Sun Belt coaches praise format

Annual league football media days go digital with video conferences

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • July 23, 2009

In a change that created a buzz nationwide, the Sun Belt Conference switched up the format for its annual football media days this season.

Instead of having players, coaches, conference officials and media members travel to New Orleans for the two-day event as was done in the past, the event was conducted via video conference call. The move was made to save the Sun Belt’s conference office, schools and media members money during tough economic times.

The new format received mixed reviews and had a few small glitches, but UL coach Rickey Bustle admitted that he enjoyed the change.

"This is an example of the impact the economy has had on the league," Bustle said on Monday. "I kind of like this. I’m not into all this high-tech stuff, but I can sit here and talk. It’s a little different."

By doing a video conference call instead of traveling to New Orleans, Bustle was able to hold his first coaches’ meetings with his staff on Monday. In the past, those meetings would have been pushed back at least a few days until Bustle returned from media days.

According to Sun Belt associate commissioner for communications John McElwain, the Sun Belt is the first major college football conference to adopt the new format in lieu of meeting at a hotel or school.

"Welcome to the 21st century," Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters said in his opening statement on Tuesday. "We’re delighted to do this. We probably would have made the decision (to change to this format) with or without the recession.

"Certainly with the financial climate the way it is, everybody is looking at the best use of dollars and the dollars that we have and spending them judicially."

Conference USA is making a similar change, holding its football media days online later this summer.

"I think when you’re willing to change and experiment with things, there’s a certain confidence in your product and your person," Waters said. "So we’re not afraid to experiment with things."

Early reports had the overall savings from the Sun Belt’s new format around $30,000. Waters said on Tuesday that he does not expect to receive any official numbers until Sept. 1.

"Obviously there are some savings," Waters said. "But how much or how little I’m not sure."

Overall media participation was up to 50 this year, Waters said, compared to an average of 25 to 30 members in the past. ESPN.com, USA Today and Rivals.com were some of the national organizations that joined the league’s regional newspaper beat reporters from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Conference officials said they would evaluate feedback from media days in the upcoming weeks before deciding on next year’s format.

The Sun Belt plans to use the same online format for its basketball media days in November.

"Some of the people hadn’t attended media days in the past," Waters said. "If we can make technology our friend and still accomplish our goals of telling the media that we have a pretty darn good football here then we ought to take advantage of it."

Some coaches and players expressed disappointment over not going to New Orleans.

Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts said he wished that his school’s player representative, defensive end Alex Carrington, had gotten the chance to eat the food in New Orleans.

Carrington was sad that he missed out on that experience.

"I would have liked to go down there (to New Orleans) and burn his pocket up a little bit," Carrington said of coach Roberts. "But I do have business to tend to here, and it’s a little more efficient."

The efficiency was appreciated by most of the league’s coaches.

"I think this is a great way to do it," UL Monroe coach Charlie Weatherbie said. "We’re maybe starting a new trend here."