Somebody Better Find an Idea

The printed word is under attack again. In the continuing battle between those who know better how to conduct public relations and those who really do, another NCAA proposal to cut out press guides was put on hold recently. This one, however, came with the offer for SIDs to come up with a better idea.
At its heart, these "cost cutting" moves are short-sighted, and do not deal with the real world. While a slick media guide never signed a recruit, a poor one certainly has hurt more than one school. There aren't many universities where the "waste" on press guides amounts to more than 0.5% of the total athletic department budget.
These efforts to get rid of printed items in favor of the internet would be laughable if the people putting them forward weren't so serious.
In an open letter to those who want to cut printed items, ask yourself the following questions:
1) What would your campus PR office say to banning the annual recruiting viewbook?
2) How much do you enjoy that software manual on CD, or available for download as PDF?
3) When was the last time you curled up with your laptop on the sofa to read?
Are there excesses? Yes. Do we really need a section on the uniform choices for a football team? No. But until we come up with a national lottery or draft to assign students to universities, there will be competition for them. Notice, I said students, not athletes, because if anyone wants to peel back the curtain and check out the things done to get the best and the brightest to enroll in high-profile academic programs you'd discover things equal to some of the current worst practices in athletics.