From the front of a packed Hubbard Hall lecture, Wichita State men’s basketball head coach Gregg Marshall spoke on Monday on the importance of professional media involvement with the game.     

Last week, the Elliott School of Communication (ESC) celebrated its 25th birthday with Communication Week — one week out of the year when ESC students have the opportunity to take part in marketing campaigns, a campus storytelling contest and professional networking events.

The week was concluded with a conference led by Marshall and nationally renowned  sports broadcaster Gary Bender, talking to communication students about ethical reporting and media coverage — and what it takes to be a tactful, thought-out modern communicator, especially in sports media.

 “We not only recruit student athletes that have basketball abilities, but we find guys that have character — we demand a tremendous amount of [the players], but by and large, we have wonderful young people in our program,” Marshall said. “They’re well-spoken for the most part and they are confident, yet not cocky.”     

As part of the event, Marshall and Bender brought examples of their own experiences in the communication industry and applied them to concepts that were prevalent throughout the crowd, such as marketing and training with social media — based reporting and blogging. With a primary focus on the crowd, Marshall and Bender accepted questions from the crowd to help guide the meeting.

Not only that, but Marshall also spoke about the shifts in reporting he has experienced over the past few years while the Shockers were experiencing increased national awareness and success.     

“We have more media opportunities than we really can take care of,” Marshall said. “I could spend, during the course of a season, spend several hours a day, at least the last couple of years, doing nothing but media — interviews on radio stations, interviews with TV, print media — but I have another job to do, and that is to prepare and coach my team.”

Marshall and Bender ended the meeting with a few remarks on the details that have helped the Shockers improve their game over the past few years — and one observation from Bender after years of experience as a sports broadcaster.     

“When I did the 1983 championship game where North Carolina State upset Houston, I went down in the locker room to meet the coach, and I’ll never forget [what he said],” Bender said. “He said, ‘God must love ordinary people, because, you know what is interesting, Gary? God allows ordinary people to experience extraordinary things’. I sense that in you, Gregg.”