Full Court Press: Crisis Communication and College Athletics is an honors thesis written by Angela Pratt, a former student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The work examines how crisis communication is conducted in a modern college athletic department through two case studies with the UNC Department of Athletics. Initially, the author analyzes the department’s crisis plan in relation to what is presented in contemporary crisis communication literature. Then the author discusses and reviews two specific crises and the media responses – both local as well as national– to these crises. Lastly, the author offers insight into the overall effectiveness of the athletic department’s response and makes recommendations on how the crises might have been managed differently and suggests improvements that might be made in the future.
The author’s analysis of contemporary crisis communication literature is substantial and she provides a robust foundation for understanding the various parts of crisis communication including crisis management, planning, media relations, strategies, misconceptions, and the effects of organizational culture and image. The section progresses mainly by the author’s continuous discussion of various theories. But although this section does provide a strong foundation for anyone unfamiliar with crisis communication, some of the section was unnecessary and felt too heavily rooted in abstract theory and not enough in practical application. The most interesting part of the book occurs later on, when the author explores the actual case studies involving UNC’s athletic department.
The author posits four sets of questions in regards to the athletic department’s crisis plan by consulting the plan itself, as well as the people who were involved in the process of creating it such as the director of athletics Dick Baddour. The author’s questions ask whether the athletic department’s crisis communication plan contained the necessary components of an effective plan in regards to two separate crises: 1) the retirement of Dean Smith, the most successful basketball coach in UNC history and 2) the arresting of assistant coach Phil Ford for drunk driving.
Ultimately, it is this last section that provided me with the best practical understanding of effective crisis communication. I would recommend this book as supplementary material for a crisis communication class. I think that in particular the latter section – as mentioned before – is the most beneficial for readers because it relies on two case studies that actually happened instead of relying on discussion of more abstract theory.
Tyler Hardy
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
The author’s analysis of contemporary crisis communication literature is substantial and she provides a robust foundation for understanding the various parts of crisis communication including crisis management, planning, media relations, strategies, misconceptions, and the effects of organizational culture and image. The section progresses mainly by the author’s continuous discussion of various theories. But although this section does provide a strong foundation for anyone unfamiliar with crisis communication, some of the section was unnecessary and felt too heavily rooted in abstract theory and not enough in practical application. The most interesting part of the book occurs later on, when the author explores the actual case studies involving UNC’s athletic department.
The author posits four sets of questions in regards to the athletic department’s crisis plan by consulting the plan itself, as well as the people who were involved in the process of creating it such as the director of athletics Dick Baddour. The author’s questions ask whether the athletic department’s crisis communication plan contained the necessary components of an effective plan in regards to two separate crises: 1) the retirement of Dean Smith, the most successful basketball coach in UNC history and 2) the arresting of assistant coach Phil Ford for drunk driving.
Ultimately, it is this last section that provided me with the best practical understanding of effective crisis communication. I would recommend this book as supplementary material for a crisis communication class. I think that in particular the latter section – as mentioned before – is the most beneficial for readers because it relies on two case studies that actually happened instead of relying on discussion of more abstract theory.
Tyler Hardy
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill