Steiner, Russo, Zorich among headliners at annual Bradley University sports symposium
Peoria, IL, Nov. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bradley University students spent a day hearing sports industry leaders debate hot topics in media, college and professional athletics at the school’s annual Charley Steiner Symposium.
The event, moderated by the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster, former ESPN SportsCenter anchor and Bradley alum brought familiar names to campus, highlighted by talk show host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Chicago State athletic Director Chris Zorich and former NFL official Bill Carollo among the panelists. A diverse group of former athletes, broadcasters, writers and college faculty completed the day’s lineup.
Many discussions touched on sports ethics, with a group of NCAA Division I athletic directors voicing concerns about legalized gambling and student-athlete compensation as football and men’s basketball continue to rake in profits for major conferences.
“Is the institution providing all the resources it should be? Does football have high-tech instruments to recuperate? Are there enough tutors?” said Zorich, a former Notre Dame and Chicago Bears defensive lineman. “If they’re not investing back into student athletes, its a problem. If they’re not going to pay athletes and not taking care of them, where’s the money going?”
Russo offered thoughts about baseball’s recent storylines. Noting low World Series TV ratings and ongoing debate about the game’s pace of play, he suggested the sport better engage popular national media.
“Baseball needs to get back into the conversation,” he said. “’Undisputed’ and ‘First Take’ never talk baseball. The day after Andrew Benintendi’s (ALCS) Game 4 catch, it wasn’t on ‘Undisputed.’ ‘First Take’s big story was Khalil Mack and Lawrence Taylor because Bears-Patriots was that week.”
Other discussions touched on concussions in football, women in sports and national anthem protests initiated by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Sports communication major Kerra Fisher, of Morton, Ill., appreciated the firsthand accounts and opportunities to ask questions of panelists.
“It’s a big deal to have well-known names on campus,” she said. “These panelists have so much professional experience in a wide variety of professions. It allowed us to get a better grasp of options out there after college.”
Bradley has the first named school of its kind in the nation in the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication. It offers numerous programs and the very best curriculum in sports broadcasting, promotions, new media, journalism and play-by-play announcing. The symposium is designed to provide students, and the community, access to experts in the sports communication field.
Bradley University is a top-ranked, private university in Peoria, Illinois, offering 5,800 undergraduate and graduate students the opportunities, choices and resources of a larger university and the personal attention and exceptional learning experience of a smaller university. Bradley offers a comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate academic programs in business, communications, education, engineering, fine arts, health sciences, liberal arts and sciences, and technology. The University is located on an 85-acre campus in the largest metropolitan area in central Illinois.
Attachments
CONTACT: Renee Charles Bradley University 3096773260 [email protected]