of crisis. Through an examination of past collegiate sports crises, this thesis will stress the importance of crisis planning and examine how collegiate sports programs should prepare a Crisis Management Plan that will guide the university’s communications though each predicament. The author outlines a new crisis communication/management model for collegiate athletics and argues the best practices for universities to utilize when facing a communication and public relations crisis. After outlining four standard crisis management models, two case studies (Duke Men’s lacrosse and Penn State football) will demonstrate how prominent universities failed to handle collegiate sports crises properly in terms of communication and public relations. Next, two case studies of successful collegiate sports crisis responses (Montana State University football and Baylor Men’s basketball) will highlight some of the current best practices for handling communications throughout collegiate communication crises. Finally, this thesis will outline the author’s New Practical Crisis Communication/Management Model for Collegiate Athletics. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 3 CRISIS IN SPORTS The professional sports industry is an essential and important aspect of American society; it impacts a plethora of public arenas, including economics and the mass media. Sport’s importance to our culture is immense, as demonstrated by the amount of money, time and emphasis our society puts on it. As a whole, the sports industry brings roughly $14.3 billion in earnings per year to the U.S. economy – and that does not even include the immense indirect economic activity generated by Super Bowl Sunday (the second foodiest day in the country, behind Thanksgiving). 1 The industry also supplies 456,000 jobs with an average yearly salary of $39,000. 2 In the author’s opinion, public relations may be more important in sport than it is in any other field. Sports organizations face various crises just as corporate America does, and given intense public and media interest in sports, issues that may be just a minor problem in other industries could be full-blown crises in the sports industry. Take Tiger Woods as an illuminating example. In the fall of 2009 Woods was widely recognized as the greatest golfer in the world, earning nearly $100 million annually in endorsements alone. 3 From 2006 to 2009, Woods was rated in public opinion polls as one of America’s favorite athletes, second only to Michael Jordan. 4 Then, in late 2009, Woods was involved in a series of events including a mysterious car crash, reports of multiple extramarital affairs and public statements from many women who claimed to have been involved in Woods’ infidelity. Woods ultimately took a hiatus from golf, entered therapy and later publicly apologized for his behavior. But Tiger Woods's handling of the scandal is a textbook case in failed crisis management. After the media got hold of the story, Woods’ first mistake was the days of near-silence that dealt a blow to the golfer's once squeaky-clean reputation. The golfer erred in not addressing the public immediately. Karen Doyne, co-leader of Burson-Marsteller's crisis practice commented, “At best, it looks like he's coming clean because he got caught. Whether you're a celebrity or a multinational corporation, you can't expect credit for doing the right thing as a last resort.” 5 She 1 Burrow, Gwen. "Not Just a Game: The Impact of Sports on U.S. Economy." EMSI Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. CareerBuilder, 13 July 2013. 13 Mar. 2014. <http://www.economicmodeling.com/2013/07/09/not-just-a-game-the-impact-of-sports-on-u-s-economy/>. 2 Burrow, 2013. 3 Badenhausen, Kurt. "Sports' First Billion-Dollar Man." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 29 Sept. 2009. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/tiger-woods- billion-business-sports-tiger.html>. 4 PRNewswire. Surveys, Polls and Research. Way To Go - Derek Jeter Has 3,000 Hits and Is America's Favorite Sports Star. PRNewswire. Harris Interactive Inc., 14 July 2011. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/way-to-go---derek-jeter-has-3000-hits-and-is-americas-favorite-sports-star- 125552273.html>. 5 Mattioli, Dana. "Tiger Bungles Crisis Management 101." Editorial. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones Company, 8 Dec. 2009. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704107104574572471393724870>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 4 said that, during a crisis, the timing of a statement is as critical as its content, recommending that “the ideal is to get something out within three hours, but certainly within 24 hours.” 6 Woods issued a brief statement 48 hours after Friday’s crash, but it wasn’t until the following Wednesday that Woods issued an apology. “The longer you wait to tell your story publicly the more specific you'll have to be when you finally speak out,” Doyne advised. 7 Wednesday's statement was not perceived as an authentic apology. Robbie Vorhaus, a crisis reputation adviser in New York, agreed that Woods should have spoken sooner. “If you don't tell your story first then you're letting someone else tell your story,” Vorhaus said. 8 Consequently, Woods then had to react and respond to what everyone else was saying. Months later Woods returned to golf, but he had suffered a significant loss in public support and had been dropped by multiple sponsors including powerhouses Gatorade and AT&T. Throughout the crisis, Woods was criticized by the media both for his actions that led to the scandal and for his reluctance to be more forthcoming with the public. There is no doubt that sport has transformed over the last few decades. At the elite end of the sport continuum, there is a complex commercial enterprise, while at the participation end we find quite sophisticated marketing activities, even to local communities. Sport is a global language that all can understand, regardless of background. Sport is news 24/7 – it never stops. Because sport is both international and a part of everyday life, it shapes relationships at every level: political, cultural, economic, community and interpersonal. As suggested by UN Deputy Secretary General Louise Frechette at the 2000 World’s Sports Forum, The power of sport is far more than symbolic. You are the engines of the economic growth. You are a force for gender equality. You can bring youth and others in from the margins, strengthening the social fabric. You can promote communication and help heal divisions between people, communities and entire nations. 9 Such views imply a role for public relations. Sports public relations professionals serve individuals and organizations in the industry by proactively seeking to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with key publics. They may provide counsel regarding how to avoid actions that would harm those relationships, and when mistakes are made they prescribe actions designed to minimize and repair the damage done. On any given day on ESPN’s Sports 6 Mattioli, 2009. 7 Mattioli, 2009. 8 Mattioli, 2009. 9 L'Etang, Jacquie. "Public Relations and Sport in Promotional Culture." Public Relations Review 32.4 (2006): 386-94. Science Direct. 1 Sept. 2006. 26 Sept. 2013. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 5 Center or on an assortment of sports news websites, there is an array of public relations topics under discussion. Whether the setting is a college athletics program dealing with student-athlete complaints or a professional sports organization advocating for better regulations for safety, public relations concerns are ubiquitous in sport. In recent years, collegiate athletic programs have consistently experienced positive growth in popularity. 10 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the largest governing body for college sports, and several other groups share the common goal of promoting athletics to students. With the foundations of professional athletes and international competitors often grounded in intercollegiate athletics, the collegiate sports industry has proved to be an integral part of society. However, it is no secret that college and university athletics suffer the occasional black eye. After a crisis occurs, the manner in which the university and sport organization’s staff responds often has enormous public relations implications. Crises are usually viewed as serious threats to an institution’s financial well-being, but their impact in the collegiate sports arena extends well beyond monetary considerations. Crises directly affect reputations. Sometimes the impact comes from the crisis itself, but more often it results from the university’s response – or lack thereof – to the crisis. 11 The effects of poor handling of negative media coverage on reputation typically outweigh the effect of positive publicity before a crisis. 12 Crisis in collegiate athletics is not a new phenomenon. As early as the 1900s, reports of scandal at institutions such as Columbia University, New York University, Harvard University and Princeton University concerning “slush funds” and athlete “recruitment” headlined national media. 13 Collegiate athletic crises remained prevalent throughout the 20 th century. In 1991, The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics reported that 109 colleges/universities were censured, sanctioned or put on probation by the NCAA for violating their rules guiding intercollegiate athletics. 14 Ten years later, the Knight Commission published a follow-up report showing that, “during the 1990s, 58 of the 114 colleges and universities with athletic programs 10 Prieur, Dr. Sabrina. "The Importance of College Athletic Programs to Universities." Synonym. Demand Media. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://classroom.synonym.com/importance-college-athletic-programs-universities-3523.html>. 11 Stoldt, G. Clayton, Stephen W. Dittmore, and Scott E. Branvold. Sport Public Relations: Managing Stakeholder Communication. 2nd ed. Leeds: Human Kinetics, 2012. 12 Grunig, Larissa A., James E. Grunig, and David M. Dozier. Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study of Communication Management in Three Countries. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002. 13 Thelin, John R. Games Colleges Play: Scandal and Reform in Intercollegiate Athletics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. 14 Jones, Willis A. "Does Athletic Scandal Influence University Operational Health? A Quantitative Case Study of Baylor University." Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 2013 Special Issue (2013): 41-57. College Sport Research Institute. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 2013. 10 Dec. 2013. <http://csri-jiia.org/documents/puclications/special_issues/2013/Athletic_Scandal_&_Operational_Health_02_04.pdf>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 6 competing at the Division I-A level had been reprimanded or put on probation by the NCAA for major rules violations.” 15 Given the potential of crises to cause significant damage to an organization, crisis communication planning is essential. Even university sport organizations that do not usually face the glare of the media spotlight could find themselves under public scrutiny as a crisis evolves. Although saying exactly how many sport organizations are faced with crises is impossible, past studies indicated that the number is probably high. 16 For instance, a study of NCAA member institutions determined that those with crisis communications plans used those plans an average of 1.15 times per year. 17 Crisis communication plans offer guidance on how to proceed after a crisis has occurred. They specify what roles people will play in managing a crisis and address contact procedures. However, research indicates that most professional sport organizations do not have such plans, and if they do, these plans are much more operationally- focused rather than detailed in communication procedures. 18 If the majority of organizations at the highest levels of sport – such as the major professional leagues and teams – are ill-equipped for a crisis, the situation is likely worse in minor league and smaller collegiate sport organizations. As argued by the author, it is necessary that collegiate sports departments have a Crisis Management Plan in place with a Crisis Management Team that is ready and willing to act as soon as a crisis hits. Collegiate sports departments (and universities as a whole) can learn from past case studies when devising a plan that will ensure the team is able to handle and overcome crises that affect one of the most public parts of any university – their athletics. Commonly, crisis management plans are heavily focused on operational tasks. However, the author’s New Practical Crisis Communication/Management Model for Collegiate Athletics will focus on the communication tactics necessary for effectively managing a crisis form the perspective of public relations and communications. 15 The Knight Commission. A call to actions: Reconnecting college sports and higher education. Miami, FL: Knight Foundation. 2001. 16 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. 17 Stoldt, Clayton G., Lori K. Miller, and Greg P. Comfort. "Through the Eyes of Athletic Directors: Perceptions of Sports Information Directors, and Other PR Issues." Sport Marketing Quarterly 10.3 (2001): 164. 18 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 7 Public Relations Is… Public relations is a field more often characterized by what it does rather than what it is. 19 When defining public relations most scholars describe it as maintaining a positive, mutual relationship with a public, or publics, whether it is the media, employees, investors, customers, the government or the general public. The various definitions of public relations employ words like “reciprocal,” “mutual” and “between” to describe the relationships an organization has with its public(s). 20 Renowned public relations authors Cutlip, Center and Broom formed a widely- used definition in their internationally famous textbook Effective Public Relations. Their definition states that: Public relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends. 21 What stands out is the phrase “management function,” which emphasizes that effective public relations has to be much more than writing news releases and organizing press conferences – it is all about managing communication, managing reputation and managing relationships. In the late 1970s Rex F. Harlow, an American public relations scholar, collected and analyzed nearly 500 definitions of public relations to give a conclusive definition: Public Relations is the distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication as its principal tools. 22 Harlow’s description covers nearly all functions of public relations, including conceptual and operational elements, with both theoretical terms to be used by academia and practical terms to be used by practitioners. It focuses on the management aspect of the discipline and illustrates 19 Ledingham, John A., and Stephen D. Bruning. Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum, 2000. 20 Broom, Glen M., and Bey-Ling Sha. Cutlip and Center's Effective Public Relations. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 21 Broom and Sha, 2013. 22 Broom and Sha, 2013. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 8 just how all-encompassing public relations really can be. For practitioners this means that they must be constantly aware of the many facets to their job. Public relations practitioners are faced with communicating effectively with internal and external publics and ensuring that a positive relationship is always maintained, regardless of what industry or sector they represent. Sports Public Relations Is… Because of its unique nature, the sports industry demands its own public relations specialization. Sports public relations is a managerial communication-based function designed to identify a sport organization’s key publics, evaluate its relationships with those publics and foster desirable relationships between the sport organization and those publics. 23 Ideally, a sports public relations practitioner’s main priority is the establishment, management and maintenance of long-term relationships. 24 During a crisis, management and maintenance are especially crucial. Sports public relations deals with an organization or an individual sports figure, often one of celebrity status and often highly scrutinized by the media. The media highlights everything that occurs within the organization or individual’s life and the public relations practitioner’s job is to make sure that positive relationships are maintained. For a sport organization, public relations can, if implemented strategically and professionally, become its most cost effective and productive communications mechanism. 23 Stoldt, G. Clayton, Stephen W. Dittmore, and Scott E. Branvold. Sport Public Relations: Managing Stakeholder Communication. 2nd ed. Leeds: Human Kinetics, 2012. 24 Hopwood, Maria, James Skinner, and Paul Kitchin. Sport Public Relations and Communication. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 9 WHAT IS A CRISIS? There is no one universally accepted definition of a crisis. However, many authors emphasize the negative impact of a crisis on an organization’s livelihood and survival. Paul Shrivastava and Ian Mitroff wrote that crises are “events that threaten the most important goals of survival and profitability”; John Chong defined them as “negative incidents that can cause the demise of an organization”; and Maria Nathan wrote that crises are “events that threaten the survival and goals of an organization.” 25,26,27 Definitions of crisis: “Any emotionally charged situation that, once it becomes public, invites negative stakeholder reaction and thereby has the potential to threaten the financial wellbeing, reputation or survival of the firm or some portion thereof.” i “A low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the viability of the organization and is characterized by ambiguity of cause, effect and means of resolution, as well as by a belief that decisions must be made swiftly.” ii “…[A] serious threat to the basic structure or the fundamental values and norms of a social system, which – under time pressure and highly uncertain circumstances – necessitates making critical decisions.” iii “…[A] situation that threatens high-priority goals of the decision-making unit, restricts the amount of time available for response before the decision is transformed and surprises the members of the decision-making unit by its occurrence.” iv i James, Erika H., and Lynn P. Wooten. "Leadership as (Un)usual: How to Display Competence in Times of Crisis." Organizational Dynamics 34.2 (2005): 141-52. ScienceDirect.com. Organizational Dynamics, 2005. 7 Sept. 2013. <http://crisisconsultant.com/wp- content/uploads/2012/07/Leadership-as-unusual-Org-Dyn.pdf>. ii Pearson, Christine M., and Judith A. Clair. "Reframing Crisis Management." The Academy of Management Review 23.1 (1998): 59-76. Academy of Management Review. 1998. 7 Sept. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/259099>. iii Rosenthal, Uriel, Arjen Boin, and Louise K. Comfort. Managing Crises: Threats, Dilemmas, Opportunities. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, 2001. iv Hermann, Charles F. International Crises: Insights from Behavioral Research. New York: Free, 1972. As a synthesis of the various perspectives – and for the purposes of this paper – a crisis is the recognition of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and 25 Shrivastava, Paul, and Ian I. Mitroff. "Strategic Management of Corporate Crises." Columbia World Journal of Business 22.1 (1987): 6. 26 Chong, John K.S. "Six Steps to Better Crisis Management." Journal of Business Strategy25.2 (2004): 43-46. 27 Nathan, Maria L. "How Past Becomes Prologue: A Sensemaking Interpretation of the Hindsight-Foresight Relationship Given the Circumstances of Crisis." Futures 36.2 (2004): 181-99. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 10 can seriously impact an organization’s performance while generating negative outcomes. 28 The key words here are perception and expectancies. It is the stakeholders’ perceptions that play a role in defining an event as a crisis. If stakeholders believe an organization is in crisis, then a crisis does exist and stakeholders will react accordingly. 29 When a crisis violates the expectations that stakeholders have, these stakeholders can perceive the organization less positively, threatening the relationship between the organization and its stakeholders. When this happens, the organization’s reputation is damaged. The list of potential crises that a sport organization can face is limitless. Crises can range from criminal charges, labor disputes, arena/stadium issues, politically incorrect statements or actions, accidental deaths and workplace violence. Favorito identified five types of crises that sports organizations may commonly encounter: 30 1. Physical plant crisis: terrorism and other security threats, natural disasters, construction problems · Example: Tornado strikes the Georgia Dome during the 2008 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Championships 2. On-field crisis: event-related incidents such as competitor death or major injury, fan injury, on-field or in-stand violence · Example: Spectator killed when hit by a police motor bike at the 2009 Tour de France 3. Family crisis: after-hours or offseason incidents including legal infractions, celebrity scandals · Example: NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s 2007 prison sentence after conviction on dog-fighting charges 4. Corporate crisis: financial failure, layoffs, compliance issues, actions that result in political protests · Example: Ladies Professional Golf Association commissioner Carolyn Bivens resigns in 2009 amid pressure from top tour players 5. Player personal crisis: trading or releasing prominent players or coaches · Example: Soccer club AC Milan sells star player Kaka to Real Madrid in 2009, resulting in fan protests 28 Coombs, 2007. 29 Coombs, 2007. 30 Favorito, Joseph. Sports Publicity: A Practical Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 11 Crisis Management Crisis management is characterized by the use of public relations to minimize/lessen harm to an organization in situations that could cause that organization irreparable damage. 31 Putting it another way, crisis management prevents or lessens the negative outcomes of a crisis and thereby protects the organization, stakeholders and industry from harm. Drawing from a foundation in emergency preparedness, Coombs describes crisis management as a set of four interrelated factors: 32 1. Prevention: Also known as mitigation, prevention represents the steps taken to avoid crises and is largely unseen by the public. 2. Preparation: Including the crisis management plan, preparation incorporates diagnosing critical vulnerabilities, selecting and training a crisis management team and spokesperson(s), creating a crisis portfolio and refining a crisis communication system. 3. Response: As utilization of the preparation components, the response is very public and is frequently reported and critiqued in the news media. It includes recovery, attempts to return to normal operations as soon as possible. 4. Revision: As the evaluation of the organization’s response, revision helps determine what went right/wrong and is used to revise prevention, preparation and response. These four factors are all linked. If prevention fails, preparation is required for successful crisis mitigation. Revision is derived from the response and affects both the prevention of and preparation for future crises. In turn, improving preparation should improve response. 31 Hopwood, Maria, James Skinner, and Paul Kitchin. Sport Public Relations and Communication. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. 32 Coombs, 2007. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 12 CRISIS MANAGEMENT MODELS Gonzales-Herro and Pratt Similar to Coombs’ theory of crisis management, Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s (1996) An Integrated Symmetrical Model for Crisis-Communications Management laid out four distinct phases though which a crisis may progress. These four phases were described as a “crisis’s biological life cycle,” with overarching growth phases: (1) birth, (2) growth, (3) maturity and (4) death. 33 According to Gonzales-Herro and Pratt, with proper intervention or management, “a crisis can be aborted, never grow to maturity or anything in between.” 34 The aim of interventional strategies should be to shorten the life expectancy of any crisis (by way of avoiding negative media coverage) and to engage in reputation-enhancing, socially responsible activities. 35 The three underlying principles required for the model to be effective are (1) issues management, (2) planning-prevention and (3) implementation. Research plays a vital role in every phase of Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s model, with the goal of determining publics’ attitudes towards issues/situations. 36 Phase One: Issues Management In the initial phase, the organization identifies any potential issue or crisis and aims to deter its onset. 37 Strategies include collecting and analyzing data in an attempt to prevent or redirect a crisis before it can happen. Phase Two: Planning-Prevention The planning and prevention phase is marked either by the beginning of a crisis that takes an organization by surprise, or an organization recognizing that a crisis is about to take place. Management must assess the dimensions of the problem, the degree of control the organization has over the situation and the options the organization can choose from in developing a specific crisis plan. 38 Gonzales-Herro and Pratt lay out four identifiable strategies which can be considered when a crisis has entered into the planning-prevention phase. These are (1) the reanalyzing of the organization’s relationships with stakeholders, (2) preparing a contingency plan, designating members to a crisis management team, (3) 33 Hopwood et al, 2010. 34 Herrero-González, Alfonso, and Cornelius B. Pratt. "An Integrated Symmetrical Model for Crisis-Communications Management." Journal of Public Relations Research 8.2 (1996): 79-105. 35 Herrero-González and Pratt, 1996. 36 Hopwood et al, 2010. 37 Herrero-González and Pratt, 1996. 38 Herrero-González and Pratt, 1996. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 13 identifying the company spokesperson and determining the messages and (4) targeting media outlets needed to implement the plan. Phase Three: The Crisis During phase three, the organization should prevent negative publicity while communicating the corrective actions it is taking to handle the situation. Simply, the third phase is the organization’s response to “The Crisis.” Additionally, company messages and strategies should be directed at affected stakeholders, expert support should be obtained and internal communication plans should be implemented. Phase Four: The Post-Crisis Following a crisis, Gonzales-Herro and Pratt advise that the organization needs to evaluate the crisis plan’s effectiveness while incorporating feedback to improve it for future crises. To determine if the crisis management plan was effective, the organization needs to monitor its multiple stakeholder groups’ (publics’) general perceptions and feelings about the crisis as well as the organization as a whole. Fundamentally, the organization needs to continue to inform the media of the status of the situation until it has completely subsided. Fink’s Four-Stage Model Steven Fink’s four-stage model, as found in his influential book Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable, is one of the first to examine a crisis as an extended event with sufficient warning signs that precede the trigger event. 39 He uses a medical illness metaphor to identify four stages in the crisis life cycle: (1) prodromal – clues or hints of a potential crisis begin to emerge, (2) acute or crisis breakout stage – a triggering event occurs along with the attendant damage, (3) chronic – the effects of the crisis linger as efforts to clean up the crisis progress, and (4) resolution – there is some clear signal that the crisis is over and it is no longer a concern to stakeholders. 40 Stage One: Prodromal In the prodromal stage, the crisis manager’s role is to be proactive. The crisis manager attempts to identify an impending crisis with information found in any number of places surrounding the organization. Actions taken during the prodromal stage fit into the pre-crisis stage of the three-stage model as they address an organization’s crisis prevention. 39 Fink, Steven. Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable. New York, NY: American Management Association, 1986. 40 Coombs, 2007. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 14 Stage Two: Acute Fink divides the actual crisis event into three stages. The crisis begins with a trigger, during what Fink refers to as the acute stage. This stage is characterized by not only the crisis event but also the resulting damage. The severity of the crisis is influenced by the success (or failure) of the prodromal stage. The job of the crisis managers expands and becomes more proactive when they know and read the warning signs. Well-prepared crisis managers do not just enact the crisis management plan when a crisis hits (being reactive); they are also involved in identifying and resolving situations that could become or lead to a crisis (being proactive). 41 Successful proactive identification of a crisis can reduce the repercussion in the acute stage. Failed recognition creates a reactive situation instead of a proactive intervention. Stage Three: Chronic Stage three of Fink’s model – the chronic stage – refers to the lasting effects of the crisis and extended efforts to deal with it. Although a crisis may occur quickly, the lasting effects of the incident can extend the life of a crisis. For example, an individual event such as the news breaking of Tiger Woods’ infidelity may occur quickly, but the fallout of the incident may take weeks or months to repair. Coombs states that the acute and chronic stages act as sub-stages of the crisis phase of the three-stage model. Stage Four: Resolution Stage four marks the clear end of the crisis; there is some clear signal that the crisis is no longer a concern to stakeholders. For example, if there had been a strike with union workers, the resolution stage would mark when the strike is over and strikers are back at work and/or are satisfied with the negotiations. The different stages of the crisis life cycle require different actions from the crisis manager. As a result, the crisis management is portioned into stages and is not one simple action. 42 Sturges’s Strategy for Organizational Survival David L. Sturges elaborated on Fink’s model by illustrating how different actions are required during various crisis phases and that different types of communication are emphasized during each phase of the crisis. 43 The acute phase is controlled by the eruption of the crisis, when stakeholders do not know what is happening and therefore require information about how 41 Coombs, 2007. 42 Coombs, 2007. 43 Sturges, D. L. "Communicating through Crisis: A Strategy for Organizational Survival." Management Communication Quarterly 7.3 (1994): 297-316. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://mcq.sagepub.com/content/7/3/297.abstract>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 15 the crisis affects them and what they should do to protect themselves. In contrast, the resolution phase marks the end of the crisis, where stakeholders would be receptive to messages intended to strengthen the organization’s reputation. 44 According to Sturges, stakeholders need to know how a crisis affects them when it breaks but are open to reputation-building messages once the crisis ends. Pearson and Mitroff’s Five-Stage Model Unlike the previous four-stage frameworks, Pearson and Mitroff’s five-stage model provides an even more comprehensive approach to understanding the stages of a crisis. 45,46 These stages include: 1. Signal detection: A crisis always begins with some form of warning signs which need to be identified and acted upon to prevent a crisis. 2. Preparation and prevention: The goal is to prevent as many crises as possible and effectively manage those that do occur; involves the formation of crisis management teams and communications – as well as operational – plans for approaching crises. 3. Containment/damage limitation: The aim is to contain the crisis to the greatest extent possible and to mitigate the event so that organizational and stakeholder damage is kept to a minimum. 4. Recovery: Attempts are made to resume normal business operations as soon as possible. Short-term recovery gets the system back on line so an acceptable level of service is achieved. Long-term recovery follows as operational activities are restored to pre-crisis levels. 5. Learning: Organization members review where lessons are learned from the crisis. Attention is focused on improving current operations preventing future crises. While there are strong correlations between the Fink, Mitroff and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt approaches, many distinct differences are also apparent. Mitroff’s signal detection can be equated to Fink’s prodromal phase and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s first phase of issues management. However, there is a difference in the degree that Mitroff’s model emphasizes detection and prevention. While Fink’s model implies that crises can be prevented, Mitroff’s 44 Coombs, 2007. 45 Pearson, Christine M., and Ian I. Mitroff. "From Crisis Prone to Crisis Prepared: A Framework for Crisis Management." The Executive 7.1 (1993): 48-59. Academy of Management. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4165107>. 46 Crandall, William, John A. Parnell, and John E. Spillan. Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2010. SAGE. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/28756_1.pdf>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 16 model actively identifies them, seeking to prevent them. 47 Similarly, Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s issues management also actively identifies potential crises, but the emphasis is placed on research and data analysis to prevent a crisis. Second, there is a strong parallel between Mitroff’s damage containment stage, Fink’s acute stage and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s planning-prevention and crisis phases. Both Mitroff’s damage containment and Fink’s acute stage focus on the trigger event – when the crisis hits. However, Mitroff’s model places greater emphasis on limiting the effects of the crisis before it reaches any stable parts of the organization. 48 Fink’s acute stage focuses on a link to his first stage and how the severity of a crisis is influenced by proactive identification and preparation. Similarly, Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s planning-prevention stage emphasizes the importance of proper planning and the need for a pre-set contingency plan. Fink’s recovery and chronic stages define the inherent urgency to bring normalcy back to an organization’s daily operations. According to Mitroff, one measure of success for crisis management is the speed with which normal operations are restored. 49 While Fink’s model simply points out that organizations can recover at varying speeds, Mitroff’s model emphasizes how the crisis management team can positively facilitate the recovery. 50 Next, Mitroff’s learning stage, Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s post-crisis stage and Fink’s resolution stage signal the end of the crisis. Fink’s model simply notes that the resolution stage arises when a crisis is no longer a concern; termination marks the end of the crisis management function. The addition of a review and critique of the learning stage shows Mitroff’s focus on crisis management rather than just crisis description. Mitroff’s model is cyclical in that the end also represents a new beginning. 51 The crisis management effort is reviewed and critiqued in order to find ways to improve the system. Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt extended Mitroff’s thinking by treating the final stage as a continuation of the recovery phase. In addition to evaluation and retooling, the final stage involves maintaining contact with key stakeholders, monitoring the issues tied to the crisis, and providing updates to the media. 52 Communications with stakeholders from the recovery phase are carried over to the learning phase. The critical difference between the Fink, Mitroff and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt models is apparent when comparing the last phases. Mitroff and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt lay out an 47 Coombs, 2007. 48 Pearson and Mitroff, 1993. 49 Mitroff, Ian I. "Crisis Management and Environmentalism: A Natural Fit." California Management Review 36.2 (1994): 101. EBSCO. 12 Sept. 2013. <http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9410213933/crisis-management-environmentalism-natural-fit>. 50 Coombs, 2007. 51 Coombs, 2007. 52 Herrero-González and Pratt, 1996. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 17 active approach and stress what crisis managers should do at each phase. Fink is more descriptive and stresses the characteristics of each phase. Fink centers on mapping how crises progress while Mitroff and Gonzales-Herro and Pratt are concerned with how crisis management efforts progress and how they can be successful. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 18 CASE STUDIES Unsuccessful Crisis Responses Case studies of unsuccessful collegiate crisis responses will yield insights into what mistakes to avoid. The examples of unsuccessful crisis responses come from NCAA Division I institution Duke University and NCAA Division I Pennsylvania State University. Duke Lacrosse In the early hours of March 14, 2006, a group of Duke University men’s lacrosse players got in an altercation with two exotic dancers they hired for a party; afterwards, one of the women placed a call to 911 that set off a campus-shaking rape case that would captivate national media. 53 Duke was thrust into one of the most prominent collegiate sports crises in recent history when, in the course of a controversial investigation, the district attorney indicated that as many as 46 members of the men’s lacrosse team were under suspicion of having violated the law. Ultimately, three members of the team were indicted on charges of first-degree rape and sexual assault. The charges against the players were eventually dropped in April 2007 after an investigation by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office uncovered prosecutorial misconduct and a lack of evidence to support the accuser’s allegations. The story received extensive media coverage and while the prosecution and defense were making their legal arguments, Duke’s reputation was called into question. During the 13 months the case was active, national media reported relentlessly. The story was covered in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, in Newsweek and Rolling Stone and on blogs and cable news; the renowned 60 Minutes even did several segments on it. 54 The media quickly framed the accusations in the context of race, sex and class – three wild, rich white men attending an elite university were accused of preying on two poor black women. Duke officials chose to handle the crisis themselves with their internal public affairs department and appointed University President Richard Brodhead as their spokesperson. Twelve days after the party, Duke officials forfeited two upcoming men’s lacrosse games in response to team members’ hiring exotic dancers and engaging in underage drinking at the party. Three days later, university officials suspended the men’s lacrosse program while awaiting “clearer 53 Yaeger, Don, and Mike Pressler. It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered. New York: Threshold Editions, 2008. 54 Barton, Robin L. "The Duke Lacrosse Scandal Revisited: Five Years Later." The Crime Report. N.p., 23 May 2011. 28 Sept. 2013. <http://www.thecrimereport.org/viewpoints/2011-05-the-duke-lacrosse-scandal-revisited-five-years-later>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 19 resolutions of the legal situation.” 55 Subsequently, the head coach resigned (unwillingly) and President Brodhead canceled the remainder of the team’s season. The men’s lacrosse program was ultimately reinstated and months later charges against all three players were dropped after the state bar panel concluded that the district attorney acted improperly during the course of the investigation. 56 Crisis Analysis through Fink’s Model Examining the Duke scandal though Fink’s four-stage crisis model will reveal how Duke administrators committed key mistakes. First, Duke erred in that it did not use an established internal communications plan, as evident by the fact that its spokespeople were not communicating cohesive messages. Second, Duke administrators failed to maintain consistent communication with the media throughout the crisis, thereby increasing the need for reporters and media to tell their own versions of Duke’s story. Third, Duke administrators unsuccessfully attempted to reduce the news value of the story when they canceled the season. Lastly, Duke administrators failed to wait on all relevant facts before acting. Yaeger and Henry likened Duke’s approach to one-move chess – that is, “making decisions with no respect for strategy.” 57 Fink’s Stage One: Prodromal Fink’s first stage, the prodromal stage, is a pre-crisis time when organizations must be alert in order to spot warning signs of a possible crisis. If warning signs are caught, problems can be resolved and crises averted. In the case of Duke lacrosse, warning signs were ignored. Long before the rape allegations became national news, the Duke men’s lacrosse team already had one mark against it: One teammate had previously been charged with assault in 2005, when he was accused and convicted of punching a man while using anti-gay slurs and other derogatory names. 58 The Duke athletic community, along with Coach Michael Pressler, chose to let the courts handle the punishment. As part of Fink’s initial stage of spotting warning signs for future crises, it could have been more beneficial if punishment had also come from those who had the most influence over the player. 55 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. 56 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. 57 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. 58 "Duke Lacrosse Rape Suspect Convicted In D.C. Assault Case." WRAL.com. Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1091884/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 20 This mistake may have led the men on Duke’s lacrosse team to believe that their debauchery and crimes off the field would not impact their academics or athletics. At Duke, athletes were seen as the “big men on campus,” with the men’s lacrosse team heading the clan. They were known for throwing booze-filled parties and encouraging underage drinking, influencing the rest of the Duke student body to follow suit. 59 When administrators, athletic directors and coaches saw the influence the team had on campus, they should have made it their priority to ensure the athletes were behaving appropriately and punished properly as a preventative measure to avoid future crises. In addition to the wild party culture and the assault charge of one teammate, there was also an underlying warning sign of racial and class tensions that Duke administrators failed to recognize. The contrast between the poorer surrounding community of Durham, North Carolina and the prestigious, young, white Duke community was a cause for tension. National media had, and would continue to, describe Durham as “a small town where conflict over race and class dominates daily life.” 60 Durham, a town of poor, working-class African Americans was known for struggling families, while inside the Duke bubble people were on the path to success. This distraught town-gown relationship was highlighted throughout the scandal. 61 Duke officials failed to recognize, and subsequently take action on, the many pre-crisis warning signs; when the scandal became public, the crisis quickly escalated. The prodromal stage of Fink’s model is a period when warning signs signal the potential for a major problem to occur within an organization. While the behavior of the men’s lacrosse team did not exceed the emerging norms for Duke’s athletes, the university’s growing reputation as a party school and its notoriety for tolerating poor behavior should have served as warning signs. Furthermore, school administrators should have been more aware of the deteriorating town-gown relationship between the city of Durham and Duke University. It is apparent that Duke University, especially the athletics department, made the mistake of having no prepared plan in place to address the situations, should they escalate into a crisis. Fink’s Stage Two: Acute Fink’s second stage, the acute stage, is often accompanied by an increase in intensity and speed. This stage is when the media and public become informed, the organization is faced with 59 Applebaum, Anne. "At Duke, a Scandal In Search of Meaning." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501589.html>. 60 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. 61 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 21 increased media scrutiny and reputations are called into question. During this stage of the crisis, Duke administrators should have been prepared to face the media attention they were about to receive. However, they again failed to handle the crisis appropriately. According to police reports, the accuser said she had been blocked in the bathroom, held, kicked and strangled while being sexually assaulted for nearly 30 minutes. 62 From that point on, the fallout occurred in rapid succession. Soon after police reports were filed, Coach Pressler and multiple Duke officials, including President Brodhead, were actively involved in dealing with the crisis. Their overall decision, and a critical mistake, was that the team would remain silent in order to avoid a huge media frenzy. However, when the players arrived at the Duke Medical Center for DNA testing, they were met with a mob of journalists and photographers who had gotten wind of the leaked story. The players’ lawyer advised them to cover their faces to keep their identities private; however, this decision backfired. 63 The team that had previously been seen as cooperative was now seen by media, police and protestors as hiding the truth. The team’s new image confirmed their guilt in the minds of many. Those in charge of Duke’s crisis were unprepared for the barrage of negative media. They were unable to take control of the situation and were left to battle the negative portrayals being dispersed to the public. As a consequence, their response to the emerging crisis was reactive rather than proactive. The crisis came to a head when two of the lacrosse players were arrested and charged with rape, first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping and subsequently were suspended from school. Almost a month later a co-captain became the third player charged. As a result, the lacrosse season was terminated and Coach Pressler was relieved of his duties. Throughout the scandal, President Brodhead had claimed his neutrality but consistently made public statements about the players and took actions, such as terminating the season, which presented an assumption of guilt. 64 The team believed President Brodhead to be on their side, but in his first public statement he expressed a different point of view, saying that the alleged actions were unacceptable and if verified, would warrant very serious penalties. 65 Later, Brodhead went on to say, “…I am sorry that the woman and her friend were subjected to such abuse.” 66 Although not confirming the athletes’ guilt, in the eyes of the media, his statement implied it. Brodhead was a spokesperson for the university, yet he was not on board with the rest of the crisis committee. 62 Wilson, Duff. "Lawyer Says Two Duke Lacrosse Players Are Indicted in Rape Case." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 18 Apr. 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/18/sports/18duke.html?_r=0>. 63 Duff, 2006. 64 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. 65 Taylor, Stuart, and K. C. Johnson. Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and The Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case. New York: Thomas Dunne /St. Martin's Griffin, 2008. 66 Taylor and Johnson, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 22 His statements helped to confirm the negative suspicions that many members of the media and general public were already harboring. The crisis team failed to select an appropriate spokesperson who could relate to the university’s stakeholders and successfully convey the right messages aimed at diffusing the crisis. During Fink’s acute stage, Duke failed to tell their own story and therefore the media took control. The failings of the program were brought to the attention of the media. Every move and statement was scrutinized and called into question. The media assumed the guilt of the players, and the public followed suit. Duke’s crisis team did not properly prepare their spokespeople, Brodhead included, to make appropriate remarks on behalf of the university. At this stage, it was necessary to have everyone on the same page. Duke’s mistake was not communicating internally on how statements should be made. They failed to control the story once it had escalated and struggled to regain positive momentum. Fink’s Stage Three: Chronic Stage three of Fink’s model, the chronic stage, is also known as the clean-up phase. Here, measures can be taken to correct the problems and lingering issues are dealt with. In Duke’s case, lingering issues included the continued media scrutiny and rampant local and national protests. Media had a field day with the scandal and were not shy about declaring the athletes guilty. The story headlined every nationally-ranked newspaper. 67 The New York Times announced the Duke crisis with the headline: “Rape Allegations Against Athletes is Roiling Duke.” 68 The story continued with reports that the incident had cast an unflattering light on the university. The media frenzy could not be subdued and more than 100,000 negative stories were written concerning the case. 69 Accusatory reporting was common, with a backwards-thinking media viewing the accused athletes as guilty until proven innocent. To further Fink’s chronic stage, protests against Duke were lead across the nation. Protesters criticized the university for its slow response in disciplining the players and for its lack of transparency with the public. Duke’s major crisis management mistake was that officials did not issue a public statement until 11 days after the incident. The consequence of a fatal mistake by the university, opponents believed this was because Duke was hiding the truth. If the university 67 Taylor, Stuart and Johnson, 2008. 68 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. 69 Yaeger and Pressler, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 23 had addressed the public in a timelier manner, much of the escalation of the crisis may have been averted. In the Duke lacrosse crisis, the negative image of the athletes was at odds with the facts of the case. The evidence indicated there was no DNA proof, yet media outlets continued to depict the players as guilty. The media’s negative portrayal of Duke’s campus influenced public opinion around the case, and Duke officials did nothing to abate the situation. Their actions, if anything, caused public opinion of them to be less favorable. Fink’s Stage Four: Resolution Fink’s fourth and final stage is the resolution stage, where the worst of the crisis is over and the necessary steps are taken to fully resolve the situation. In the second half of 2006, the Duke crisis was nearing resolution; accusations were crumbling, the district attorney was being criticized and the public was beginning to question the credibility of the accusations. The Duke men’s lacrosse team was reinstated, although the team would be strictly supervised and a new code of contact was enacted. Media coverage began to portray the three sentenced teammates in a positive light by emphasizing their courage and honesty. However, Duke emerged as a university that chose to rush to judgment. From their lack of transparency and Brodhead’s statements, they failed to protect the very students who were entrusted in their care. Consequently, athletes of the men’s lacrosse team began to file lawsuits pursuing claims against all parties who supported, abetted and profiled them in the rush to judgment. When the men’s innocence was announced, the media began to reveal their positive personalities and discuss their academic accomplishments. They were no longer rich white partiers, but instead sons of hardworking parents. The general public followed suit, and essentially changed their minds about the case, regardless of Duke’s many mistakes in handing the crisis. For the public to find truth in two opposing narratives shows the immense power that the media holds and its ability to create, escalate and perpetuate a crisis. Duke needed to be aware of the power of the media, and needed to be prepared to tell their story for themselves when faced with a crisis. They did not manage the ballooning crisis proactively. They allowed the media to tell their story while they sat back and kept quiet – and when they finally did speak it was reactive. The university let the crisis take control and failed to take steps to manage the flow and content of information. Their fatal mistake showed just how a crisis can escalate and Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 24 quickly be taken out of the hands of the institution if they fail to handle the situation appropriately. Penn State Football The 2011 Jerry Sandusky scandal was both a failure of Pennsylvania State University leadership to take proper action, and an enormous mishandling by the school’s athletic department and communications staff to take control and effectively manage messaging to reduce the damage to the university’s reputation and credibility. Jerry Sandusky, Penn State’s former assistant football coach, was accused and then convicted of multiple counts of sex abuse of young boys; top university officials were fired and faced prosecution for ignoring and covering up the abuses; Joe Paterno, a respected and nationally renowned football coach, was fired, causing student riots on campus; a parade of former sex abuse victims came forward to tell their stories; Penn State’s football team was banned from NCAA participation and its legacy removed from the record books; and the university’s reputation was left in disarray as the events played out in national media. 70 School president Graham Spanier was forced to resign, and head football coach Joe Paterno and athletic director Tim Curley were fired. On July 23, 2012, the NCAA imposed extensive penalties on Penn State's football program that still remain among the most severe ever imposed on an NCAA member school. Penalties included:  Five years’ probation  Four-year postseason ban  Vacating 112 wins from 1998 to 2011, stripping Penn State of their Big Ten titles in 2005 and 2008 and removing 111 wins from Paterno's record, dropping him from first to 12 th on the NCAA's all-time wins list  A $60 million fine, the proceeds of which went toward an endowment for preventing child abuse (according to the NCAA, this was the equivalent of a typical year's gross revenue from the football program)  Loss of a total of 40 initial scholarships from 2013 to 2017 – during the same period, Penn State is limited to 65 total scholarships 70 Chappell, Bill. "Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide And Timeline." NPR. NPR, 21 June 2012. 03 Oct. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/2011/11/08/142111804/penn- state-abuse-scandal-a-guide-and-timeline>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 25  Entrance into an “athletics integrity agreement” with the NCAA and Big Ten Conference, appointment of a university-wide athletic compliance officer and compliance council and acceptance of an NCAA-appointed athletic integrity monitor for the duration of probation 71 NCAA President Mark Emmert commented that the sanctions were levied “not to be just punitive, but to make sure the university establishes an athletic culture and daily mindset in which football will never again be placed ahead of education, nurturing and protecting young people.” 72 Subsequently, The Big Ten Conference imposed an additional $13 million fine. Spanier, Curley and Schultz have since been criminally charged for their roles in covering up Sandusky’s behaviors. Based on an extensive grand jury investigation, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 charges of sexually abusing children and was sentenced in 2012 to 30 to 60 years in prison. This situation needed to be addressed quickly by a team of well-versed crisis communicators. However, Penn State’s administration made many mistakes that led the university to become a classic case study of what not to do. Sandusky’s Track Record In 1977, Sandusky founded The Second Mile, a foster home for boys. The program grew to become a respected statewide charity. 73 In 1998, the mother of an 11-year-old boy called university police to complain after finding out her son had showered with Coach Sandusky and was repeatedly hugged. A university police investigation found that Sandusky had showered with a number of boys. In response, Sandusky said he would not shower with or hug children again. 74 (This was the first opportunity for Penn State to swiftly sever ties with Sandusky and head off the crisis by reporting it to local authorities. Instead, Sandusky was not punished and continued to abuse young boys.) Soon after, in 1999, Sandusky retired from Penn State’s football program but was still allowed access to all campus facilities. Gary Schultz, university official, announced that Sandusky’s retirement was not related to the 1998 investigation. 71 Prisbell, Eric. "NCAA Hands out Severe Punishment for Penn State." Usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., 23 July 2012. 08 Nov. 2013. 72 Kane, Colleen. "NCAA Punishes Penn State." Chicago Tribune. 23 July 2012. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-23/sports/ct-spt-0724- penn-state--20120724_1_david-joyner-penn-state-ncaa-president>. 73 Chappell, 2012. 74 Chappell, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 26 In 2002, university officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were made aware that Sandusky was seen having sex with a boy in the Penn State locker room showers. Sandusky’s locker room keys were confiscated and he was banned from bringing children onto the Penn State Campus, but no report was made to police. Later, Curley and Schultz would downplay Sandusky’s actions and claim in grand jury testimonies that he was merely “horsing around” with the boy. 75 Crisis strikes On November 5, 2011, the investigation into prosecutors’ accusations of Jerry Sandusky making inappropriate sexual advances on eight boys from 1994 to 2009 became public. A look at the headlines In the months surrounding the crisis outbreak, the media was relentless in reporting the news about Sandusky and his affiliation with Penn State. A basic Google search dated November 1, 2011, through January 31, 2012, shows the top headlines during the beginning of the crisis. Research shows that there is a significant drop in traffic from Page 1 to Page 2 in Google search results, where Page 1 results garner 92 percent of all traffic from the average search with traffic dropping off to 5 percent for Page 2. 76 The first page of results for a search on “Penn State” shows eight out of ten headlines with negative sentiment. When the scandal broke, there was so much media attention that simply searching for “Penn State” on Google would not even lead to the Penn State University homepage. Key words such as “sexual assault” and “child abuse” are seen in five stories, showing just how entangled the university itself was in the scandal. Additionally, key words like “football,” “athletic department” and “coach” were seen in five of the top stories with negative sentiment. 75 Chappell, 2012. 76 Lee, Jessica. "No. 1 Position in Google Gets 33% of Search Traffic [Study]." Search Engine Watch. Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC., 20 June 2013. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2276184/No.-1-Position-in-Google-Gets-33-of-Search-Traffic-Study>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 27 In terms of crisis management, Penn State landed far behind the 8-ball almost immediately. The media was taking over the story and freely reporting on the crisis while Penn State made no attempts to voice their side. Anyone who tried to look up the university online during the crisis was instantly bombarded with negativity. Because of these headlines, Penn State was seen by the public, and by its key stakeholders, as a passive participant that was unwilling to combat the negativity and properly handle the crisis. Penn State’s famed coach Joe Paterno was also constantly in the headlines from the onset of the crisis. A Google search for “Joe Paterno” dated November 1, 2011, through January 20, 2012, (one day before his death) returns results with similar negative sentiment. First page search results for “Joe Paterno” mention the allegations against Sandusky in six of the 10 stories, with Paterno’s “sullied reputation” and firing being mentioned most. Also important to note, key words like “not reporting” and “doing nothing” appear often, which shows the lack of attention by the university during the early stages of the situation. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 28 Most telling of the impending public relations crisis for Penn State’s athletic department is a Google search for “Jerry Sandusky” dated November 1, 2011, through January 31, 2012. While it was known that Sandusky was a part of Penn State’s football program, a search of his name results in stories related to Penn State University, the football program and the failings of the university in dealing with Sandusky’s behaviors. The fact that Sandusky is repeatedly referred to as a former Penn State football coach pulls all aspects of the university into the crisis. A Google search today reveals the lasting effects of Sandusky’s actions on the university: Penn State is seen as one of the most common examples of what not to do when handling a crisis. The major sanctions placed on the football program and the huge blow to the university’s reputation are commonly used as a framework for poor crisis management. A current Google search for “Penn State crisis” returns results solely about the Sandusky crisis. Eight of the 10 results deal with how poor crisis management played a part in the scandal. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 29 Penn State’s Mistakes Warning Signs The story of a condemned former football coach’s arrest on charges of sexual abuse was terrible, but news of Penn State’s lack of action for over 10 years enraged the public and media. Penn State officials completely ignored – or covered up – all warning signs. When university officials were alerted of the first 11-year-old-boy and the allegations his mother had called in, Penn State was given an opportunity to swiftly sever ties with Sandusky and head off the crisis by reporting it to local authorities. Instead, Sandusky was not punished and continued to abuse young boys. The story still would have made national news, but it’s probable that Penn State would have been viewed as virtuous for its no-tolerance policy of sexual predators – even prominent coaches. As noted in Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s issues management stage, an organization should constantly be collecting and surveying relevant data and information as a preventative measure. Sandusky’s prior offenses should have served as major warning signs for Penn State administrators. Penn State officials, along with the athletic department and the football program, should have had a crisis communication plan ready for when the investigation into Sandusky’s actions went public. As outlined in Pearson and Mitroff’s second stage, organizations should work to effectively manage crises by having a prepared crisis plan and team in place before an outbreak. Penn State failed to prepare to address the media and be ready to answer obvious questions while adhering to a consistent message. The university ignored all signs indicating that a crisis was about to transpire, and was not properly prepared for all of the negative media attention they received. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 30 Silence Steve Manuel, a senior lecturer of public relations at Penn State, spoke on how the school handled the crisis. He stated: The Golden Rule of public relations is you have to get something out in the first 60 minutes. And mentioning the victims always comes first. Bad news doesn't get better with time. When you cede the message to (critics or adversaries), you lose the battle... This was a crisis in the making of at least three years. Penn State knew this shoe was going to drop, and it was not prepared.... All the magnificent things Penn State has done over generations [are] on one side of the ledger. Jerry Sandusky is on the other. One has nothing to do with the other, and the university needs a massive campaign to emphasize this. …[Joe Paterno] was like a benevolent grandfather, almost like Santa Claus, someone that 30% to 40% of the students had had personal contact with. He was 'Everyman' to them. 77 School administrators made the mistake of violating this Golden Rule. In light of the sanctions, Joe Paterno’s weekly press conference was canceled only 30 minutes before it was scheduled, leaving the public uninformed and creating a barrier between the university and the public. Poor crisis planning was an obvious issue, with Advertising Age reporting that “despite months of advance notice, Penn State's board didn't enact a communications plan, and waited until after the arrest … was all over the news” before retaining crisis counsel. 78 Phase three of Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s model demonstrates that an organization should seek to prevent negative publicity while communicating the actions it is taking to handle the situation. Penn State administrators failed to address any of their stakeholders, internal or external, and instead allowed their silence to be intercepted by the media. They had no intentions of dispelling the negative information their most valuable stakeholders were receiving. Because of this, Penn State’s football program and athletic department as a whole destroyed any trust their stakeholders had in them. 77 Gardiner, Andy. "Instructor Tells Penn State Class School Lost PR Battle." Usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., 15 Nov. 2011. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-11-15/Penn-State-scandal-PR-class/51223314/1>. 78 "Fineman PR Names Penn State's Poor Crisis Communications the No. 1 PR Blunder of 2011." PR Daily. Ragan Communications, Inc., 15 Dec. 2011. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Fineman_PR_names_Penn_States_poor_crisis_communica_10319.aspx>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 31 President Spanier’s Initial Statement Penn State’s first public statement was completely off-mark. University President Graham Spanier chose to use his time in front of the microphone to defend his colleagues, university officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who had both been accused of involvement in covering up Sandusky’s immoral and illegal practices. His message appeared unsympathetic to the victims and their families. He should have made an emotional and apologetic appeal to show the university cared about the victims. Worse yet, Spanier failed to address his internal audiences to reassure them that the behaviors of Sandusky, Curley, and Schultz were not condoned by the university. 79 Choosing a qualified spokesperson is one of the most crucial decisions an organization will make during a crisis. In light of Spanier’s knowledge of Sandusky’s 2002 offense, the decision to allow him to speak on behalf of the university caused the public and media to question Spanier’s moral character, which, in turn, reflected poorly on Penn State. President Erickson’s Error Spanier voluntarily resigned from his tenure as University President and Rodney Erickson was appointed. Erickson had no association with Sandusky and, therefore, the media saw him as a more credible representative. However, he too made errors in representing Penn State as a spokesperson, and the resulting unfavorable media coverage extended the life and length of the crisis. During a town hall meeting with Penn State alumni, Erickson stated, “It grieves me very much when I hear people say ‘the Penn State scandal.’ This is not Penn State. This is ‘the Sandusky scandal.’ We’re not going to let what one individual did destroy the reputation of this university.” 80 Erickson’s comment was seen as trying to minimize the scope of the scandal by placing the blame only on Sandusky instead of addressing the real issues of numerous university officials trying to cover up the scandal. 81 Penn State failed to properly train and prepare the people they chose to speak on their behalf. Because they had taken no preventative measures, or prepared for the imminent crisis, they floundered to find a spokesperson that could support the university. However, as stated by Coombs’ model of crisis management, if prevention and preparation fail, it will be a struggle to achieve successful crisis mitigation. 79 Phillips, Brand. "Penn State's Crisis Communications Still Off-Key." Mr. Media Training. Phillips Media Relations, LLC., 18 Jan. 2012. 04 Oct. 2013. <http://www.mrmediatraining.com/2012/01/18/penn-states-crisis-communications-still-off-key/>. 80 Phillips, 2012. 81 Phillips, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 32 Social Media At the onset of the crisis, Penn State athletics chose to keep silent and close off two-way communication routes with its audiences via social networking sites. 82 Social media was buzzing about the scandal for months, signaling that the public was curious to know the university’s position. The Penn State Football Facebook page, then with over 300,000 likes, targeted students, recruits to the football program, alumni and Penn State football fans across the nation. 83 By staying silent, Penn State avoided and ignored a whole realm of audiences who desired truthful information straight from the university. Had Penn State used social media appropriately during their crisis, the university could have communicated its messages better while reaching their key stakeholders, thereby quieting the media outlets that were ripping into the university. Penn State could have used social media to communicate a consistent message of sympathy to the victims, disapproval of Sandusky’s actions and plans to rectify the issue. However, because of their poor communications there was an overall lack of transparency that gave the appearance that the university was engaged in a cover-up. Stage three of Fink’s model stresses the lasting effects of a crisis and the extended efforts to deal with it if the crisis was poorly handled. The allegations against Jerry Sandusky and Penn State University amount to one of the worst scandals in collegiate sports history. Years of positivity were erased from the university and its football program in a very short period of time. Many critics have said it rates far greater than Reggie Bush of USC fame and far bigger than Ohio State’s “tattoo-gate” because of the reputations of the people involved. 84 The crisis led to the dismissals of Paterno and President Spanier largely because of how poorly the situation was handled. Penn State’s crucial mistake was not preparing for the impending crisis. They had so many warning signals that Sandusky’s story would eventually hit the media, and blatantly chose not to address the issue head-on. Penn State slowly issued statements regarding the scandal but the comments were off-putting and poorly delivered, contributing to the situation quickly spiraling out of control. The initial investigation into Jerry Sandusky began in 2008, meaning university officials had ample time to 82 Agnes, Melissa. "5 Lessons from Penn State's Social Media Crisis Communications Fail.” Melissa Agnes Crisis Management. Melissa Agnes Crisis Management, 25 June 2012. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.melissaagnescrisismanagement.com/5-lessons-from-penn-states-social-media-crisis-communications-fail/>. 83 Meerman Scott, David. "Penn State University: Poor Crisis Management And Social Media Skills." Huffingtonpost.com. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 23 June 2012. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-meerman-scott/penn-state-poor-crisis-management_b_1620763.html>. 84 Talty, John. "Sandusky Scandal: A PR Disaster for Penn State, Joe Paterno." International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 09 Nov. 2011. .09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ibtimes.com/sandusky-scandal-pr-disaster-penn-state-joe-paterno-367330>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 33 prepare for when the media got hold of the story. However, they did a very poor job of getting any information out in a timely manner. John R. Brooks, director of media relations and news at North Park University in Chicago, pointed out the key mistake Penn State communicators made in handling their priorities leading up to and during the crisis. It is imperative [for communicators to understand] that when the law is broken, the authorities must be called immediately. That must be the first action of the organization before anything else. The organization also owes its constituents some public word as soon as possible about the issue, its values, what it is doing about the issue and acknowledgement of the victims of the abuse. That word should have come from the University in the days immediately following the story breaking. It would not have changed the eventual outcome for the people involved, but it would have avoided the loud silence of official comment that seemed to exist. 85 If Penn State had responded differently they could have altered the attitudes of the media. If the athletic department had distanced themselves entirely from the scandal, the “Penn State Scandal” could have been known as the “Paterno Scandal” or the “Schultz cover-up.” However, Penn State’s athletic department had no plan to deal with any sort of crisis. Therefore, when the news of Sandusky’s behavior hit the media, the athletic department and football program were left to scramble to deal with it; left to be reactive. Their lack of preparation led to a full downward spiral of failure in handling the negative media and precluded any hope of attaining a proactive position in managing the ever worsening crisis. Without a crisis management plan, the university placed itself in the position of following the story rather than leading it. Successful Crisis Responses While all crises are different, case studies of successful collegiate public relations crisis responses will yield insights into what standard and creative approaches should and can be taken to curtail the negative effects of a crisis. As laid out in the aforementioned models of crisis management, it’s possible that a successful crisis response can lead to new strategies and bettering the university’s preparedness for the next crisis. The examples of successful crisis 85 Fiske, Rosanna. "Analysis: PR Lessons From The Penn State Crisis." PRSAY - What Do You Have to Say? PRSA, 16 Nov. 2011. 21 Oct. 2013. <http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/2011/11/16/analysis-pr-lessons-from-the-penn-state-crisis/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 34 responses come from NCAA Division I Montana State University and NCAA Division I Baylor University. Montana State University Montana State University’s (MSU) crisis story begins in the spring of 2006, when the murdered body of a drug dealer was found on campus. The subsequent police investigation revealed that multiple MSU student-athletes were involved in trafficking narcotics and that MSU scholarship money had been used in several drug trades. 86 By June, two former student athletes (one football player, one basketball player) were arrested in connection with the murder. The basketball player ultimately pled guilty. 87 Athletic Director Peter Fields and MSU President Geoff Gamble responded by firing Head Football Coach Mike Kramer, a decision that media quickly labeled as scapegoating. Adding to the mayhem, the arrests and firing unfolded alongside a newly-announced capital campaign for the athletic department that made some stakeholders unhappy. The biggest challenge for MSU athletics were the headlines littered across newspapers and websites associating their student- athletes with drug dealing and violent crime. 88 Fields and the MSU athletics department were faced with clarifying to their publics that the dreadful choices made by a few former players did not accurately represent the entire athletic student body. Communications Strategy Build a Team Fields’ first move was to conduct a thorough evaluation of the situation. He built a team consisting of a senior associate athletic director, a compliance officer, a marketing director, a student services coordinator and a media relations associate headed by Assistant Sports Information Director of Operations Christine Syme, who had a background in crisis management. 89 MSU’s athletic department may not have had a concrete crisis pan in place, but they excelled at Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s second stage, planning and prevention. Fields quickly realized the potential harm the crisis could cause for the university’s athletics and he jumped to action with clear goals in mind. 86 Associated Press. "Two Ex-Montana State Players Charged With murder." ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures, 30 June 2006. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2505352>. 87 Ulrich, Laura. "Turning the Corner." Editorial. Athletic Management Aug.-Sept. 2008. Athletic Management. Mag, Inc., Aug.-Sept. 2008. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2008/08/24/turning_the_corner/index.php>. 88 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. 89 Ulrich, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 35 SWOT Analysis 90 The team’s chief priority was to assess the situation using a SWOT analysis, where the most frequently mentioned strength was the passion and integrity of MSU student-athletes. 91 The media had painted the entirety of the MSU athletics department with a broad brush. Only a few athletes had been involved in the criminal activity, yet the media made it seem like the whole student body was corrupt. The majority of the athletes were trouble-free, promising university citizens. MSU’s weakness, however, was that the athletic department had been unsuccessful in spreading the word about its many admirable student-athletes. Fields and Syme transitioned communication strategies from facts and statistics to putting a face to the athletic department. 92 Feel-good stories were pushed out to the media – in track and field, the story of pole vaulter Sarah Eby, a six-time all-conference all-academic athlete who was preparing for a career in cancer research, motivated by a family history of breast cancer; in men’s basketball, junior college transfer and leading scorer Carlos Taylor was working toward academic success in spite of experiencing a recent family tragedy, and served meals at the local soup kitchen. 93 MSU’s athletic department excelled at containment and limitation. In Pearson and Mitroff’s third stage, the organization should contain the crisis and mitigate the event so that organizational and stakeholder damage is kept to a minimum. Montana State appropriately dispelled the image being created by the media and released truthful, quick stories to back up their attitudes. The university’s team was able to recognize that their stakeholders needed to see that the athletic department was working to rectify the situation and that it was an exclusive event. They were able to keep damage to a minimum by acting quickly with a strategic plan aimed at their most valuable stakeholders. Transparency The second part of their strategy was an aggressive plan to honestly disclose as much information as possible regarding the crisis episode. The team prioritized their stakeholders and figured out exactly who needed to get the information. Because the athletics department was also working on a capital campaign, major donors, boosters and the campus community 90 See Appendix 91 Ulrich, 2008. 92 Ulrich, 2008. 93 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 36 received top priority. Members of the athletics staff participated in making phone calls directly to stakeholders high on the list. 94 Internal Stakeholders Fields handled internal communications extremely well. His commitment to his student- athletes and coaches showed his attention to all stakeholders, with special consideration paid to the often-forgotten internal audience. In an interview, Fields commented, “They were hurt and angry that their reputation had been tarnished when they hadn't done anything wrong. It was important for me to say, ‘I know the community isn't thinking very highly of you right now, but we are aware of the wonderful things you're doing and we're working to correct this situation.’” 95 With an all-encompassing plan, Fields and Syme did a superb job of addressing all MSU’s publics with careful attention to those stakeholders who were top priorities. They kept the greater goals of the university in mind and focused first on boosters and financial contributors without forgetting key smaller stakeholders as well as those on the inside. Consistency MSU kept a consistent theme throughout its recovery. In all their statements, the university focused on the message that high standards for student-athlete integrity were the norm. 96 Additionally, the university emphasized that the athletics department was analyzing how things went wrong by securing an independent evaluation of its recruiting practices. In less than a year, the tone of media headlines changed, emphasizing MSU’s success in countering bad publicity. 97 Because the team had worked hard to make sure every stakeholder group was addressed with the same messaging, MSU was able to build a positive rapport among its publics through the crisis. The media followed suit, and the university was able to pull through the crisis relatively unscathed. Montana State navigated through Pearson and Mitroff’s fourth stage of recovery extremely well. The university was able to return to normal operations quickly and the athletics department emerged fairly unscathed. 94 Ulrich, 2008. 95 Ulrich, 2008. 96 Stoldt, Dittmore and Branvold, 2012. 97 Ulrich, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 37 Post-Crisis Learning All crisis management models stressed the final stage of the crisis – the learning phase. Following the crisis, Fields and Syme used what they learned from the incident and implemented a crisis communications plan for MSU’s athletics department. They developed two crisis teams, one to handle communication about non-medical emergencies and another (which includes sports medicine staff members) to handle medical emergencies. 98 They found that aggressive disclosure was a lasting motto, and continue to supply the media with positive stories. This helps to abate future crisis by keeping the MSU student-athletes in a positive light among all stakeholders and gives the media a positive image to fall back on if another crisis were to happen. Montana State University athletics emerged from the scandal stronger because of what they went through. The school was forced to redefine its core mission and work together as a team of crisis communicators to successfully navigate through the ordeal. They faced the media as a cohesive unit and relied heavily on their upstanding athletes to tell their story. MSU got out in front of the media, were honest and were able to tell their own story in their own words. Because they took proactive measures, the athletic department was able to shape how MSU athletics were perceived and allowed stakeholders to see that the university could proudly overcome scandal and continue to thrive. While prior to the scandal the MSU athletic department had no established crisis plan, they were quick to implement one post crisis. Baylor University In the early 2000s, Baylor University, a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas, experienced the perfect storm of crisis and controversy when the men’s basketball program was investigated and punished for numerous NCAA violations. The scandal broke after the 2003 case of a missing student quickly turned into dealing with the aftermath of a murder. More than a month after he had been reported missing, the body of Baylor’s promising basketball player Patrick Dennehy was found a few miles outside of campus. Dennehy’s teammate and friend Carlton Dotson pled guilty to the murder and was sentenced to a 35-year prison term. 99 98 Ulrich, 2008. 99 Aydelotte, Rod. "Dotson Sentenced to 35 Years in Dennehy Murder Case."USATODAY.com. Gannett Co. Inc., 15 June 2005. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2005-06-15-dotson-sentence_x.htm>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 38 Shortly after Dennehy's disappearance, Baylor and the NCAA began investigations into multiple allegations, ranging from drug use among players to improper payments to players by the coaching staff. During the investigation into Dennehy’s death, evidence mounted suggesting Dennehy’s tuition may have been improperly paid, and that coach Dave Bliss was engaged in a cover-up of those payments. Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. self-imposed punishments on the men’s basketball program, which the NCAA amplified to include extended probation for the university through 2010, the elimination of one year of non-conference play and a 10-year show- cause penalty on resigned head coach Dave Bliss for “despicable behavior” and “unethical conduct” – the most severe penalty the NCAA can hand a coach. 100 The NCAA’s sanction was one of the harshest penalties ever imposed on a Division I program that didn't include a “death penalty”(an NCAA ban from competing in a sport for at least one year – the harshest penalty that the NCAA can impose). 101 Baylor administrators were able to respond collectively and quickly to the scandal by relying on the university’s pre-established core of emergency contingency plans, protocols and crisis teams. 102 These teams bore the brunt of media pressure by shaping the university’s statements as practical, moral and ethical with a focus on the process of healing the affected families and the university community as a whole. The crisis team knew it was important that the university not flaunt its strong Christian values to gloss over the reality of the situation. The team came together quickly, worked efficiently as a cohesive group and was able to handle the expansive media attention with poise and honesty. The Baylor community praised the university for being open, honest and timely with information. By the end of the crisis, Baylor had learned from the experience and was able to emerge stronger with insights into how to modify their crisis plan to be more effective in the future. Communications Strategy Have a Plan and Work as a Team In the years before the 2003 basketball crisis broke, Baylor’s athletic department had dealt with other blunders and issues of high public interest. Previous controversial headline- stirring issues included the deaths of students (usually in auto accidents) and house fires. 100 O'Neil, Dana. "Rouse in Oblivion Five Years after Baylor Scandal." ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures, 6 May 2008. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3371852&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines>. 101 O’Neil, 2008. 102 "Weathering the Storm." Baylor Magazine Jan.-Feb. 2004.Baylor.edu. Baylor University. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.baylor.edu/alumni/magazine/0204/news.php?action=story&story=7657>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 39 Throughout the years, Baylor administrators had learned from past events and had developed a protocol for a general plan of response to deal with important events and issues. 103 As highlighted by the crisis management models, there is a priceless benefit to preparedness. Coombs described preparation as incorporating a crisis plan and selecting and training a crisis team into an organization’s foundation. The university made the decision to be prepared for nearly any crisis and was able to quickly refer to a group of administrators who knew and understood the pre-established procedures for notification and response. Because of this, Baylor was able to act quickly and efficiently. Baylor officials told their story before the media was able to spin it into something Baylor was unable to control. Larry Brumley, associate vice president for external relations at Baylor, commented, “You develop a basic foundation, but you [have] to be flexible and constantly reassess.” 104 Administrators and athletic department personnel were able to control the tone of the story because they were prepared, yet also knew they had to be adaptable. At the onset of the crisis, Brumley immediately pulled together the crisis team comprised of Baylor’s police chief, athletic director Tom Stanton, Coach Bliss, athletic department spokesman Scott Stricklin, Baylor general counsel Noley Bice and student life vice president Eileen Hulme as well as an external media consultant who could look at the crisis from an outsider’s perspective. 105 This crucial step was expedited by the fact that Baylor already had established a general outline for crisis protocol. The team knew who needed to be involved for a crisis of this nature and were able to call upon university officials and athletic administrators for quick action. Following Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s third phase, the team was diverse and included individuals from all aspects of the situation. This allowed Baylor’s athletic department to cohesively battle the crisis and assume a proactive management stance while ensuring all the university’s stakeholders were being properly addressed. Easy Access Headquarters To handle the onslaught of media during the peak-period of the crisis and investigation, the Baylor Law School provided a room to be used as headquarters for the media. The telecommunications department equipped the room with multiple phone lines to field and refer the constant stream of media requests. The team met at the crisis headquarters every 103 Weathering the Storm, 2004. 104 Weathering the Storm, 2004. 105 O’Neil, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 40 day and made it a priority to keep all of the Baylor community informed of the latest developments through emails and postings on the university’s website. 106 The team prepared administrators for hard questions and made sure they were always dealing in truthful facts, not speculation or conjecture, when addressing the media. Adapt The crisis team appropriately consisted of top administrators, athletic officials and media consultants. However, part of that team was men’s basketball coach Dave Bliss, who had been untruthful with Baylor officials since the onset of the crisis. Bliss had aided in the improper tuition payments on behalf of Dennehy and housing payments on behalf of a second student athlete. When indecencies in the men’s basketball program were exposed, Coach Bliss and athletic director Stanton immediately resigned. With the loss of two key crisis team members, the dynamics of the team changed drastically as they began to deal with the fallout from the resignations. As news broke about NCAA infractions by the men’s basketball program, another Baylor response team was put to action. The Compliance Investigation Committee was, and still is, a standing committee at Baylor that is activated by the faculty athletics representative when the possibility of major NCAA violations arises. 107 Its three appointed members are faculty at Baylor Law School and immediately took a proactive approach to get the truth out while covering up nothing. The university team knew that the only way Baylor athletics would come through the crisis was to promptly communicate with integrity and correct the problem. The Compliance Investigation Committee kept the needs of the rest of the student athletes in mind by moving with urgency and presenting a quick response. They took into mind the future careers of the players and worked to mitigate the sanctions imposed by the NCAA, knowing that harsh penalties could destroy the future of Baylor men’s basketball. Learn and Change The same day Bliss and Stanton resigned, Baylor President Robert Sloan Jr. announced in a press conference that Baylor was introducing a new procedure for drug testing. Under Stanton, the athletic department had inadvertently not forwarded failed drug tests to campus 106 Weathering the Storm, 2004. 107 Weathering the Storm, 2004. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 41 disciplinary authorities. 108 The athletic department was removed from testing protocol and the Baylor Health Center took over. Sloan also self-imposed an immediate two-year probation of the men’s basketball team, including postseason competition. Baylor offered the remaining scholarship players a release from their scholarships and Sloan asked the NCAA waive its rule that transferring players must sit out one year before playing. At a second press conference, Sloan acknowledged that some of the team’s top players chose to leave for other schools. “It’s going to take us years to get back to our full quota of scholarship players, but I don’t regret it,” he said. “We asked ourselves, if we were the father of one of those boys, what would we want? That’s the golden rule. We thought they would at least want the freedom to be able to leave.” 109 This decision and Sloan’s comments demonstrated the essence of Baylor’s character throughout the crisis. All of Baylor’s statements were truthful and held the university accountable for their own mistakes. The public was behind Baylor in supporting the uninvolved student athletes, even though it meant the athletics department would be forced to rebuild. By learning from their mistakes and changing university protocol, Baylor communicated to their audiences that they took the crisis seriously and were committed to bettering the university despite the costs. In a crisis such as the one Baylor experienced, the way an institution handles the situation reveals more than just proper business planning; Baylor’s communication strategies revealed a commitment to university-wide teamwork and the true charter of the university. With proper planning, the crisis team was able to get ahead of the media and ensure their statements were the ones getting the most attention. They chose the proper people to help with the crisis communications, and were able to quickly release effective statements. Baylor knew that they could not sit back and watch the crisis unfold. The crisis team was able to step up and take action; it was proactive in getting out in front of the crisis. The team regularly provided information to the Baylor community and the media, and administrators moved decisively to re- establish trust in the athletics department. They responded quickly, communicated openly with stakeholders and the public and provided opportunities where critics could question the university directly, allowing Baylor the opportunity to successfully get their messages out. In the 108 O’Neil, 2008. 109 Weathering the Storm, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 42 end, showing the professionalism of the university, Baylor’s Dean of Graduate Studies was quoted, “We should look to see where we fell short, and we should continue to make the university a better place by any measure.” 110 110 Weathering the Storm, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 43 A NEW PRACTICAL CRISIS COMMUNICATION/MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS Crisis management is likely one of the most difficult areas of public relations to master, largely because crises are never planned. At the beginning of any crisis, the affected organizations are initially placed in a reactive position. How their communications evolve from a reactive role to a proactive position will determine the success or failure of their crisis management. Every crisis situation is different, no matter how much planning is done. Despite the difficulty in crisis management, it is also one of the most important areas for a collegiate athletic department to hone. How a crisis team executes in the eyes of their stakeholders during a crisis can make or break the university’s credibility. Sports crisis management isn’t too much different from other big-business crisis management styles. However, the crucial component to keep in mind is the tendency for more image issues – for teams, players, coaches and universities as a whole – over anything else. With sports, it’s about using communication and public relations to uphold a good image for the university and, usually, a team, to keep the fans coming back. The fans are what drive sports with social popularity and monetary contributions. How fans perceive and idolize sports teams and players is what generates success for collegiate athletics. It is important for university officials and their athletic departments to remember that perceptions are everything – crisis is in the eye of the beholder. If an organization’s audiences perceive a crisis, then there is a crisis. Crisis situations will happen regardless of how much planning an organization does. The most important factor in a crisis is how the organization plans for and reacts to it. For crisis management, there should be a plan of action that the university, athletic department and all associated individuals must abide by to ensure that all the necessary bases are covered. When a public relations crisis develops, whether university-wide or strictly within the athletic department, how fast the questions “What should we do now?” and “What should we say?” are answered can have extensive implications. It is important that a crisis team focuses on the human, operational, reputational and financial impacts of the crisis. 111 Communications with 111 Statterfield, Jim, and Jim Squire, CFE. "Coming Through a Public Relations Crisis Successfully." Editorial. Franchising World Nov. 2012.Franchising: Building Local Businesses One Opportunity at a Time. IFA: International Franchise Association, Nov. 2012. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.franchise.org/Franchise- Industry-News-Detail.aspx?id=58727>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 44 all stakeholders will be required, and the press will likely emerge, making the need for spokesperson selection and media training necessary. Whether a crisis becomes a simple disruption or a full-blown disaster is directly related to the degree of planning. 112 Crises come as surprises. A crisis is not the time for on-the-job training; preparing an established crisis management plan will empower a university and its athletic department to make successful critical decisions and not further the crisis. Readiness and resiliency are key brand attributes for every crisis management team. If the control over events and messages is lost, the negative impacts of a crisis will intensify. The previously-mentioned crisis management models deal with the different stages through which a crisis may progress and provide guidelines on how to handle each stage. However, when it comes to dealing with a collegiate athletics crisis head-on, many universities are unprepared for the speed and intensity with which they arise and progress did not have any sort of overarching crisis management model or crisis contingency plan in place. The universities’ leaders failed to plan and prepare for the possibility of a crisis. It may not be possible to anticipate when a crisis will occur, but universities and their athletic departments can prepare using the subsequent strategies. What follows is a synthesis of recommended accepted techniques and best practices for dealing with a collegiate athletics crisis, and how together they can be formulated into a new practical crisis management model for collegiate athletics. Prepare a Crisis Management Plan As we’ve seen with the aforementioned case studies, a crisis can develop in an instant and spread like wildfire. A comprehensive communication plan is a roadmap to managing the university’s response. News can make its way around the world in mere minutes, and the pressure and tension of a crisis can cause unmeasurable stress within the athletic department and any affiliated organizations. A Crisis Management Plan that is completed and tested before a crisis does occur will help to alleviate the difficulties and uncertainties associated with crisis management. The plan should be detailed with specifics, sparing in philosophy and plainly written so the most junior member of the Crisis Management Team can execute it with confidence. The fundamental objective of a Crisis Management Plan is to facilitate the Crisis 112 Statterfield and Squire, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 45 Management Team in detecting and dealing with crises quickly before they can make a significant impact and thereby minimize the damage to the university or athletic department. The key to avoiding a total disaster within the athletic department lies in the preparation. It is indispensable that a Crisis Management Plan is in place prior to a crisis arising. While it’s not possible to anticipate every crisis, the procedure and protocol can be clearly defined if a crisis does hit. The best crisis management happens when the crises are anticipated. When problems are anticipated, there is a better chance of controlling the crises quickly and effectively. This means planning for something that hasn’t happened yet, and may never happen. But the point is, be ready. While it’s impossible to predict the future and wishing for a just crisis to test the university’s capabilities is frowned upon, there’s still a great probability that a crisis will occur nonetheless. Keeping the following guidelines in mind will help not only survive a crisis, but improve the university’s image when dealing with negative situations. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 46 THE PLAN 1. Involve Upper Management When a crisis breaks, there usually is no time for debate or discussion regarding what should be done. It is imperative to ensure upper-level management – or university officials, in the case of collegiate sports – buys into the importance of crisis planning and that they are aware of the plan and its enclosed procedures. In the early stages of the crisis, there likely won’t be time to obtain approval on messaging. To speed up the process of drafting and issuing statements, especially the ever-important initial statement, pre-approval by management for the basic structure should be obtained. The highest-ranking university administrators should also be involved in crisis drills and exercises where statements and procedures can be discussed and approved. Being too busy is not a valid excuse. The Crisis Management Plan will be enacted in serious incidents defined as any one, or combination of, the following: 1. Any death – accidental or otherwise – of a student athlete or individual associated with the athletic department on campus or at a university sanctioned or sponsored event, in/around a university facility or traveling to, from, or on behalf of the university; 2. Serious damage to university property (including arson) that directly affects the athletic department’s functionality; 3. Any threat to the health, safety or welfare of any student athlete(s) or associated individuals within the university community; 4. Arena/stadium issues and crises involving athletic department buildings (on and off-campus) and sporting event venues, including terrorism and other security threats, natural disasters and construction problems; 5. Any in-game, event-related incidents such as athlete death or major injury, fan injury, on-field or in-stand violence; 6. Any after-hours or offseason incidents including legal infractions, scandals, criminal charges or politically incorrect statements which may impact the reputation of the player, team, coach, athletic department or university; Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 47 7. Departmental crises including financial failure, layoffs, resignations, labor disputes, compliance issues or actions that result in political protests; or 8. A player/faculty personal crisis such as suspension or release. Establish a Crisis Management Team A Crisis Management Team should be appointed as part of the initial crisis planning. It is crucial that the university designate individuals who will not only be properly prepared for crises, but who will also be ready and willing to take action when a crisis hits. This team should include individuals from each are of the university who have a variety of backgrounds and experience with different aspects of university culture. The roles and responsibilities of the Crisis Management Team follow. 2. The Crisis Management Team The first task when a crisis hits is to contact the Crisis Management Team and the public relations team. The Crisis Management Team should be made up of core people involved with the university and athletic department, as well as any outside council from public relations agencies or legal firms. The Crisis Management Team will work in coordination with the university’s public relations team to strategically handle communications throughout the crisis. The Crisis Management Team is comprised of:  Athletic Director  University President and/or Vice President  Marketing Director  Coach(es)  Head of the department involved in the crisis  Media Relations Associate  Athletic Department Spokesman  Sports Director of Operations  Legal Officer  External Public Relations/Crisis Management Consultant (important for an outsiders’ perspective) Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 48 The Crisis Management Team should be assigned the tasks of: 1. Implementing a swift, unified and comprehensive response; 2. Investigating and evaluating the current crisis and response for the purpose of preventing/minimizing the impact of a future crisis; and 3. Handling all public and internal communications related to the crisis. The key roles within the Crisis Management Team are:  Team Leader: in charge of forming and training the Crisis Management Team, developing and implementing the Crisis Management Plan, counseling management and providing support for the Crisis Management Team to succeed.  Analyst: responsible for gathering and interpreting information and data relative to the crisis from multiple sources to determine the effectiveness of the Crisis Management Team’s response; makes recommendations on how to improve communications with stakeholders; maps the progression of the crisis along with response effectiveness and determines whether changes or adjustments should be made.  Writer: accountable for pulling together pre-drafted and pre-approved statements, tailoring them for the current crisis and having statements ready for quick release.  Spokesperson: the authority on communicating the Crisis Management Team’s story to stakeholders; effectively demonstrates the commitment to communicating with stakeholders, both internal and external; is available, sincere and credible with a strong on-camera presence; can simplify technical information; has ample knowledge of the university, athletic department and student-athletes; has completed media training.  Administrative Coordinator: performs administrative duties that fall outside the roles of the Crisis Management Team, such as: media triage (answering phones and prioritizing return calls), preparing for press conferences and contacting outside support (i.e. public relations agencies). Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 49 The Crisis Management Team will consult and confer with the following advisors as necessary:  President of Student Affairs  Human Resources Officer  Facilities Officer  Dean of Undergraduates Studies  Counseling and Psychological Services Department  Risk Management Department  Compliance Officers  Student Services Coordinator  Police Chief and/or Head of Campus Security 3. Pre-Crisis Assess the Risk: Ask, “What could go wrong?” After the team has been assembled, the first task is to ask, “What could go wrong?” Before a crisis actually does hit, it is important for the university to have thought of and planned for any number of crises that may arise. The Crisis Management Team should brainstorm as a group and prepare a list of potential crisis scenarios to anticipate. This is a tough mission because it is hard and unappealing to think in a negative manner. However, it is better to have planned for all crisis scenarios, ensuring all bases are covered, than it is to face a crisis with no plan at all or one that is only partially developed. In order to anticipate crises that may arise, the Crisis Management Team needs to know what they’re working with. If there are no surprises, the team cannot be caught off guard and will respond better if (when) a crisis hits. Outside consultants are helpful here in bringing up issues the team may have overlooked. After possible crisis situations are determined, it is also helpful to ascertain how likely each scenario could be and addressing the most likely first. Fans generate success for sports organizations, and therefore any crisis scenarios that could affect the livelihood of the university’s athletic department are the key issues that should be addressed first. The Crisis Management Team will need to collectively decide how prepared the athletic department is for a crisis. Even with all the planning, there are a few things to keep in mind. The Crisis Management Team must remember that information is the most important element Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 50 of a crisis. The public wants it, the media is desperate for it and the Crisis Management Team doesn’t always have it – or at least all of it. Most initial reports on a crisis will also be wrong. The media is eager to get something out and the information is often flawed. The Crisis Management Team cannot let initial negative (and/or incorrect) media reports have negative effects on their work. It’s important to remember that in the heat of a crisis, the public will watch for information and when the media gets the story right, they’ll listen. It’s the Crisis Management Team’s job to get the story right and get it out quickly. Keys to Planning Before the Crisis Properly responding to crisis issues will determine the impression the university leaves on its primary audiences. Being able to prove the university is managing the crisis and making corrections to deal with it will determine the image that is left with fans and media. Establishing these procedures before a crisis hits can make the difference. The following is an initial checklist of what to do when a crisis occurs:  Have a crisis communication plan  Gather all facts quickly and demand to see evidence  Be accessible and anticipate questions  Decide if a news conference or news release is needed  Determine communication output methods/channels – photos, videos, tweets, Facebook post (or other social media channels), university home page, etc.  Rehearse with spokesperson prior to news conference, addressing tough questions and answers  Speak with a consistent message and explain corrective steps being taken  Reveal bad news first  Prepare detailed written news release  Do live, not taped, interviews for fewer misquotes – i.e., the nature of live interviews does not allow networks to edit/cut prior to airing and messaging will not be interrupted or misrepresented  Be able to cite past, present and future strengths 113 113 "One Voice on Crisis Management." Sports Media Challenge. The 1998 Hessert Sports Crisis Survey. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sportsmediachallenge.com/crisis/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 51 Evaluate Relationships with Media The media needs to know the university is a credible source of truthful information. The media is a conduit to the decision-makers and key audiences. By building a bank of goodwill, the university will be able to tell its own story before letting the media take control. The media tends to be more compassionate and forgiving when dealing with an entity with which they’ve built a strong working relationship. Website Dark Page A website “dark page” is very effective pre-prepared crisis management tool. It is a page that can be quickly tailored to the situation and used to disseminate information. Due to the nature of social media today, crisis communication evolves faster than ever. Universities need to be ready to respond or communicate within minutes. Although response across social channels is incredibly important, a dark page, once live, often becomes the hub for official communications related to the crisis and the place that people are referred to for more detailed information. The Crisis Management Team can drive traffic to the page once it goes live so audiences can find information easily, quickly and all in one place. If the dark page goes live, the only preparation that should be needed is specific information pertaining to the current crisis. Because the site is dedicated solely to current crisis information, it helps to tell the university’s side of the story and facilitates in presenting issues in a way that suppresses dangerous rumors and speculation. The site will help position the university as the primary source of information and encourage the media to make it the first place they visit when trying to get a balanced view on a crisis. This page is also crucial in helping to maintain relationships with key audiences over the course of the crisis by keeping them informed and providing open channels of communication. When preparing a crisis dark page, it is important to consider the following: 1. Putting a system in place that allows for quick and easy updating 2. Effective linking to and from the university’s main site, dark page and social media channels 3. Including tools that allow for constant updates – i.e., RSS feeds, email subscription services or micro-blogging channels (e.g., Twitter) Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 52 4. Anticipating the need for additional bandwidth so the site can handle large surges in traffic Pre-approved messages and documents such as press releases, official statements and background information should be created and loaded onto the dark page, ready to go when needed. However, the content and functionality of a dark page is dependent on the nature of the crisis. Some common elements that most dark pages will feature include: 1. Statement(s) describing the crisis event and the university’s response 2. Instructions/recommendations for those affected by the crisis clearly stating what they should or should not do 3. Description and timeline of the specific steps being taken to get the situation back to normal 4. Background information that provides a clear understanding of the situation (e.g., causes, nature, impact, what is being done, etc.) 5. General information about the university (e.g., leadership, history, FAQs, track record, media footage, etc.) 6. Contact information for journalists and media 7. Regular updates about the situation and actions being taken 114 Dark pages should evolve over the course of the crisis. For example, at first the focus may be on providing key audiences with emergency information, then move toward more detailed information related to what is being done to navigate through the crisis and finally addressing the aftermath and plans for ensuring a similar event never happens again. SWOT Analysis Conduct an analysis of the athletic department’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This SWOT analysis is fluid, in that it should be updated regularly. For instance, the SWOT needs to be updated whenever a superstar player is added to the roster. For added security, a SWOT analysis can also be written for university-wide departments as well as specific sports or groups within the athletic department. 114 Parker, Dean. "Dark Sites: Manage Crisis Communications Online." Critical Conversations. MSL Group, 1 June 2012. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://blog.mslgroup.com/dark-sites-manage-crisis-communications-online/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 53 For each of the identified weaknesses and threats, a base message (or message map) for each stakeholder group should be developed. These messages need to be approved by upper management. It is easier to edit the messages when a crisis occurs than it is to create new messages from scratch during the crisis when there is mounting stress and confusion within the university. 4. Crisis Outbreak Call a Meeting of the Crisis Management Team The Crisis Management Team should meet upon notification and ensure that all top university officials are aware of the crisis situation. At the Crisis Management Team meeting, the team will:  Share and discuss all available information pertaining to the situation  Identify all affected individuals and parties  Ensure that all “victims” or “violators” are receiving the appropriate care and attention  Establish the position of the university and the athletic department  Agree upon the necessary steps to be taken while referring to the pre- established Crisis Management Plan as a guide Identify Audiences That Matter It is important to identify key audiences (stakeholders) as soon as a crisis hits. These key audiences are the stakeholders who will be impacted most by the crisis, and, more importantly, whose lack of support for the university would make the largest impact. These are the people who need truthful and accurate information quickly and consistently. External stakeholder groups include (but are not limited to):  Benefactors/Donors  Sponsors  Fans  Alumni  Parents of students and student athletes  Social media audiences  Vendors Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 54  Government and legal institutions  Prospective students  Community where the university is located It is crucial that the Crisis Management Team not ignore internal audiences as these groups can have a major impact on how the university functions during and after the crisis. Failure to appropriately address an internal audience can lead to distrust in the university and often backlash, which in itself can turn into another public relations crisis the university and athletic department would have to handle. Internal stakeholder groups include (but are not limited to):  University officials and administrators  Student athletes and coaches  Entire student body  Professors, academic instructors and faculty  University employees  Admitted students (those who indicated their intent to enroll) Develop Key Messages Identify several short, clear and consistent key messages for each stakeholder group. Knowing what to talk about is critical. The Crisis Management Team must agree on the university’s position regarding the crisis and be committed to telling the truth, telling it all and telling it fast. The Crisis Management Team’s main goal is to reestablish credibility and trust with the university and athletic department’s key stakeholders. As an example, Virginia Tech’s three key messages after an on-campus shooting were:  We will not be defined by this event.  We will not invent the future.  We will embrace the families. 115 Designate a Spokesperson It’s important that the university speaks with one voice during the crisis. The best way to accomplish this is to have a single designated spokesperson responsible for issuing official university statements and responses and ensuring coordinated and unified messages are 115 Statterfield and Squire, 2012. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 55 released to the media, stakeholders and the public. A pre-trained university spokesperson should be identified early so that drafted statements addressed towards various audiences can be delivered swiftly and flawlessly. One of the most critical things a spokesperson needs to acknowledge is that communications and statements are delivered strategically and proactively, not based on demanding reporters asking questions in person or on the phone. All key individuals on the Crisis Management Team must have been media trained. It is important that everyone know how to handle the press while understanding that there is only one spokesperson that should be identified during each crisis (but having a back-up spokesperson is worth considering, as addressed below). During the planning stages, the team should ensure that university officials have undergone media training refresher courses. The designated spokesperson is not always the communications/PR director. The appropriate spokesperson will be different dependent upon the kind and severity of the crisis. For example, if an athlete is involved in an alcohol related incident, the coach may be the appropriate spokesperson. But if there has been a string of alcohol and drug related incidents within the athletic department, it may be the Athletic Director or even the President of the university who needs to be the spokesperson. 116 The most senior person (i.e., University President) should always be the spokesperson if the severity of the crisis demands it. However, with complex and convoluted crises, a hierarchy of spokespeople with non-overlapping responsibilities should be designated, akin to the roles of the U.S. President and his press secretary. These spokespeople play different and distinct roles in communicating consistent messaging to key audiences and stakeholders. With severe crises, it is important to keep in mind that some audiences may respond differently to certain spokespeople. When a crisis demands a senior official to speak on behalf of the university, this may bode well for stakeholders involved in the business aspect of the university. However, when the same crisis also directly affects the families of student- athletes, a spokesperson more closely connected to the athletics department may be more appropriate at conveying the same key messages. Have an Incident Command Center During a crisis, the Incident Command Center will aid in mobilization and coordination of personnel, equipment and supplies and allows the Crisis Management Team to be in 116 Sports Media Challenge, 2013. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 56 control before the media shows up. The Incident Command Center should be located away from hoards of media, yet central to the university and easily accessible by everyone on the Crisis Management Team. It’s crucial that the team is prepared as the calls come in. The Incident Command Center should include:  In-room TV and internet  Multi-line phone system  Laptop computers and multiple printers  Note-taking equipment/writing implements  Command center log  Food and drink for long nights 5. During the Crisis Address the Situation As soon as a crisis goes public, the university must address the situation either with a written statement or through the pre-appointed spokesperson. Real-time communication is both key and appreciated during a crisis. Messaging should be open, honest and consistent. As noted earlier, the Golden Rule of public relations is to distribute something in the first 60 minutes. 117 It’s important to distance fact from emotion, and remember that impartiality and tough questions are necessary in a crisis. 118 Acknowledge Action Steps with Strong Rhetoric As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Hence, the Crisis Management Team needs to instruct the spokesperson to address exactly how the university plans to address the crisis and relay the steps taken towards this goal to the key stakeholders. Part of this messaging should be detailed discussion of how the university plans to make sure a crisis of this sort does not happen again. Internal cultures do not change overnight, and stakeholders need to be reassured that the university and athletic department are taking the necessary steps to make improvements. Avoid stakeholders filling in information holes on their own as that will open the landscape for opportunistic critics to voice their opinions, the 117 Gardiner, 2011. 118 Niederpruem, Kyle E. "Lessons Learned from Penn State." Kyle Communications. Kyle Communications, 03 May 2012. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://kylecommunications.com/lessons-learned-from-penn-state/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 57 dissemination of false, misleading or incomplete information and the transformation of rumor and innuendo into the public perception of “fact.” Be Transparent and Consistent In a crisis, gather all facts and verify them while identifying what is known, not just what is thought. It is important to establish what the university and athletics department is concerned most about in order to tailor clear messages to address the situation. Messages need to be clear and consistent. John Burness, former Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations at Duke, advised, “The most important thing you can do is make sure you have as much accurate information as you can before you say anything. You need to be clear about what you know and what you don’t know… The dilemma frequently is that you don’t have complete information.” 119 Monitor Events and Media Adjust the strategy and plan continuously, based upon the facts. Once a crisis occurs, university administrators, the Crisis Management Team and the spokesperson must work to shape the messages in the media. However, social, electronic and print media needs to be constantly monitored for changes in messaging. If the Crisis Management Team is not able to monitor and catch what is being pushed out to key stakeholders, the university will likely suffer reputational harm and brand damage very quickly. Especially important is social media monitoring, where many athletic fans now get their news and participate in two-way conversations. Here, the Crisis Management Team can view what these stakeholders are talking about and can tailor messaging to address concerns or misinformation. Social Media Team Social media is a game changer. If used appropriately, social media can be the most effective and timely strategy in controlling the crisis. The majority of news is delivered digitally now, and core audiences will clearly make their wants and needs for open communication known through these channels. With social media, fans and core audiences 119 Doherty, Taylor. "Managing an Athletics Crisis." The Duke Chronicle. Duke Student Publishing Company, 17 Nov. 2011. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2011/11/18/managing-athletics-crisis>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 58 are part of the management process. Open online forums give fans the opportunity to say what they want online and the university must be timely, yet careful, in responding. The Crisis Management Team must monitor, participate and update followers on all social media platforms while also observing what people are sharing online (i.e., news articles, videos, blog posts, etc.). Monitoring for trending organic hashtags as well as key words circulating on Twitter can also help gain insight into what the public is thinking. The Social Media Team would be responsible for commenting and responding to comments and questions 24/7. The Crisis Management Team and Social Media Team should communicate the same core and consistent messages online as done through the spokesperson. There should be a strategy and guidelines for responding where the university and athletic department are positioned as caring, responsive and open. The most important thing to remember about social media is that, once something is posted, it’s out there and it’s out there forever. The Social Media Team needs to be careful not to create another crisis though social media while working to repair another. Working with the Media In working with the media, the spokesperson should get all the important information out first. When answering questions in an interview, the spokesperson should tack important messages on to each answer rather than strictly answering the question and moving on. Also important to consider is the intended audience, who the spokesperson is ultimately trying to reach, and to tailor the messaging towards that audience while supporting it with facts. The university needs to take control in its relationship with the media and be sure to respond to all media enquiries truthfully while being honest when the spokesperson does not know the answer or, for a variety of reasons, may not be in a position to provide a response at that particular time. 6. After the Crisis Metrics Metrics are chief for the university, athletic department and, importantly, top-level administrators to know if the Crisis Management Team is achieving the needed results. Metrics provide concrete measures to track and evaluate impacts of messaging and the efforts Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 59 of the Crisis Management Team while ensuring upper management and university officials that the needs of the university were met and the crisis was handled successfully. In crisis management, the most important tool is reliable data that comes from PR measurement and metrics. Reading and analyzing data at the onslaught of the crisis will have helped guide messaging for each stakeholder group, and post-crisis evaluation will help determine if goals were met and tactics were successful. Post-crisis evaluation encompasses many aspects of the Crisis Management Team’s response. In a post-crisis review, questions such as the following should be addressed:  An event narrative – What caused the event?  How was the response handled by the Crisis Management Team?  Was the Crisis Management Plan used and followed? Was it effective?  Were some critical steps missing in the Crisis Management Plan?  Who played key roles in managing the crisis?  Were the key leaders in the Crisis Management Team able to provide guidance and keep things running as smoothly as possible?  How/when did the crisis response restore business as normal?  How was the reputation of the university managed?  Is the university still threatened?  Were there any barriers (internally or externally) to communication?  Were stakeholder groups effectively addressed and managed?  Were internal communications addressed (students, faculty)?  Did the Crisis Management Team cooperate effectively?  Was the media addressed quickly, truthfully and appropriately?  Were there any barriers to the crisis response?  Was the spokesperson effective?  Were messages consistent and cohesive?  Was media managed effectively?  Was social media addressed?  What is in plan to prevent this crisis from happening again?  What was learned about organization structure and the Crisis Management Team? Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 60 A post-crisis evaluation should be carried out by either outside consults or upper management – preferably not by the Crisis Management Team. The evaluation should be dedicated to improving the Crisis Management Plan and the Crisis Management Team’s response capability, decision making and leadership skills. It should be shared with the Crisis Management Team to ensure that they have understood their effectiveness and continued roles and responsibilities. Make Changes Moving forward, it is important to take initiative to make serious changes in the athletic community to create an environment where the conditions or events giving rise to the crisis do not occur in the future. Positive changes can range from forming alliances and partnerships with other collegiate sports, to creating awareness and training about the issue for all athletic faculty and student athletes or working with the NCAA to come to agreements for the university. Post-crisis learning, implementing change and adapting to that change is an important expertise for the university to master at the conclusion of every crisis. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 61 CONCLUSION The four crisis management models provide a useful framework for creating and implementing a crisis management plan that will help an organization successfully prepare for and navigate through many different varieties of crises. The highlights from Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s four-phase model include the use of interventional strategies to shorten the life of a crisis while engaging in reputation-enhancing, socially responsible activities. Research is highly emphasized in their model, with a focus on analyzing data to prevent and redirect a crisis before it can happen as well as using research to determine key publics’ attitudes towards the crisis. Gonzales-Herro and Pratt’s model also emphasizes the need for post-crisis evaluation of the crisis plan’s effectiveness while incorporating feedback from key stakeholder groups to improve the plan for future use. Pearson and Mitroff provide an inclusive model of crisis management. Their five stages progress from signal detection, where warning signs are identified and acted upon, to crisis preparation, containment and recovery and finally to learning, where the focus is on improving the plan for future crises. Steven Fink’s four-stage model was the first to emphasize that most (if not all) crises come with sufficient warning signs before the break-out event. Fink noted the importance of taking a proactive approach when handling a crisis – a term used repeatedly in creating a crisis management plan. He elaborated by noting that well-prepared crisis managers do not just enact a crisis management plan only when a crisis hits (i.e., take reactive measures), they are involved in identifying and resolving situations that could become or lead to a crisis (i.e., take proactive measures). David Sturges elaborated on Fink’s four stages with his Strategy for Organizational Survival by illustrating that stakeholders require different information during different stages of a crisis. Sturges said that stakeholders want to know how a crisis affects them when it breaks, but these same stakeholders are generally open to reputation-(re)building messages once the crisis ends. The key takeaways from all four models include an emphasis on pre-crisis research and situation analyzing which seeks to prevent potential crises from occurring. Also important is that all four models highlight the need for a proactive approach, noting that the severity of a crisis will be influenced by proactive crisis identification and preparation, stressing the importance of proper planning and the need for a pre-set contingency plan. Post-crisis learning is involved in Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 62 some part in all four models, showing the importance of the cyclical nature of crisis management – the end of a crisis represents a new beginning for the organization. Case studies of successful, as well as unsuccessful, collegiate sports crises responses give insight into how effective crisis managers handle stressful, highly public, reputation threatening situations. Unsuccessful responses are often the most telling, in that failed crisis management allows for an understanding of what not to do, and how to fix the response in the future. In the cases of Duke lacrosse and Penn State football, both schools’ most clear and crucial mistake was not having a crisis management plan or team in place to handle the onslaught of negative media attention. Both schools ignored all warning signs, both internal and external, and failed to plan for the impending crises. For Duke, the media took complete control of the situation and the university was left in a reactive position in trying to get a grip on the initial story, struggling to get their key messages in the headlines. Duke’s poorly-chosen spokespeople did not communicate with a consistent message, and their internal communications failed to get the whole team on the same page. This example shows the immense power of the media and its ability to create, escalate and perpetuate a crisis. Because of their poor communications, their key publics saw Duke officials as hiding the truth while failing to be transparent with their most important stakeholders. Penn State’s crisis team was hastily composed and not properly trained. The university had no one on the inside that was prepared to handle a crisis of such immense proportions and consequently left their key stakeholders in the dark. During the crisis, Penn State leaders across the board left the public uniformed, creating a barrier between the university and their most important constituents. They not only failed to address any of their external stakeholders, but also ignored internal communications, leaving the university uninformed and isolated. Successful collegiate sports crisis responses offer insights into unique strategies and crucial plan-building tactics that can be applied across a wide variety of university crises. Both Montana State University (MSU) and Baylor University had the foresight to build a team and the skeletons of a crisis management plan well before a major crisis hit. MSU navigated though the crisis with a strategically built team of communicators from diverse areas of the university. The team conducted a SWOT analysis at the onset of the crisis to get a better grasp on what they were dealing with as well as help to dictate their strategies and tactics for handling the crisis on and off campus. They knew to be transparent, truthful and open with their stakeholders who needed information. MSU was rewarded with an internal Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 63 stakeholder group that was attentive and cooperative, valuing the crisis team’s consistency and dedication to quick management and creative tactics. After the crisis, MSU built and implemented and crisis communication plan for the athletic department, showing their commitment to preventative measures. Baylor also excelled in crisis preparedness with a pre-established plan for internal crisis notification and external response. The university strategically set up a crisis headquarters where the team could converge and were able to adapt when their team was in danger of falling apart. Throughout the crisis, the university communicated promptly and with integrity, addressing all key stakeholders and ensuring the proper attention was given to those who needed it most. Crisis management is one of the most important areas of public relations. People are not perfect, and it’s inevitable that there will be room for crises to occur within a multi-faceted athletic department. That is what the public relations team is there for, to help with and manage crises. With collegiate sports, even though the industry is not unlike most other big businesses, the public relations team deals with a larger scope because of the players, coaches, university officials, different collegiate sports associations (such as the NCAA) linked to the university and the very public nature of collegiate athletics. Crisis management can no longer be solely for big business; colleges and universities need a crisis management plan and a crisis management team to enact when problematic situations arise. For many universities, athletics play a major role in collegiate culture. One of the most visible representations of an elite university is its athletics program. When a university hosts a game on TV in front of millions of people, that is public relations at its finest; the university gets to run ads on TV plugging its academic achievements while broadcasting its athletic prowess. “If you think about what these universities mean, they certainly do mean research and teaching, but they also mean sports,” Charles Clotfelter, Z. Smith Reynolds professor of public policy and author of “Big-Time Sports in American Universities” has commented, adding, “The research part of [a] university is a bit forbidding and elitist, but football is not. So this is the human face that perhaps ties citizens to universities in a way that nothing else does.” 120 A university’s athletic program is an outward face to the public, and, in many cases, is more publicized than most scholarly endeavors and accomplishments. Outside of popularity and loyal fans, the value of athletics within a university can be measured through considerable financial investments in their team(s). As an example, in 2011 it 120 Doherty, 2011. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 64 was reported that Duke University’s athletics’ budget was just under $65 million (according to figures provided by Executive Vice President Tallman Trask), with about seven other large collegiate football programs spending around or above $100 million annually. 121 Duke athletics produced $46 million in revenue in the 2010-11 fiscal year; $12 million from its conference, $8 million in ticket sales, $20 million from endowment and gifts and $6 million in auxiliaries and other revenue. Duke subsidized the remaining $15 million of the budget. 122 This monetary contribution is extremely indicative of how essential athletics are to university culture and the surrounding community, as well as fans and publics across the country. University athletics are often the most visible part of a university. These high-profile, prosperous athletic programs help universities foster positive relationships with their key publics – potential students, benefactors and the broader higher education community. 123 Because of the popularity of intercollegiate athletics, NCAA violations and sanctions placed on colleges and universities often become popular headlines among major national media. Following an athletics crisis, intense media attention can be devastating to the university since the coaches and student athletes involved often serve as ambassadors for their institutions with particularly prominent programs or athletes usually receiving added scrutiny. A crisis that affects a collegiate team affects the entire university. When athletic programs are involved in highly publicized crises, the negative attention can (and most likely will) adversely affect the university’s external relationships as well. 124 Student athletes, coaches and administrators, along with the schools they represent, are in media headlines nonstop. Unfortunately, these individuals will invariably make mistakes; having a crisis management plan in place to control the public relations aftermath will drastically improve the university’s ability to navigate through the crisis successfully. During and after a crisis, university leadership, in conjunction with the crisis management team, face the issues of managing public relations to protect the university’s long-term interests. No athlete or university is immune to the need for a crisis management plan. No matter how perfect things look on the outside, today’s TMZ-obsessed media will find dirt, and if they can’t find it they may very well make it up. A university and its athletic department can find itself in the position of responding to a crisis that may be either based on fact or merely on suspicion, 121 Doherty, 2011 122 Doherty, 2011 123 Toma, J. Douglas. Football U.: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2003. 124 Pearson, Michael. "Penn State Accreditation in Jeopardy over Sex Abuse Scandal." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/14/us/penn-state-accreditation/index.html>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 65 innuendo, rumor or false assertion. As the saying goes, it takes years to build a reputation, but only a few seconds to destroy it. When a crisis hits, there is no time to waste. A crisis can snowball into a full-blown scandal, lost sponsorship dollars and ruined careers overnight. 125 In preparation, a university must have a crisis management team capable of moving fast and enacting a pre-approved and practiced crisis management plan to get ahead of the situation, in order to be proactive and to lead rather than follow the emerging crisis. Having a current and tested crisis communication plan enables the university to communicate with the media and its other publics in a manner that demonstrates the university is cognizant of the crisis, acknowledges its importance, is being truthful, forthright and open in its public response, is taking the necessary steps to resolve the crisis in an appropriate manner and will hold accountable those responsible for the events that led to the crisis. A crisis, by definition, means bad news. However, with a trusted team and a plan of action a university in crisis can pull off an outstanding comeback. No crisis ever seems like it will produce anything positive, whether it’s an athlete arrested for drug use or a coach accused of sexual harassment. But, when handled correctly, even a negative event can be turned around as a positive example of effective management skills in the eyes of stakeholders. Perception is reality, and for stakeholders this means that if they perceive a crisis, then there is one. Additionally, if these stakeholders also perceive effective management and appropriate learning and adaptation, then the crisis management team has done their job. Most universities and athletic departments think they can survive a crisis… until one occurs. The time to test crisis management skills is before something happens. To reach the goal of comprehensive preparedness, best practices include a tried and tested plan, a capable team and a university administration that works in conjunction with the athletic department to combat the crisis. Scandals can have a lasting impact on a university. Having an established crisis management plan empowers a university to make critical decisions without intensifying the damage to the university caused by the crisis. Crises are not planned, but can be planned for. A crisis is not the time for on-the-job training – preparedness coupled with resiliency makes for a strong crisis management team. If control is lost, the impacts of the crisis accelerate and public scrutiny will increase. 125 Florence, Katrina. "Crisis Communications Planning Essential for High-Profile Athletes. “Journalistics. 22 June 2010. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://blog.journalistics.com/2010/crisis-communications-planning-essential-for-high-profile-athletes/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 66 The aforementioned New Practical Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics outlines how universities and athletic departments can draw from the four well-established crisis management models to successfully navigate through a crisis. The New Model allows the university to tell their own story in a proactive role and encourages crisis management teams and PR teams to be truthful through research and transparency. Having a comprehensive plan allows for proper crisis handling. The New Practical Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics takes from the successful case studies and emphasizes research in developing a plan and being ever alert for impending crises. Research is incorporated all throughout the plan, as especially exemplified by including a SWOT analysis and post-crisis evaluation. The New Model stresses the importance of a crisis management team with designated roles and responsibilities as a crucial piece of a successful response, as seen in the Baylor University case study. In taking from the four established models, all stakeholder groups are valued and the New Model emphasizes clear, constant communication and transparency in communicating with key publics. Post-crisis strategies were evident in all models and seen in the successful case studies. The New Model places much emphasis on the crucial cyclical nature of crisis management and how learning from previous crises can shape a university’s crisis management plan for the better in the future. Collegiate sports crises can’t be scheduled, but they can be predicted and planned for if university officials are passionate about and dedicated to managing their reputation and keeping a positive rapport with their stakeholders. The fundamental objective of the New Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics is to assist university leadership in detecting and dealing with crises quickly, before they can significantly impact the athletic department, or worse the entire university, and thereby minimize the damage. While some risks can be abated, not all can be eliminated and it is inevitable crises will happen within the athletic department at some point. Implementing the New Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics and establishing a clear plan with identified leadership will enable a university and its athletic department to manage a crisis effectively. The New Model identifies specific calls to action when predetermined triggers are reached. These triggers illuminate the need for actions to be taken by the crisis management team whose members have clearly defined roles, responsibilities and expectations. The New Model calls for actions by the crisis management team to be consistent with an overarching strategy and university brand. In following the New Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics, a university will be Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 67 prepared to guide its athletic department through any crisis, large or small, with skill and tact. Use of the New Crisis Management Model for Collegiate Athletics will give a university the confidence to proficiently address a crisis when one does arise. While the future cannot be scripted, a collegiate athletic department can have a prepared and practiced plan that will keep them qualified and able to handle any crisis. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 68 WORKS CITED Agnes, Melissa. "5 Lessons from Penn State's Social Media Crisis Communications Fail." Melissa Agnes Crisis Management. Melissa Agnes Crisis Management, 25 June 2012. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.melissaagnescrisismanagement.com/5-lessons-from-penn-states-social- media-crisis-communications-fail/>. Applebaum, Anne. "At Duke, a Scandal In Search of Meaning." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501589.html>. Associated Press. "Two Ex-Montana State Players Charged With murder." ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures, 30 June 2006. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/ story?id=2505352>. Aydelotte, Rod. "Dotson Sentenced to 35 Years in Dennehy Murder Case. "USATODAY.com. Gannett Co. Inc., 15 June 2005. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/ mensbasketball/2005-06-15-dotson-sentence_x.htm>. Badenhausen, Kurt. "Sports' First Billion-Dollar Man." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 29 Sept. 2009. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/tiger-woods-billion-business-sports- tiger.html>. Barton, Robin L. "The Duke Lacrosse Scandal Revisited: Five Years Later." The Crime Report. 23 May 2011. 28 Sept. 2013. <http://www.thecrimereport.org/viewpoints/2011-05-the-duke- lacrosse-scandal-revisited-five-years-later>. Broom, Glen M., and Bey-Ling Sha. Cutlip and Center's Effective Public Relations. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Burrow, Gwen. "Not Just a Game: The Impact of Sports on U.S. Economy." EMSI Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. CareerBuilder, 13 July 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. <http://www.economicmodeling.com/2013/07/09/not-just-a-game-the-impact-of-sports-on-u-s- economy/>. Chappell, Bill. "Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide And Timeline." NPR. NPR, 21 June 2012. 03 Oct. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/2011/11/08/142111804/penn-state-abuse-scandal-a-guide- and-timeline>. Chong, John K.S. "Six Steps to Better Crisis Management." Journal of Business Strategy 25.2 (2004): 43-46. Crandall, William, John A. Parnell, and John E. Spillan. Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2010. SAGE. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.sagepub.com/upm- data/28756_1.pdf>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 69 Doherty, Taylor. "Managing an Athletics Crisis." The Duke Chronicle. Duke Student Publishing Company, 17 Nov. 2011. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/ 2011/11/18/managing-athletics-crisis>. "Duke Lacrosse Rape Suspect Convicted in D.C. Assault Case." WRAL.com. Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.wral.com/news/local/ story/1091884/>. Favorito, Joseph. Sports Publicity: A Practical Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth- Heinemann, 2007. "Fineman PR Names Penn State's Poor Crisis Communications the No. 1 PR Blunder of 2011." PR Daily. Ragan Communications, Inc., 15 Dec. 2011. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Fineman_PR_names_Penn_States_poor_crisis_commun ica_10319.aspx>. Fink, Steven. Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable. New York, NY: American Management Association, 1986. Online. Fiske, Rosanna. "Analysis: PR Lessons From The Penn State Crisis." PRSAY - What Do You Have to Say? PRSA, 16 Nov. 2011. 21 Oct. 2013. <http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/ 2011/11/16/analysis-pr-lessons-from-the-penn-state-crisis/>. Florence, Katrina. "Crisis Communications Planning Essential for High-Profile Athletes. “Journalistics. 22 June 2010. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://blog.journalistics.com/2010/crisis- communications-planning-essential-for-high-profile-athletes/>. Gardiner, Andy. "Instructor Tells Penn State Class School Lost PR Battle." Usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., 15 Nov. 2011. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-11-15/Penn-State- scandal-PR-class/51223314/1>. Grunig, Larissa A., James E. Grunig, and David M. Dozier. Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study of Communication Management in Three Countries. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002. Herrero-González, Alfonso, and Cornelius B. Pratt. "An Integrated Symmetrical Model for Crisis-Communications Management." Journal of Public Relations Research 8.2 (1996): 79-105. Online. Hopwood, Maria, James Skinner, and Paul Kitchin. Sport Public Relations and Communication. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. Jones, Willis A. "Does Athletic Scandal Influence University Operational Health? A Quantitative Case Study of Baylor University." Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 2013 Special Issue (2013): 41-57. College Sport Research Institute. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 70 Athletics, 2013. 10 Dec. 2013. <http://csri-jiia.org/documents/puclications/special_issues/2013/ Athletic_Scandal_&_Operational_Health_02_04.pdf>. Kane, Colleen. "NCAA Punishes Penn State." Chicago Tribune. 23 July 2012. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-23/sports/ct-spt-0724-penn-state-- 20120724_1_david-joyner-penn-state-ncaa-president>. Ledingham, John A., and Stephen D. Bruning. Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum, 2000. Lee, Jessica. "No. 1 Position in Google Gets 33% of Search Traffic [Study]." Search Engine Watch. Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC., 20 June 2013. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2276184/No.-1-Position-in-Google-Gets-33-of-Search- Traffic-Study>. L'Etang, Jacquie. "Public Relations and Sport in Promotional Culture." Public Relations Review 32.4 (2006): 386-94. Science Direct. 1 Sept. 2006. 26 Sept. 2013. Mattioli, Dana. "Tiger Bungles Crisis Management 101." Editorial. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones Company, 8 Dec. 2009. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/ SB10001424052748704107104574572471393724870>. Meerman Scott, David. "Penn State University: Poor Crisis Management And Social Media Skills." Huffingtonpost.com. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 23 June 2012. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-meerman-scott/penn-state-poor-crisis- management_b_1620763.html>. Mitroff, Ian I. "Crisis Management and Environmentalism: A Natural Fit." California Management Review 36.2 (1994): 101. EBSCO. 12 Sept. 2013. <http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9410213933/crisis-management-environmentalism- natural-fit> Nathan, Maria L. "How Past Becomes Prologue: A Sensemaking Interpretation of the Hindsight- Foresight Relationship Given the Circumstances of Crisis." Futures 36.2 (2004): 181-99. Niederpruem, Kyle E. "Lessons Learned from Penn State." Kyle Communications. Kyle Communications, 3 May 2012. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://kylecommunications.com/lessons-learned- from-penn-state/>. O'Neil, Dana. "Rouse in Oblivion Five Years after Baylor Scandal." ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures, 6 May 2008. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/ story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3371852&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines>. "One Voice on Crisis Management." Sports Media Challenge. The 1998 Hessert Sports Crisis Survey. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sportsmediachallenge.com/crisis/>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 71 Parker, Dean. "Dark Sites: Manage Crisis Communications Online." Critical Conversations. MSL Group, 1 June 2012. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://blog.mslgroup.com/dark-sites-manage-crisis- communications-online/>. Pearson, Christine M., and Ian I. Mitroff. "From Crisis Prone to Crisis Prepared: A Framework for Crisis Management." The Executive 7.1 (1993): 48-59. Academy of Management. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4165107>. Pearson, Michael. "Penn State Accreditation in Jeopardy over Sex Abuse Scandal." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/14/us/penn-state- accreditation/index.html>. Phillips, Brand. "Penn State's Crisis Communications Still Off-Key." Mr. Media Training. Phillips Media Relations, LLC., 18 Jan. 2012. 04 Oct. 2013. <http://www.mrmediatraining.com/ 2012/01/18/penn-states-crisis-communications-still-off-key/>. Prieur, Dr. Sabrina. "The Importance of College Athletic Programs to Universities." Synonym. Demand Media. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://classroom.synonym.com/importance-college-athletic- programs-universities-3523.html>. Prisbell, Eric. "NCAA Hands out Severe Punishment for Penn State." Usatoday.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., 23 July 2012. 08 Nov. 2013. PRNewswire. Surveys, Polls and Research. Way To Go - Derek Jeter Has 3,000 Hits and Is America's Favorite Sports Star. PRNewswire. Harris Interactive Inc., 14 July 2011. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/way-to-go---derek-jeter-has-3000-hits-and-is- americas-favorite-sports-star-125552273.html>. Shrivastava, Paul, and Ian I. Mitroff. "Strategic Management of Corporate Crises." Columbia World Journal of Business 22.1 (1987): 6. Statterfield, Jim, and Jim Squire, CFE. "Coming Through a Public Relations Crisis Successfully." Editorial. Franchising World Nov. 2012. Franchising: Building Local Businesses One Opportunity at a Time. IFA: International Franchise Association, Nov. 2012. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.franchise.org/Franchise-Industry-News-Detail.aspx?id=58727>. Stoldt, Clayton G., Lori K. Miller, and Greg P. Comfort. "Through the Eyes of Athletic Directors: Perceptions of Sports Information Directors, and Other PR Issues." Sport Marketing Quarterly 10.3 (2001): 164. Stoldt, G. Clayton, Stephen W. Dittmore, and Scott E. Branvold. Sport Public Relations: Managing Stakeholder Communication. 2nd ed. Leeds: Human Kinetics, 2012. Sturges, D. L. "Communicating through Crisis: A Strategy for Organizational Survival." Management Communication Quarterly 7.3 (1994): 297-316. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://mcq.sagepub.com/content/7/3/297.abstract>. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 72 Talty, John. "Sandusky Scandal: A PR Disaster for Penn State, Joe Paterno." International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 9 Nov. 2011. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ibtimes.com/ sandusky-scandal-pr-disaster-penn-state-joe-paterno-367330>. Taylor, Stuart, and K. C. Johnson. Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and The Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case. New York: Thomas Dunne /St. Martin's Griffin, 2008. The Knight Commission. A call to actions: Reconnecting college sports and higher education. Miami, FL: Knight Foundation. 2001. Thelin, John R. Games Colleges Play: Scandal and Reform in Intercollegiate Athletics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. Toma, J. Douglas. Football U.: Spectator Sports in the Life of the American University. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2003. Ulrich, Laura. "Turning the Corner." Editorial. Athletic Management Aug.-Sept. 2008. Athletic Management. Mag, Inc., Aug.-Sept. 2008. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.athleticmanagement.com/ 2008/08/24/turning_the_corner/index.php>. "Weathering the Storm." Baylor Magazine Jan.-Feb. 2004. Baylor.edu. Baylor University. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.baylor.edu/alumni/magazine/0204/news.php?action= story&story=7657>. Wilson, Duff. "Lawyer Says Two Duke Lacrosse Players Are Indicted in Rape Case." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 18 Apr. 2006. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/18/sports/18duke.html?_r=0>. Yaeger, Don, and Mike Pressler. It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered. New York: Threshold Editions, 2008. Steinmann Collegiate Sports Crisis Communication/Management 73 APPENDIX SWOT Analysis (S)trengths (W)eaknesses (O)pportunities (T)hreats A SWOT analysis (or SWOT matrix) is a structured, analytical method used to identify and categorize significant internal factors (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (i.e., opportunities and threats) an organization faces. The SWOT analysis provides information that can be helpful in matching the organization’s resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates, making the SWOT analysis an important and dynamic contribution to the strategic planning process. A SWOT analysis is based on hard facts. The information in a SWOT analysis includes: A. Strengths: Internal characteristics and considerations that could help achieve goals B. Weaknesses: Internal characteristics and considerations that could work against achieving goals C. Opportunities: External trends, factors and considerations that could work to the organization’s advantage if leveraged D. Threats: External trends, factors and considerations that could work to the organization’s disadvantage E. Strategic Implications: A synthesis of the previous four sections, includes major conclusions and insights that could affect the design of the overall plan The most important element of a SWOT analysis is the final section, strategic implications, which can lead to developing and supporting strategies. The tangible output of a SWOT analysis is a matrix presenting the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the organization aiming at giving an overview of major issues that can be taken into account when subsequently drawing up strategic plans. Helpful to achieving the objective Harmful to achieving the objective Internal Origin STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Externa l Origin OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis examines how collegiate sports/athletics departments should prepare for and handle crises in terms of communications and public relations. While many universities have rough plans as to how to handle a crisis operationally, few have contingency plans that outline how it should communicate with its key stakeholders in times of crisis. By examining four important case studies, this thesis stresses the importance of crisis planning in addition to outlining how collegiate sports programs should prepare a Crisis Management Plan that will guide the university's communications though crises. After outlining four standard crisis management models, two case studies (Duke Men's lacrosse and Penn State football) demonstrate how prominent universities failed to handle sports crises properly in terms of communication and public relations. Next, two case studies of successful sports crisis responses (Montana State University football and Baylor Men's basketball) highlight some of the current best practices for handling communications throughout collegiate communication crises. Finally, this thesis outlines the author's New Practical Crisis Communication/Management Model for Collegiate Athletics and argues the best practices for universities to utilize when facing a communication and public relations crisis.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Crisis communication & natural disasters: communication plan for Rome, Italy in the case of an earthquake

PDF

Crisis communication for tourism destinations in the new media environment

PDF

Comparative analysis of nuclear crisis communication: 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis and 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear crisis

PDF

The visual literacy explosion: a brief history, relevant cases and commonly accepted practices

PDF

Managing professional athletes’ and sports team owners’ reputation in times of crisis: why it’s necessary to follow these crisis communication and public relations techniques

PDF

Public health anti-obesity communication: an analysis of current campaigns for future guidance

PDF

Cultural differences in communication patterns of international B2C technology companies on Weibo and Twitter: an examination of effectiveness from a motivation perspective

PDF

A study of the cultural environment of social media

PDF

The share factor: implications of global digital strategy for public relations

PDF

Public relations in the music business: how publicists continue to improve a changing industry

PDF

Corporate reputation crisis in the digital age: a comparative study on Abercrombie & Fitch’s reputation crisis in the U.S., China and Taiwan

PDF

Traditional and social media in modern crisis communications

PDF

The C word: managing crisis in the modern media landscape

PDF

Lights, camera, (call to) action: global public engagement in film launch campaigns

PDF

Volkswagen Dieselgate: an analysis of Volkswagen AG's crisis communication as a response to the emissions scandal from 2015

PDF

The making of a crisis communication plan for a large, public, national professional services company

PDF

Time for a change: a critical analysis of the fundraising industry

PDF

The effects of poor practice in public relations: the Pennsylvania State football scandal

PDF

Strategic communications in dietary supplement marketing — a case study of the marketing of Coenzyme Q10 supplements

PDF

The impact of social media on the diabetes industry

Asset Metadata

Creator Steinmann, Alyssa Michelle (author)

Core Title Collegiate athletics in crisis: a new practical model for crisis communication/management

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 08/12/2014

Defense Date 07/17/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Athletics,Crises,crisis communications,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public Relations,Sports

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Floto, Jennifer D. (committee chair), LeVeque, Matthew (committee member), Tenderich, Burghardt (committee member)

Creator Email alyssa_steinmann@comcast.net,alyssasteinmann@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-459715

Unique identifier UC11287780

Identifier etd-SteinmannA-2815.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-459715 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-SteinmannA-2815.pdf

Dmrecord 459715

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Steinmann, Alyssa Michelle

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA