Seizing the moment at Davidson

(Written in April 2008) Basketball fans and many non-fans now have heard of Davidson College. Not only because of its dramatic success in the NCAA basketball tournament or their all-galaxy star, Stephen Curry.

Many people are talking just as fervently about Davidson's board of trustees and the amazing deed they performed for their entire student body.

The trustees offered to host any and all Davidson students who wanted to attend Davidson's game(s) in the NCAA's Sweet 16 tournament during the March 28 weekend in Detroit. The offer included round-trip buses to Detroit, hotel and meal expenses. All paid for by the college.

More than 300 of Davidson's 1,700 students accepted the offer. When the Wildcats stunned Wisconsin in the Friday night game, the school came up with more buses to transport another 250 to Sunday's showdown with Kansas.

How many freshman applications do you think Davidson will receive for the 2008 fall term? And for many terms after that?

The lesson: doing extraordinary things for your primary community--students, residents, patients, shareholders, employees--especially at a time of heightened visibility and with right-minded, sincere values and intentions at the fore--is the essence of reputation building and, subsequently, brand identity.

It is a PR pro's dream. Action before announcements. Innovation and implementation before bloviation. Sincere, transparent goodwill before good headlines.

It isn't cheap: Davidson had to shell out several hundred thousand dollars. But will it pay off in future student recruitment, alumni loyalty, faculty attraction and heightened admiration among academic peers? There's no need to even state the answer.

A 'Frank' discussion from one of journalism's greats

The tip: Whenever a big-time literary figure is in the neighborhood and speaking for free, you must go see him. It is a communication pro’s duty! It’s great EHE (enjoyable horizon expansion) that’s difficult to get on a two-dimensional flat screen.

I spent a brisk, sunny Saturday morning recently in the tiny town of Adel, Iowa.

I attended a free lecture held in a local church off the town square to hear none other than the great Frank Deford speak about sports, culture and education.

Deford is, perhaps, the dean of national sports writers. How the hamlet of Adel got him to appear here I do not know. But it was a coup, part of the Iowa Book Festival.

Deford talked about the influence of big-time sports and how it continually shapes the larger society. According to him, there are more sports management majors in American colleges and universities than there are engineering majors. That is a problem.

The Beijing Summer Olympics was also a hot topic. Deford thinks the Olympics is on a decline and will never achieve the luster it once had. The hosting competition is too politicized, the price tag is now beyond enormous, and the Games consist of so many sports that people otherwise do not watch or care about . “When was the last time you went to a major track and field event?” he asked. (Little did he probably know that high school track in Iowa, along with the Drake Relays, is one of the biggest crowd pleasers around.)

It is true. Spectator sports today do not reflect major sports of decades past. In the 1930s and 40s, the big three sports were baseball, football and boxing. Horse racing was a close 4th. Still, perhaps the Olympics will flourish because it features what are normally esoteric sports that the masses enjoy…just for a two-week period. Many baseball fans probably enjoy a gymnastics diversion once every four years.

What’s his favorite sports movie (beyond Everybody’s All American, based on the book he wrote)? Chariots of Fire and Breaking Away.

The tall, lanky Deford was in strong voice and extremely accommodating and amiable to the small-town crowd. His book signing was a study in graciousness and class, signing up to six books for a single fan, with no huffiness or irritation and plenty of friendly chit chat. Way to go, Adel!